President’s Pen

Tēnā koutou katoa

Education in New Zealand Aotearoa is on the verge of considerable change in the school sector. This is encapsulated in the report published by the Ministry of Education in November 2019, Supporting All Schools to Succeed, Reform of the Tomorrow’s Schools system.

It is a highly appropriate time for NZEALS as a nationwide educational leadership organisation to be a channel for leadership dialogue and influence. Our organisation is a means for members to come together to intentionally contribute to enhancing our collective education and leadership practices.

Convened in 1975 by Bill Renwick, Director General of Education at the time, NZEALS offers professional learning and network opportunities nationwide across all education sectors from Early Childhood through to Tertiary. NZEALS connects education research and practice across each of these sectors. All of the sectors are represented in our membership.

We launched our new website in July this year. We encourage you to explore the new site where you will find all of the functionality required to support your professional growth and collaborative professional learning.

NZEALS Executive Team and the Executive teams in each of the 8 NZEALS regions are committed to making opportunities at the quarterly professional learning and networking to build professional connections and leadership learning. Our purpose is in:

• Expanding leadership thinking
• Sharing practitioner knowledge
• Providing access to current research
• Publishing your own research and leadership story

We are an organisation in constant flow and welcome hearing from you in what ways NZEALS can support your leadership growth.

The bi-ennial conference is the flagship for our organisation and integrates all of the reasons why we encourage participation in our learning community. Organisation for the 2020 Conference in April at Waikato University is well underway with a range of international as well as national speakers confirmed to contribute. You will know if you have participated in previous NZEALS conferences that it shows all that we believe in. Research and practice based all voices are heard and valued in a forum to grow our connectivity.

Early Bird registration for the conference is available.

To build on NZEALS unique position in our country’s educational leadership landscape to the greatest extent and the maximum benefit to all learners the part you play is hugely appreciated.

Ngā mihi mahana

Maggie Ogram
National President (Acting)