About

As the first Teal school in New Zealand, Orewa Autism Spectrum Institute of Studies is was founded to educate students with Autism and provide training for undergraduate students through paid internships to study Autism Spectrum Disorders first hand.
The school will provide Autism focused pedagogy and curriculum leveraging the latest best practice techniques from around the globe. Students will also have the first opportunity to live as term time boarders at the schools boarding room nearby.

School management philosophy and structure

The school will be managed using Teal and Agile Management practices. Classrooms will run as Scrum Teams, with facilitators (lead teachers) as Scrum Masters. Team members will also belong to guilds that meet weekly to spread knowledge and cross pollinate learnings from each classroom. Guild themes include:
  1. physiotherapy
  2. occupational therapy
  3. speech and language
  4. Music
  5. Physical education

 

The head of school (titled only for external reference in relationships with the MOH and MOE) will run a morning scrum of scrums combining the admin, accommodation and teaching teams.

Staffing will comprise a small core administration unit, staff trainers, core teachers and the head of school. Teachers aides and specialist staff (OT, SLT, Physiotherapist etc) will be university undergraduates – teamed with a specialist staff trainer through their guilds.

Interns will have the chance for real hands-on developmental tutoring with students. A chance to test their theories and leverage from the rest of their guild.

With Orewa beach minutes away and  Auckland city nearby, OASIS School takes life-work balance seriously. We encourage you to bring your whole self to work, and to leave work behind when the weekend arrives.

Each team member is encouraged to raise tensions (problems or concerns with our current practices and facilities) and propose solutions using Loomio.

Both staff and interns are challenged to continuously seek improvement at an individual student level and for the school as a whole.

There is no hierarchy but the school is bound by its obligations to provide the highest care and education possible to our students.

Sponsorship opportunities

We are open to sponsorship of all school facilities including but not limited to:
  • the design and construction of the residential facilities
  • the swimming pool and sports equipment
  • the arts and crafts facilities for the vocational area.
  • maintenance of the facilities
  • A university partnership for the school and curriculum for internship program
The project will be built with agile or incremental expansion at its core. The dormitories aimed to be expandable, bedroom by bedroom using modular prefabricated construction.
Much like the school’s physical structure can expand, our teaching capacity can modularly increase as we create new Scrum Teams of interns and facilitators.

Vocational studies, work and autonomy

Vocational studies will seek to support the local community with skills like basic carpentry,  painting, arts, weaving, basket making, blind making, candle making and the likes.
Students will be transitioned to their vocational skill and an equivalent of a working day. After which they will be supported in developing self help and personal skills within the dormitory.
The ultimate goal being a semi autonomous life, either within the schools dedicated dormitory nearby or in a satellite shared house.