Order of Merit honours a lifetime of learning and leadership

A belief in taking opportunities when they come up, and influencing outcomes for students, is how Sandy Pasley made the decision to become a principal.

Beginning her career as a chemistry teacher at Waitaki Girls’ High School, Sandy took time off to have children before returning on a part-time basis. It wasn’t long before she was offered a temporary position as head of science.

Leadership advisor Sandy Pasley was recently named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours for her services to education

Then, making the move to Auckland, Sandy was offered an assistant principal position at Birkenhead College, followed soon after by a deputy principal position.

“I just sort of fell into things – this sounds like a terrible way to have a career!” laughs Sandy. “This is why it’s important to take the opportunities.” Sandy’s career has now spanned over 40 years, including more than 20 years as principal. She was the first lay principal at St Mary’s College in Auckland from 2002 to 2011 and, most recently, was principal of Baradene College of the Sacred Heart in Auckland from 2011 until last year.

Then, at the end of the year, she found out she was named a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours.

“I was hugely honoured, and I honestly feel that there are many deserving people out there and felt humbled by it.”

Stepping up to contribute

“To really learn and grow as a person, it’s important to challenge yourself,” says Sandy. “If you don’t challenge yourself, you’ll never know what you’re capable of doing. You’ve got to take opportunities to develop.”

Sandy is a long-time executive of the Secondary Principals’ Association of New Zealand. In 2015, she was the first female president to be elected, and she became a life member in 2017.

Sandy found belonging to principal associations extremely valuable and enjoyed the chances to get advice on situations she experienced.

“I think the best ways to learn are just talking to each other; it’s important to be open to learning and not think that you need to have all the answers.”

She adds that the role was challenging at times. “You have to make sure that you’re representing all of the sector and thinking about how changes are going to affect everybody.”

Leadership advisor Sandy Pasley

Sandy admits she was daunted, but as principal of Baradene College, reminded herself she would tell the students to “step up and not be afraid”. “I thought ‘come on, how could you tell them that and not do it yourself?’.” Stepping down as principal of Baradene College was a difficult decision, she says. “I miss the vibrancy and the energy and the life that a school has,” she says. “We had just finished a major building programme at the school; I felt that we had achieved quite a few of the goals that we had set, and it was time for somebody to come and take it further.”

After leaving her tumuaki position, Sandy joined the Ministry of Education as leadership advisor, which she describes as a service by principals, for principals. She enjoys being a listening ear and giving principals the courage and encouragement to make decisions.

“I’ve had lots of people support me throughout my career and it’s nice to be in a position where you can support other people and appreciate what they are going through,” she says. “Being a principal can be quite lonely, even though you’ve got a senior leadership team. “Ultimately, you’re the one that has to make the decisions and that can weigh quite heavily on people.”

Taking inspiration from others

When asked to name leaders who have inspired her own leadership style, Sandy mentions a lecture by Dr Molly Neville that she attended when studying towards her master’s in educational administration.

The lecture was about the importance of culture and the fact that an organisation hinges on what people do when no one is looking and how they, as individuals, feel about the organisation.

“I tried never to say it was my school because I think it’s always our school. To be successful, you build the right team and get everyone working together in the same direction and the staff, the students, the boards, the parents all feeling like it’s their school.”

Sandy also mentions former principal of Birkenhead College, Jim Mathewson, as a great role model. “He was an exceptional team builder, and he went to great lengths to make sure he had the very best teachers for the students and staff who really lived the culture of high expectations for students.”

Sandy also credits the past principal of Waitaki Girls’ High School, Jeanette Aker. “She was amazing, she was very relational, passionate about giving the students opportunities and she was a fantastic role model.”

Reflections and advice

Reflecting on her experience in the education sector, Sandy says a big thing she learned was that “sometimes people don’t think the way you think”. “It’s important to find out why they feel the way they do and what frame of reference they are coming from.”

Sandy also found getting ākonga voice was critical. “You can get it in different ways, from chatting, from watching, from anonymous surveys. I really think students are honest, they are usually pretty fair and you can have great learnings from what they say.”

Sandy reminds principals that leadership advisors are there to support them. "Always make the decisions you know to be right, even though they can be the hardest decisions.”

In April, Sandy will attend an official ceremony at Government House to be made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. She acknowledges the “huge number of people” who have supported her. “I couldn’t have done the job I’ve done without the great support I’ve got from my family, from principal colleagues, from staff I’ve worked with, from parents and boards that have been supportive and from the students that have been fantastic.”

The leadership advisor service

The leadership advisor service is a team of experienced current or previous principals who provide support for current principals. The service has been expanded and starts the year with five special focus leadership advisors in addition to two leadership advisors in each region. These include:

• two area/composite school advisors, one based in Te Waipounamu and one in Te Ika a Maui
• tumuaki Māori advisor based in Tāmaki Makaurau/Te Tai Tokerau
• a Pacific advisor based in Wellington
• two rural and small school leadership advisors, one based in Te Waipounamu and one in Te Ika a Maui.

Leadership advisors can support in areas such as developing leadership capability and supporting attendance and engagement initiatives.

You can read more about leadership advisors on the Education Workforce website.

Leadership advisors – Education Workforce