History has been made in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Amy Geue, a teacher with 15 years’ experience in Australian Deaf education, is the first Deaf person to become a principal in more than 100 years of Deaf education in New Zealand.
The Deaf community has been crying out for Deaf representation at the leadership level, as revealed in a recent exposé of the problems faced by Deaf students, teachers and parents in a TVNZ+ report.
It found that only two of the 12-strong leadership at Ko Taku Reo, the school that oversees Deaf Education, were either Deaf or had lived Deaf experience (e.g. Deaf parents or Deaf children). This led to frustration among the community that decisions about their education were often made by people who didn’t have a full understanding of their needs.
Geue’s appointment breaks that cycle.
Geue was born Deaf into a hearing family. She has two Deaf sisters and says she was inspired to go to university by her first Deaf teacher.
She moves to Ko Taku Reo from a position at the top of Deaf education in South Australia.
She is a fluent New Zealand Sign Language user who has taught across both primary and secondary settings as well as being an Early Childhood educator. She’s also played a role in empowering teachers and schools to better support Deaf and Hard of Hearing students.
Initial reactions were wholly positive. Beca Harper, a Deaf teacher from Dunedin, said the appointment was “exciting”.
“Such a positive move for Deaf education. I’m very excited to see where Amy will lead us.”
Evelyn Pateman, an interpreter based in Christchurch who has Deaf parents and a Deaf husband, said the Deaf community was also happy with the school’s decision, adding “it is a start, but more change needs to happen”.
That change is about ensuring a wider acceptance of NZSL and Deaf culture. Geue is well placed to make sure that goes ahead, with her message to parents on the Ko Taku Reo website being “Deaf people can do anything. Deaf people can achieve what they set out to achieve. I really want to partner with students, parents, families, staff, teachers, the Deaf community and the Māori community”.
Geue will take up her position in the first week of Term 4.
