Ms Rachel Fenton1
1Auckland Grammar School, New Zealand
With two days’ notice, Lockdown L4 restrictions for New Zealand begun on 24 March 2020. Auckland Grammar School’s International Department immediately readied staff with necessary equipment and remote access to enable the continuity of support and care for 170 international students and their residential caregivers.
Our focus was two-pronged centring on student well-being and monitoring online learning. This strategy led to an intensification of contact opportunities with each student and multi-layered stakeholder engagement via direct email, WeChat, Text, Video chat, EDMs, and GrammarNet.
Our aim was additionally to ensure accurate understanding of key information being disseminated, which involved multiple channels, first-language communication and simple English tailored to each audience.
Our findings have reinforced the link between student well-being and their academic success. Students who engaged in online learning, maintained good habits, and stayed connected with their peers remotely, were able to readily transition back to normalised classroom teaching.
The information garnered from March prepared us for the August Lockdown, where we were able to implement a proactive management system for students at potential risk of experiencing difficulties. Our daily structured staff meetings, enabled a cohesive, team-based approach and an opportunity to share successes and concerns and managing subsequent outreach.
The challenge of Lockdown spurred innovation. This has led to the development of new standards in communication and expectation around the methodology and frequency of communication with international parents, pathway providers and agent partners.
Biography:
Rachel Fenton is the Director of International at Auckland Grammar School. Under her leadership, the international programme grew by 55% EFT in 4 years, providing opportunity to reshape the welfare and support services for international students.
Rachel has worked in the international education industry for over 15 years and held various management roles in the tertiary sector. Her passion for international education started in Japan where she spent two years on the JET programme before moving to the UK and gaining valuable experience in education marketing and recruitment. Returning to NZ she honed her professional skills at Massey University before taking on a commercial institute role at the University of Auckland.