High level of interest in Partnership Schools applications welcomed

&NewLine;<p><img class&equals;" alignright size-full wp-image-1885" src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;schoolnewsnz&period;fastrackdev&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2015&sol;11&sol;SND21-wk1-Partnership&lowbar;Schools-Catherine&lowbar;Isaac1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"SND21-wk1-Partnership Schools-Catherine Isaac1" style&equals;"margin&colon; 5px&semi; float&colon; right&semi;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"360" &sol;>The Partnership Schools Authorisation Board has welcomed the high level of interest in the third Partnership Schools Kura Hourua application round&comma; which closed on Friday&period; <&excl;--more--> <&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;In total&comma; we&&num;8217&semi;ve received 25 applications from educators and community groups across the country&comma; with strong M&amacr;ori and Pasifika representation among the applicants&comma;&&num;8221&semi; board chair Catherine Isaac said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;There are 10 from the Auckland region&comma; 14 are from elsewhere in the North Island including four from the Wellington region&comma; and one is from the South Island&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The applications are for a wide range of school levels&comma; including early childhood&comma; primary&comma; middle&comma; secondary&comma; senior secondary and composite schools&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;We&&num;8217&semi;re not surprised by the level of interest in this round&comma; having seen a high turnout of interested parties at the information sessions we held when the round was first announced&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The level of interest can be taken as a vote of confidence in a policy that is connecting education innovators with disadvantaged students whose needs are not being met by the existing state school system&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Ms Isaac said the board&comma; with support from the Ministry of Education&comma; would be conducting a rigorous evaluation process over the next two months&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Further information about the applications will be made public in due course&period;<&sol;p><&sol;p>&NewLine;