RWNZ member appointed to The Correspondence School Board

Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) congratulates Jacky Stafford on her appointment as parent community representative to The Correspondence School Board of Trustees.

Ms Stafford and fellow government-appointee Don Blakeney were selected following calls for nominations and expressions of interest. They will sit on the board until 9th September, 2012.

Ms Stafford has a long-standing interest in educational issues, particularly in the rural sector, while recognising the wide variety of students now catered for by The Correspondence School.

She says: “The function of The Correspondence School has changed over the years with less focus on distance education for students in remote areas and a large focus on at-risk students. The school is responsible to the government to make sure all these students get the best education possible.”

Her own children began their pre-school education with The Correspondence School when the family farmed at Whangamomona in Taranaki. She also served on the Board of Trustees of Oueroa School in Central Hawke’s Bay for six years and is currently on the council of Lindisfarne College, an integrated boys’ school in Hastings.

Ms Stafford, from Waipukurau, serves on the RWNZ Education Committee and is the chairperson of the Rural Education Reference Group, whose goal is to ensure equity of access to educational opportunities and facilities for all rural students.