Overview
Community-led transformation highlights the power of local communities as the driving force behind meaningful and sustainable change in education. Genuine community leadership goes beyond token consultation or occasional input—it places decision-making authority, resource control, and implementation responsibility directly in community hands. In practice, this might look like iwi-governed learning initiatives, parent-designed curriculum adaptations, or student-led school improvement projects where authority is authentically shared rather than merely delegated.
By building ecosystems where schools, families, and community organisations collaborate as equals, we create learning environments deeply connected to the needs, aspirations, and cultural identities of the communities they serve. This approach recognises parents and community members not as passive recipients or occasional advisors but as active partners with legitimate expertise in the design, implementation, and sustainability of educational initiatives.
Importantly, community-led transformation extends its impact to the broader education system through grassroots advocacy, responsive governance, participatory decision-making, and community-based funding initiatives. This approach fosters culturally responsive practices, particularly important for indigenous communities like Māori in New Zealand, ensuring that cultural values such as Te Ao Māori are central to educational transformation.
By empowering communities to lead change, we create more accountable, transparent, and responsive education systems that drive long-term, systemic transformation, expanding educational leadership and ensuring that reforms are sustainable beyond specific programs or funding cycles.
Presenters in more detail
| Jeff Wetzler | Jeff is co-founder of Transcend, an organization dedicated to the creation and proliferation of breakthrough school models. His passion for community-led transformation is a focus of Extraordinary Learning for All, a book he co-authored with colleagues from Transcend. Jeff is also a Hillary Fellow, and has spent time in New Zealand with that initiative. |
| Tony Monfiletto | Tony is Executive Director of the Instituto del Puente, the outward facing arm of FutureFocusedEducation. Over the years, he has been a leader in establishing the context for a new vision of high schools in his hometown of Albuquerque and across New Mexico. His broader vision is for schools to become assets that can make our communities healthier, more prosperous and just. |
| Barbara Ala’atoa | Former Principal and Chairperson of the Education Council, Barbara believes, “O le ala i le pule o le tautua” – The pathway to leadership is through service. A long term champion of equity, excellence and leadership, Barbara recently earned the NZ Order of Merit for her services to education. |
| Pam O’Connell | Pam O’Connell has worked internationally and nationally on many education panels, groups and projects. As a principal consultant, she partnered with Whanganui Iwi to co-design and implement an iwi-led education response in that rohe. Her strong interest in research, innovation, practice analysis, kaupapa Māori, capability building and strategic action supports her role in leading research and evaluation design, innovation and quality assurance across service delivery, evaluation. |
Provocations:
- What conditions and structures enable authentic community-led transformation where families, iwi, and local organisations are true decision-makers rather than just contributors or consultants?”
- “How can community-led approaches bridge cultural values and system requirements to create learning opportunities that are both locally relevant and systemically sustainable?”
EdRising 