Matt Coleman is principal of Taranaki Diocesan School for Girls. Photo / supplied
When it comes to helping guide young girls into becoming empowered, educated and confident young women, Matt Coleman says he has learned from the best.
As the new principal of Taranaki Diocesan School for Girls, Matt says the hard work of his predecessor, Fiona Green means he inherited a "fully functional, committed and passionate team".
"There is not a person on the team who is not fully aligned with the teaching philosphy of the school. I am truly blessed in this."
Matt took on the role of acting principal of the all-girls Anglican secondary school early last year when Fiona left to move to Christchurch to begin the next phase of her life in education. Last term that role became a permanent appointment for Matt, who has taught at the school for more than 12 years. He says having worked alongside Fiona over that time helped prepare him for the top job.
"She has been a great mentor to me, I have learned a lot from her and having her support, as well as the support of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Proprietors, has been invaluable."
Fiona isn't the only strong female role model Matt has learned from over the years.
"The person who has most shaped me in my life is my mum. Such a strong, confident woman, a real role model. Opinionated too, and that's not a bad thing. Her influence has certainly shaped me as a person, and also influences me now in my role as a teacher and now principal in a girls' school."
While he was in the acting role for a year, Matt says he didn't spend the year sitting back.
"I didn't want to do nothing for a year. I didn't see it as being a caretaker role but rather an opportunity to lay the groundwork for the school's growth no matter who was to lead it in the future."
Matt spent time working with staff, students and the wider school community looking at a range of things over the year, including how the school lived up to its special character - the Anglican faith, and how it met Treaty obligations.
"It was important to really take a good look at our connection with our biculturalism and how we enacted that on a daily level. We undertook a cultural audit which was challenging and actually really uncomfortable at times but it was needed. That identified a few things including the fact that even when we were doing things, to an outsider looking in, they weren't perhaps really visible.
"For me, the most important thing is to make the school more culturally inclusive, and also to make sure it shows. It is something to celebrate so we should be more vocal about it."
The Anglican character is also something Matt feels the school community needs to celebrate more.
"It is something that over my time here as a teacher, I have seen shifts at times. Sometimes it is more prevalent than others. So over the past year I have, with the team, reflected on what it means to be part of a special character school and how we put that into action. Having that connection to our special character is important, it is central to what makes our school special."
In taking on the role of principal at Taranaki Diocesan, Matt is joining a very small club.
Of the 2359 male principals in New Zealand employed in 2019, only two were leaders of all-girls schools. Matt says while he is aware there aren't many male principals of girls schools, he doesn't believe his gender should be an issue for the students.
"If you take any co-educational school, then 50 per cent of the students have a principal who is of a different gender to them. We don't read news stories or headlines about the gender of those principals."
As the staff at Taranaki Diocesan prepare for the new term starting early next month, Matt says he is ready to lead the school into the future.
"I think people can expect to see our school being a bit more visible in the community going forward, we are going to keep doing all the great things we do, but we are going to celebrate them more and share them with the community."