Ryan Bridge: We need more ambitious leaders in education

Story of the week this week goes to a Herald piece about Ngaire Ashmore, the principal of Auckland Girls' Grammar.

Ten years ago, she took over and turned the place upside down.

Where there was failure, there's now a 92% university entrance mark for Year 13s. It was less than 50% when she started.

The article gives the impression of a driven, serious, and quite determined leader, there for the right reasons.

We need more of them.

Interestingly, one of the things she found most difficult was not the kids, but the teachers.

Getting them to believe the kids could actually do better and be better. Be more successful. That was the challenge.

Thank goodness she's succeeded.

We often, rightly, put focus on the curriculum and the style of teaching and the assessments, but at the end of the day, leadership, vision, goals, and guts are what drive organisations to improve.

It's as true in business as it is in schools.

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