As a teacher who came up through the Tomorrow's Schools system and almost two decades as a secondary principal, I thought I would add my perspective. Undoubtedly, some schools have done tremendously well under the freedom that Tomorrow's Schools allows - and not just the higher-decile schools. However, ''successful'' schools often have natural advantages, including governance/community expertise, leadership skills, effective teaching capacity and the financial resources to meet massive (often parent-driven) expectations. Like ''successful'' schools, a self-perpetuating cycle is created but it is negatively inverted and becomes very difficult to break. It is survival of the fittest, and in a nutshell, that is the story of Tomorrow's Schools.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 26, 2019 16:07 UTC