REAP expands activities, office to open in Ohakune

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 43, 8 April 1986, Page 10

REAP expands activities, office to open in Ohakune

Soon to make a more visible impact upon the Waimarino is the Rural Education Activities Programme — more commonly known as R.E.A.P. Rental of a permanent office in Ohakune is being negotiated to supplement rooms recently purchased in Taihape. The Taihape office is already becoming a focal point for community activity. The Waimarino office will provide a base for staff employed by R.E.A.P. and a venue for the activities in which they are involved. These personnel are Liz Mortland and Peter Sherwin, who job-share the position of community education organiser and operate from Taihape, Judy Doyle, visiting teacher for the Taihape-Ruapehu region, and Vera Wilson, community pre-school worker for the Ohakune area. Also employed through R.E.A.P. but working only in the T aihape area are Audrey Cooper, another community pre-school worker, and Lorene Hope, secretarial assistant. R.E.A.P. is one of thirteen similar programmes established by the Depart-

ment of Education to address the problem of imbalance of educational resources between rural and urban areas. The aim is toallow remote areas access to some of the specialist services in education. One part of the package is a staffing allowance of one full-time secondary school teacher, divided equally between Taihape and Ruapehu Colleges. This enables these colleges to offer a wider range of subjects to smaller groups of students than they would otherwise be able to. Also provided are 240 days of teacher's wages per year, to be divided among all the schools in the region. Exchange This enables relief teachers to be employed, allowing permanent teachers to travel to other schools or areas to exchange ideas, and develop their professional competence. The two part-time community pre-school workers are employed to promote pre-school activities in their respective areas. They encourage the sett-ing-up of informal play groups for those not involved in organised groups, and advise and support all pre-school activities. Vera Wilson travels from Horopito to Karioi as a part of this work. Judy Doyle, a visiting teacher, is employed parttime and based in Ohakune. Her area encompasses the entire R.E.A.P. region, that is, the catchment areas for both Ruapehu and Taihape Colleges, a total of 15 schools. She is one of seventythree visiting teachers throughout New Zealand who provide a specialist teacher's advisory service, only extended to rural areas with the inception of R.E.A.P. Judy Doyle works with children who may be having problems at school, in response to referrals from teachers, parents, or in some cases the young people themselves. As a part of her role of providing support for young people, teachers and parents, Mrs Doyle also liaises with other agencies such as psychological services, Poi-" ice and the Departments of Social Welfare and Health. Liz Mortland and Peter Sherwin also cover the entire R.E.A.P. region. They believe that community education involves encouraging the development of a comprehensive system

of educational, recreational, social and cultural services for all people in the community. They see their role as having two aspects: •as facilitators, linking learning needs in the community to resources available. This involves them in co-ordinating and organising courses and learning activities; •community development, encouraging and stimulating people in different communities to come forward with ideas and suggestions, and then assisting them to achieve these. The community education organisers use various institutions and organisations to bring these learning opportunities to the region including the Wanganui Regional Community College, Ruapehu and Taihape College night classes, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and established community groups.

Since its inception in 1 978 the working of the Taihape-. Ruapehu R.E.A.P. has been overseen by a management committee, made up of representatives from various community group. Until now most delegates to this committee have come from educational institutions, and few from other sections of the community. To overcome this, meetings will be reorganised starting at the Courthouse, Ohakune, on Wednesday 16th April. Administrative . matters will be dealt with in the first half, from 1pm to 3pm. Then from 3pm the meeting will be open to members of the community and local group representatives to have their say. It is hoped that community representatives from the Waimarino will come along to let the management committee know what R.E.A.P. can do for this area.