Vaughan Couillault: Secondary Schools Principals' Association president on schools predicting a dip in attendance after Waitangi Day

Schools are preparing for a dip in student attendance the day after Waitangi Day. 

Westlake Girls High School's holding an online learning day this Friday, requiring students and teachers to work remotely. 

Other schools like Westlake Boys and Auckland Grammar are closed. 

Secondary Schools Principals' Association's Vaughan Couillault told Mike Hosking they've seen abysmal attendance on days like Friday in the past. 

He says that's parents turning those days into a long weekend. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So in a sign of the times, I guess Westlake
High which is in Auckland, is having an online learning
day this Friday. Why because tomorrow's the day off, of course,
and staff and students will be working remotely. The school
says it's important to prepare for any future emergencies. So
the Principal's Association President voughn Coyo's with us on this
born morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good morning and have a new year. We haven't had
a chat with this year.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
We have a new year to you too, Do you
reckon it's really about emergencies or it's really about having
Thursday off and you can't be bothered with a Friday.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
It's probably not can't be bothered, but it is relatively
complicated whenever there is a public holiday that falls on
a Tuesday and the Thursday complicated in that families that
are able want to take advantage of a longer weekend
and parents might take an annual leave day to make
it four days, and that has a little bit of
conflict with or it creates a little bit of tension

(00:48):
with us wanting to engage in classes and keep our
tendencybles up, which is also something that's getting a lot
of focus Nationallyly.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
I was going to say, has did David Seymour when
he said we've got to get back and you teach
her days and all that stuff he said last year?
Was he wasting his time? Essentially?

Speaker 2 (01:05):
Well, it wasn't wasting his time, because we all want
kids back in school, but there are some pragmatics that
you've got to deal with. So firstly, when he said
that last year, he probably hadn't checked with Minister Stanford,
who had just given schools to two teacher only days
for twenty twenty five to deal with curriculum change. And
then when guidelines came out at the end of last year,
there's also discretion for schools to do another two across

(01:25):
the year if they make the numbers up in terms
of days open. So schools are able to do up
to four teacher only days through the year as approved
by the Minister of Education.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
Right do do schools in general send out some sort
of note saying please be reminded that although Thursday's a holiday,
Friday isn't. So how about we all turn up.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Not necessarily with each other on mass like that, but
certainly within their community. So it's not uncommon for schools
that are all within a particular area to go, hey,
what are you doing? I don't want my kids out
on Friday if your kids in, because my kids will
annoy yours and all that sort of things. So it
certainly is some local conversation within a district.

Speaker 1 (02:08):
Because we sort of go to the school that we
really should be going to the parents. Apart from anything,
every parent who's taken that kid out of school on
Friday knows full well that what they're doing they shouldn't
be doing. I mean, that's the truth of it, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
That is the rub. And on days, on days like
Friday or on Monday, when the public holidays on a Tuesday,
historically we've seen abosomal attendance. We've seen it drop down
to I think one principle was saying less than fifty
percent the last few times that's happened. And so that's
not kids exercising discretion. That's parents are saying, let's have

(02:40):
a longer weekend.

Speaker 1 (02:41):
Exactly. All right, Born, must to catch up with you.
We'll talk again in twenty five. Born Coyo, who's the
Secondary School Principals Association. For more from the Mic asking Breakfast,
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