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Ms Kay-Lee Jones received her national award for Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching – Kaupapa M�ori category in September 2020.

Kay-Lee Jones is a teacher of teachers, committed to “helping grow a heart for te Ao M�ori�. The Board Chair of Te P� o R�kaihautū describes her as “a great role model not only for her wh�nau but all who meet her.�  

What sets Kay-Lee apart is the way she radiates two important qualities. She personifies manaakitanga as she uplifts and empowers her ‘kaiako � �p�p�’, and deeply embodies whanaungatanga, stating that “you can empower teachers holistically to be strong in a M�ori and a P�keh� world by really getting to know them.�  

“I made the choice to learn te reo M�ori. I love it and will always be a learner. I love teaching the history of our land and seeing a spark in those I teach from connecting with language, culture and identity.�

One �konga describes how she “builds a strong sense of whanaungatanga through her enactment of the learner/teacher duality of ako. This is undertaken in a way that seeks to akiaki the mana of the individual learner…� 

Kay-Lee understands the importance of her work, inspiring her future teachers to also value culturally-relevant spaces, to normalise this in their teaching practices and to embellish this in their children’s futures. This is espoused in the whakataukī that closely relates to her teaching, “poipoi� te k�kano kia pu�wai ai – nurture the seed and it will blossom�.