Karen Sewell heads new board at Correspondence school

Karen Sewell

Former Chief Executive and Secretary for Education Karen Sewell has been appointed as the new chairperson of the Board of Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (Te Kura) – formerly known as the Correspondence School. 

“Karen Sewell has provided strong leadership to the education sector and has shown a determined commitment to improving educational outcomes for our priority learners – many of whom are students of Te Kura. I congratulate her and the other appointees and I am confident Te Kura can look forward to the next three years under the guidance and leadership of a committed and very capable Board,” said Minter of Education Hekia Parata.

As the country’s largest school, Te Kura traces its history back to 1922 when The Correspondence School was established to provide lessons to approximately 100 isolated primary school children scattered throughout New Zealand. Today the school has more than 26,000 students a year studying full or part-time.

Te Kura provides personalised learning programmes for students from early childhood to Year 13, as well as for adult learners and those with special education needs.

The other new appointees to the Board are former Principal of both Rangi Ruru Girls’ School and Co-director of Unlimited Paenga Tawhiti, Gillian Heald; University of Canterbury Professor of e-Learning and member of the Governance Board for Ultrafast Broadband in Schools / Network for Learning, Niki Davis; and Paul Adams, Managing Director for Carrus Corporation Ltd, a successful businessman and developer.

The appointments to Te Kura’s Board of Trustees are for a full term of three years commencing 10 September 2012.