Former Waimea College student Scott Haines confirmed as new principal

Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Waimea College's new principal won't have far to travel to fill his new role.

Scott Haines, the principal of Motueka High School, was named the new Waimea College principal today. He will take charge at the 1530-student school, the largest in the top of the south,  at the start of term four.  He succeeds Larry Ching who retired from Waimea College at the end of last year, after 12 years in the top job.

During a 20-minute presentation to the staff, board and parents' association on Friday, Haines confessed that as a junior student at Waimea College in the early 1990s he had been a 'bit of a lad' who was at risk of not achieving.

He joked that he had set his sights on being a principal from a young age and decided he should start spending some time with one, an experience that helped him empathise with the students sitting nervously outside his office.

'Thankfully there were a number of teachers at Waimea College who took an interest in me, got alongside me and mentored me.'

That experience had shown him the impact good teachers could have and the importance of their work, he said.

In truth, Haines trained as an accountant at NMIT, hated the profession and turned to teaching. He rose quickly, becoming the youngest secondary school principal in the country when he took the helm at Motueka High School in term four of 2009 aged 32. He began his teaching career at Fiordland College and then spent eight years at Ashburton College teaching business studies and accounting, rising to deputy principal.

Haines, who was born in Nelson, raised in Richmond and educated at Henley School and Waimea Intermediate, is a keen hunter and fisher and spent 12 years as a volunteer firefighter. His wife Kelly is also a former Waimea College student and their two daughters were born during their time in Motueka.

Waimea College board of trustees chairman Garry Hammond said a large part of the search process was for the school itself to narrow down what attributes were key for its leader. The list of eight 'personal specifications' they came up with was: good relational skills; strong personal integrity; someone who practised shared leadership; was inspiring; would foster Maori achievement; was a competent manager; would prioritise educational achievement; and valued holistic education.

Hammond said any of the three short-listed candidates would have made good principals but Haines was the best match for those specifications as well as with the 'values and vision' of the school.

On Friday the three short-listed candidates did a half-hour question and answer session with  a group of 27 selected students, met with the senior management team and made a 20-minute presentation to the whole staff.

Hammond said the board came to the same decision as these other groups, and that much of the students' feedback independently mirrored the opinions of the board.

'It is fair to say that Scott has a clear mandate from all the stakeholders,' said Hammond.

'What he offers is not just good teaching and leadership experience but a vision of how to move the college from its already pretty high position in expectations and standards. He offered a vision to gain even better achievement.

He's engaging, articulate and passionate about education and student achievement and he gives us confidence that he will be able to set the course and bring the staff and students with him.'

Haines will take up the position from the beginning of term four as one of Motueka's  deputy principals, Paul Blackbeard, is on sabbatical in term three. Hammond said that although Haines was only obliged to give Motueka High School eight weeks' notice, which would have enabled him to start at the beginning of term three, Motueka needed him more than Waimea did and allowing him to delay the start by a term was partly to support Motueka.

Motueka High School board of trustees chairman Ian Palmer said Haines had 'raised the bar' at the school and it would be a challenge to find a replacement who could continue that.

'When you've got a young, upwardly mobile principal with a broad skill set at a school of our size, you expect them to further their careers, which is exactly what this is.

'He is a very complete principal and Waimea College are very lucky to have him.'

He said Haines was special for his financial management skills, his drive and his relentless focus on student engagement and achievement.

He said he was 'fantastic' with students and had excellent people skills: 'He's very good at disarming difficult situations.'

Since becoming principal at Motueka he had turned around a budget that was operating at a 'significantly concerning' deficit to have a cash surplus of $70,000 at the end of 2014.

Motueka's board will begin its search process for a replacement at its meeting tomorrow night and Palmer said he hoped the school would have a new principal in place for the start of term four.