Karla," Ted replied. "Doing great things in the school Ryan's the caretaker at. Must be a tough job trying to pacify all those snooty parents."
"Not too bad," Karla replied. "Nice to meet you."
The truck roared off and Ryan laughed. "You have no idea who he is, do you?"
"A local farmer, I guess. Why should I, anyway?"
"That's Ted the teacher at Top Plateau School. Remember I told you about him?"
"Oh my God!" Karla gasped. "I'd never have guessed it."
"Nice old guy but that's the trouble. The kids at school are happy but the rumour is they don't learn much. If Ted was a miserable old sod the Board of Trustees would have a sacked him years ago."
Karla stared at the old truck that disappeared in the distance. What a contrast of people she had met in the last few days , from the farm manager and his wife, Ryan's mother and stepfather and onto the local teacher who looked anything but a teacher. They all were different than what she would have imagined but of course everything always is. She chuckled, took Ryan's hand and turned her gaze to look out at the Pacific Ocean that was now in the shade of the hills to the west behind them.
"Lovely evening," she whispered.
*
Later, while Ryan watched television Karla found her laptop could connect to Clive's Wifi, as he had not bothered to have an access code. Feeling a little guilty, Karla went on the internet but found no page for Top Plateau School so she decided to go into the ERO site instead.
ERO was the New Zealand government Education Review Office that reviewed and reported back on every school in the country, both public and private. There was an appraisal of both the academic and administrative strengths or otherwise of the school being visited. Afterwards the school was sent a detailed account of the ERO recommendations. If everything was satisfactory the school would be left to implement any suggestions made and the ERO team wouldn't visit again for between three and five years.
However, if major problems were found, the ERO team would revisit the school earlier to see that their suggestions are acted upon. In extreme circumstances the elected Board of Trustees could be replaced by a statutory manager or, on the academic side, the principal replaced. As well as the review sent to the school, a less detailed one was published on the internet for anybody to read.
Karla brought up the Top Plateau ERO report and noticed that it was dated only three months earlier. She began read through the somewhat flowery review typical of these reports but realised this was not a run-of-the mill one. Unlike the confidential document sent to the Board of Trustees, anything negative was rarely mentioned in this public document. However, after praising the Board for its financial and maintenance work, this one had a list of scathing comments about the children's lack of progress and the absence of teacher planning. Furthermore, it gave the principal three terms to implement their directives to improve student progress. The ERO report concluded with a statement that they would return within one year to review the situation.
Karla frowned and looked up. "Ted Wilton's in trouble," she said. "Come and have a look at this ERO report."
Ryan wandered over and listened as Karla explained how the system worked.
"For them to be so blunt in this public document makes me wonder what was said in the confidential one," she concluded.
"Yeah. I heard the only time the kids there learn anything is when the release teacher comes on a Friday. I think this latest report is the end of the line for Ted as they have been trying to get him to improve for years now. The roll is dropping and several families have shifted their Year 7 & 8 children to private boarding schools in Masterton."
"So you know what will happen, don't you?"
"The school will close. It almost happened ten years back. The Board of Trustees threatened to go to court to keep the school open and the local Member of Parliament got the
"Not too bad," Karla replied. "Nice to meet you."
The truck roared off and Ryan laughed. "You have no idea who he is, do you?"
"A local farmer, I guess. Why should I, anyway?"
"That's Ted the teacher at Top Plateau School. Remember I told you about him?"
"Oh my God!" Karla gasped. "I'd never have guessed it."
"Nice old guy but that's the trouble. The kids at school are happy but the rumour is they don't learn much. If Ted was a miserable old sod the Board of Trustees would have a sacked him years ago."
Karla stared at the old truck that disappeared in the distance. What a contrast of people she had met in the last few days , from the farm manager and his wife, Ryan's mother and stepfather and onto the local teacher who looked anything but a teacher. They all were different than what she would have imagined but of course everything always is. She chuckled, took Ryan's hand and turned her gaze to look out at the Pacific Ocean that was now in the shade of the hills to the west behind them.
"Lovely evening," she whispered.
*
Later, while Ryan watched television Karla found her laptop could connect to Clive's Wifi, as he had not bothered to have an access code. Feeling a little guilty, Karla went on the internet but found no page for Top Plateau School so she decided to go into the ERO site instead.
ERO was the New Zealand government Education Review Office that reviewed and reported back on every school in the country, both public and private. There was an appraisal of both the academic and administrative strengths or otherwise of the school being visited. Afterwards the school was sent a detailed account of the ERO recommendations. If everything was satisfactory the school would be left to implement any suggestions made and the ERO team wouldn't visit again for between three and five years.
However, if major problems were found, the ERO team would revisit the school earlier to see that their suggestions are acted upon. In extreme circumstances the elected Board of Trustees could be replaced by a statutory manager or, on the academic side, the principal replaced. As well as the review sent to the school, a less detailed one was published on the internet for anybody to read.
Karla brought up the Top Plateau ERO report and noticed that it was dated only three months earlier. She began read through the somewhat flowery review typical of these reports but realised this was not a run-of-the mill one. Unlike the confidential document sent to the Board of Trustees, anything negative was rarely mentioned in this public document. However, after praising the Board for its financial and maintenance work, this one had a list of scathing comments about the children's lack of progress and the absence of teacher planning. Furthermore, it gave the principal three terms to implement their directives to improve student progress. The ERO report concluded with a statement that they would return within one year to review the situation.
Karla frowned and looked up. "Ted Wilton's in trouble," she said. "Come and have a look at this ERO report."
Ryan wandered over and listened as Karla explained how the system worked.
"For them to be so blunt in this public document makes me wonder what was said in the confidential one," she concluded.
"Yeah. I heard the only time the kids there learn anything is when the release teacher comes on a Friday. I think this latest report is the end of the line for Ted as they have been trying to get him to improve for years now. The roll is dropping and several families have shifted their Year 7 & 8 children to private boarding schools in Masterton."
"So you know what will happen, don't you?"
"The school will close. It almost happened ten years back. The Board of Trustees threatened to go to court to keep the school open and the local Member of Parliament got the
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