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Amid the talk about the best ways to improve school attendance, Lesieli Oliver has been quietly getting on with the job.
She's the co-founder of Lālanga, an organisation that seeks to help Māori and Pasifika students engage and thrive at school. The latest attendance figures out last week, showed for the last quarter of last year regular attendance has improved, but still remains well below pre pandemic figures.
Lālanga's approach is to practically support and encourage schools, and to create excitement about school among students. It sets schools up with a weekly classroom box that delivers daily content, activities and individual workbooks to students, as well as lesson plans and support for teachers on a topic of their choosing.
She joins Kathryn to explain her philosophy, and how her own experiences as a young Tongan migrant has helped shape her passion to empower others.
Lesieli Oliver, co-founder of Lālanga. Right, Lālanga toolbox. Photo: Supplied, Lālanga.