By ELEANOR BLACK
A school has turned a scathing Education Review Office report on its head, attracting new students and respect just four months after being described as "at risk."
Hard work has turned Sunset Junior High School into a success story. But in May, the Rotorua school was in crisis after
the ERO criticised the curriculum, financial management, untidy school grounds, board of trustees management and student behaviour.
But the latest ERO report praises the school's "new era of optimism" and "significant progress."
The school roll, now 174, had dropped from 225 in August last year to 167 in May, when the first report was referred to the Ministry of Education for consideration.
New principal Peta Brown and deputy principal Ann Edhouse, a teacher at the school for over 10 years, said they were devastated by the report but determined from the outset to prove the office wrong and regain the community's trust.
Consulting the tearful staff proved traumatic and it took several days before the pair were ready to attack the school's budget, lesson plans and dim outlook.
"We thought, we'll show them," said Mrs Edhouse.
The pair spent their holidays sorting through jumbled paperwork and prioritising tasks.
Periodic detention workers were called in to clear dead trees from the grounds and paint the school's exterior. Classrooms were also spruced up with fresh paint and student art went up on the walls.
Even the staffroom received a lift when Mr Brown and Mrs Edhouse found they could no longer stare at the "horrible" reddish-brown walls and painted them rosy pink.
"We were coming to school at 7 am and going home at 11 pm," said Mr Brown. "It was exhausting."
Teachers from other Rotorua schools pitched in and Mr Brown was so encouraged by their input that he invited the ERO team back to the school two months early.
What reviewers found was a smarter-looking school with more emphasis on literacy and numeracy. Students had responded to the school's new direction, benefited from well-planned programmes and had improved attitudes toward learning.
"They hold the school in high regard and interact well with each other and with their teachers," said the new report.
Staff went beyond the ERO's recommendations, planning new programmes for next year to extend the technology programme, setting up a science lab, introducing life-management classes and improving the career development course.
"New leadership has provided the opportunity to formulate new directions within an atmosphere of restored confidence and a sense of renewed purpose," wrote ERO.
Mr Brown said the school would continue to build on its progress and intended to expand the roll.
"It's positive reinforcement that's brought us to this point."
By ELEANOR BLACK
A school has turned a scathing Education Review Office report on its head, attracting new students and respect just four months after being described as "at risk."
Hard work has turned Sunset Junior High School into a success story. But in May, the Rotorua school was in crisis after
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