Laura Stutz

PLD Consultant

Ko Puheke te Maunga

Ko Māmaru te waka

Ko Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa te iwi

Ko Taupō te marae

Ko Laura taku ingoa

Laura is an education consultant who is working within the Waikato area. She supports schools with kaupapa Māori and facilitates our Niho Taniwha programme.

Laura’s areas of expertise are:

  • mana enhancing practice and responsive pedagogies

  • cultural capabilities

  • literacy acquisition

  • across and within school leadership roles.

Laura is working across a range of schools and Kāhui Ako in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Auckland supporting kaiako on their Niho Taniwha haerenga (journey). She co-facilitates our Niho Taniwha introductory workshops and is leading our Niho Taniwha online courses. As someone who lives and breathes the uaratanga of Niho Taniwha, you can count on her to support you to lift where you stand, know better and do better, and stand close together in your efforts to improve outcomes for ākonga Māori.

With a true commitment to evaluation and deeply knowing impact, Laura is working closely with Dr Melanie Atkinson and Renee Neville on a research project to understand the impact the Niho Taniwha kaupapa has in terms of improving outcomes for ākonga Māori.

Prior to joining Evaluation Associates | Te Huinga Kākākura Mātauranga, Laura was an experienced classroom practitioner in a Cambridge kura, a leader within her Kāhui Ako and previously a team leader. Laura has a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with a literacy endorsement, with papers in educational leadership.

Laura is committed to developing mana-enhancing practices at every opportunity, and empowering kaiako to raise ākonga achievement. Laura enjoys developing and executing professional development programmes and leading adult learners through both theoretical and practical exercises. She is committed to driving te reo and tikanga Māori.

Laura enjoys spending time with her whānau, getting outside and going for a run and anything creative in her spare time.

Here is the blog post that Laura has written to share her thinking with the education sector: