Ben Draper, pictured with students at Leitch’s Hut in the Whareorino Conservation Area, western King Country.
A rally in student numbers is a hopeful sign for Piopio College principal, Ben Draper. However, the recent rise follows decades of decline.
“It has turned around with a lot more younger families staying in the district. More younger families are in the country, staying or coming back to Piopio, and their kids are all starting to come through [the school] now,” he says.
Draper notes an amalgamation of farms in the area as a primary factor driving the overall reduction.
“Our roll has gone from 134 to (officially) 148 since last year, but it went right down to 124 two or three years ago. When I went to school here, we had 380-400 students, so there’s been a gradual decrease over the last two decades. Number-wise it’s not massive but the roll is still less than half of what it used to be.”
Relatively new to the role of principal, while teaching physical education and health and outdoor recreation Draper has witnessed the fall and rise of the college’s roll.
“I started, officially, as principal in term four last year, but I was off and on here as a teacher since 2007 – I was backwards and forwards playing rugby in Europe – and then here 10 years solid from 2014.”
With regards to staff, it can be tough filling the school’s roster.
“It’s really hard to recruit. We have lots of overseas applicants, but networking has been the main thing, getting the word out there, talking to people and being patient. We have new teachers coming on board who are New Zealand born and bred, so they understand rural kids in New Zealand – we’ve been really lucky there.”
New additions in the staffroom are expected to ensure their young charges achieve to the best of their ability.
“We have Bree Coleman starting in our science department. She went to Piopio Primary and she’s just finished studying at Massey. We also have Paiaka Muraahi who went to school here. He went shearing, but we convinced him he was going to be a good teacher, so he went for training and we’ll reap the benefit from that now.
“Then there’s Lisa Smith, she’s from Whangamata but her partner’s working locally, so we managed to snaffle her.”
One situation does remain vacant but Draper is hopeful staffing numbers will add up soon enough.
“We’re still on the hunt for a maths teacher. I’m filling in for now but we’ve been advertising since term three last year. I’m just going to be patient until we find the right fit for the school.”
While much of the mahi is undertaken at school level, Draper says the Ministry of Education has been providing solid support, especially with regards to new incentives and ideas.
“Yeah, I think so, it’s good. I would answer honestly if it was the other way, if I felt differently. They always have support mechanisms for us.”
Looking at the year ahead, boosting attendance and addressing literacy levels are top priorities for him and his team, however outdoor education remains a key factor for the school.
“The thing we push hard here is getting kids outdoors – we weave that into the curriculum as best we can,” he adds. “This includes a localised curriculum, matauranga Māori [Māori knowledge] and other things local kids are experts in, because when they have a passion for something, they know a lot about, they buy in much better.”
