Episode Details

Colin Andrews, principal of Blockhouse Bay Intermediate School in Auckland, New Zealand, explains how Envirokids turns student-led learning into real projects. Kids drove the reforesting of part of the school grounds, the footpath, an outdoor classroom and a pest control program, with teachers guiding through inquiry and student voice.

Students apply by letter to join Envirokids, about 30 kids who work with one teacher in blocks on Fridays. Two or three times a year, Andrews calls a Sunday work day where kids bring a parent and around 250 people get roughly 500 hours of work done in two hours.

What you'll learn

• Start with something you want, like planting trees, and let students shape it, as Andrews's students did by asking for a looping pathway.
• Look for teachers who can spot a question a student raises and pursue it with them.
• Tell students you will never reprimand them for asking a question, so mistakes become teachable moments.
• Cap a student group at a manageable size; Andrews went from 60 kids to about 30.
• Hold a weekend work day and ask each student to bring one parent.

Chapters

• 0:00 A learning fellowship on school transitions
• 2:39 Colin's school and its environmental focus
• 5:20 How students drove the forest and pathway
• 8:48 Giving students ownership with the right limits
• 10:53 How Envirokids is structured and who joins
• 13:42 Sunday work days with parents
• 14:57 Four ethics and the stars on the sleeve
• 16:51 The Envirokids teacher and one-teacher classrooms

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Questions this episode answers

How do you let students lead a school project without it going off track?
Andrews says it takes a teacher who can spot a question the kids raise and pursue it, acting as a guide on the side. He also tells students he will never reprimand them for asking a question, and he credits a supportive community.

How can a school get parents to help with manual work?
Andrews holds a Sunday work day two or three times a year and tells students they must bring a parent, or negotiate with a friend to bring theirs. About 250 people work two hours, which he says adds up to roughly 500 hours of work.

How do you recognize student service as well as academics?
Andrews's school works to four ethics: academic, cultural, sporting and service to the community. Students earn colored stars as an extrinsic reward and sew them on their sweater sleeves. Some kids chase the stars and others do not care, and that is fine.

About Colin Andrews

Principal of Blockhouse Bay Intermediate School in Auckland, New Zealand, a school of around 800 students where he has been principal for 12 years.

Links and resources

• Blockhouse Bay Intermediate School
• Pathway and other Envirokids projects
• Sanebox email tool
• Sanebox sponsor page
• Transformative Principal website
• Transformative Principal on Stitcher
• Refer a principal form
• Best Tools for Busy Administrators survey

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