Auckland Schools’ Teacher Training Partnership trainee Luke Laban has been a welcome addition to the staff at Dilworth School this year. Recently, Luke set off for a five-week teaching placement at Western Springs College. We caught up with him and Dilworth’s Director of Teaching and Learning, Tonia Calverley, to learn more about the ASTTP programme and its evident benefits for both students and Dilworth.
ASTTP offers a school based initial teacher education (ITE) programme. Trainees on the scheme are placed in a school, in Luke’s case – Dilworth - with a secondary placement during the year. The scheme provides a pathway for students transitioning into teaching from other careers.
From Luke’s perspective, participating in the ASTTP scheme enabled him to follow his dream of a teaching career and allowed the students he is learning to teach to benefit from his broader life experience.
On-site Teacher Training at Dilworth
Dilworth has supported ASTTP since its inception and has now also partnered with The Teachers’ Institute (TTI). Director of Teaching and Learning at Dilworth, Tonia Calverley, strongly advocates for school-based teacher training.
“Our experience with the ASTTP scheme at Dilworth has confirmed the benefits of school-based training. This initiative, in partnership with the University of Waikato, aims to attract people with a variety of life skills into teaching, which is a real benefit to the profession”.
School-based teacher training offers a route for trainees transitioning to teaching from other careers and graduates coming straight from university. Financially, it is an appealing option for trainee teachers since their fees are covered, and a modest annual stipend is also provided. They are based at one school but go to a second school to gain further experience for a five-week block. Luke’s second school is Western Springs College.
Tonia recognised the benefits of this programme early on and believes the exposure to working in a school from the beginning of the year is a real plus for participants. She has observed that they "Get to experience a full year of school life and, when the time comes to start teaching, have a depth of learned experience from being embedded in a school."
Tonia says she has been impressed by the range and quality of applicants and the rich work and life experience they bring to the role. She encourages anyone in the wider Dilworth Community—Old Boys or whānau connected with the school who have always yearned to teach but need motivation or opportunity—to consider this pathway.
Luke Laban had an interesting and eclectic career before entering the ASTTP Programme. He completed a degree in Media Studies at the University of Auckland and then worked in TV production at SKY Sport for most of his twenties. He taught English as a second language in Japan and then moved into Public and Pacific Health, working with providers to distribute funding to young people. Says Luke, “I’ve squeezed a lot in!”
Working on the front line with young people in Japan showed him that teaching was his true calling. In most other roles, he says, “I just felt too removed from the people on the ground; I needed to be closer to my work.” A school principal told him about ASTTP, advising, “Any scheme that gives you more time in the classroom is the best preparation for teaching you can have.”
From a Samoan Pakeha background, Luke feels deeply connected to Dilworth and its mission. He says he was fortunate to have parents who passionately believed in education. His grandparents moved to New Zealand from Samoa to prioritise better education for their children.
“Giving back to serve your community is a huge thing in Samoan culture”, he says.
Luke is heavily involved in Rugby League. He has been coaching league and youth sports for five years, including female teams and the Warriors Pathways scheme. This love of rugby League and sports has become popular among Dilworth students! Luke mentions that a Rugby League pilot is about to start at Dilworth in a couple of weeks—exciting times for Dilworth league fans!
In his short time at Dilworth, Luke Laban has clearly made an impact on students, which he puts down to his ability to “Walk in their shoes.”
Luke says he loves working at Dilworth “The whole mission, the opportunity the boys have that they might not otherwise – it is so special”. He says the students here “Are the best kids, the way they care for each other and give everything they have”.
You can find out more about this scheme here.