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2 June 2020
Commitment to education recognised through Trustee Study Award scholarships
For 20 years the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) Trustee Study Awards scholarship programme has ensured members of boards of trustees in Kiwi schools have had an opportunity to pursue further study and personal development.
Introduced by the New Zealand School Trustees Association in 1999, the Trustee Study Awards are an annual scholarship programme recognising the commitment that school trustees make to New Zealand’s education system.
The awarded study programmes and projects are designed to be of significant benefit not only to each recipient, but to their community and school, and to the trusteeship in general. The study awards are available to those trustees on NZSTA member boards who are elected, selected, appointed or co-opted. The Trustee Study Awards comprise of up to five scholarships with a maximum value of $4,000 each. Having worked closely with schools for over 25 years to ensure they are comprehensively protected, Crombie Lockwood provides $10,000 worth of study grants annually as a contribution to the total Trustee Study Awards scholarship programme.
Ormiston College in Auckland where board chair Shireen Chetty was a recipient of a 2019 study grant.
2020 Award recipients
The recipients of Trustee Study Awards for 2020 are Steff Cresswell, a parent-elected trustee at rural Kumeroa School, who is set to participate in the Agri Women's Development Trust Escalator Programme. By completing this established leadership and governance programme for women involved in primary industries and rural communities, Ms Cresswell will be supported to influence better outcomes and stronger leadership for rural schooling.
Kristen Pari, parent-elected board of trustee chairperson at Piopio College in the heart of King Country, will receive support to undertake study that aligns with government and iwi commitment to strengthen Maori achievement.
The third Trustee Study Award recipient for 2020 is Johnathan Brooks. Jonathan, who is the parent-elected board chair of Avonside Girls’ High School in Christchurch, has been awarded a study grant to undertake an academic research project on the governance of co-located schools.
Mr Brooks has been on the Board at Avonside Girls’ High School since 2016 and is focused on providing strong governance and supporting the school to ensure students have access to top class facilities and a wide range of academic and sporting opportunities so that every student is able to achieve their vision of excellence.
School Boards of Trustees are the largest single group of crown entities in the country, accountable directly to the government and local communities for the quality of education in their school. Currently, around 18,000 people serve on 2,425 state and state-integrated school boards. Approximately 2,232 – or 92 percent – of school Boards of Trustees are NZSTA member boards.
A not-for-profit incorporated society with charitable trust status, the NZSTA has a contract with the Ministry of Education to deliver a fully integrated range of services free to all Boards of Trustees to support and enhance boards’ capabilities in governance and employment.