APIS

Maria Neville-Foster Appointed Chief Executive of NZCEO and APIS

The Board of the New Zealand Catholic Education Office (NZCEO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Maria Neville-Foster as Chief Executive Officer of NZCEO and the Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools (APIS).

The Board recently completed its recruitment process and is delighted to welcome Maria to this important leadership role.

Maria brings extensive leadership experience in Catholic education, strong strategic capability, and a deep commitment to the mission and future of Catholic education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Throughout her career she has demonstrated excellence in educational leadership, stakeholder engagement, organisational development, and strengthening Catholic special character.

NZCEO Board Chair John Gallaher said the board was delighted with Maria's appointment.
"Maria is a respected and values-driven leader whose faith, experience and commitment to service strongly align with the mission of NZCEO. The Board is confident she will provide outstanding leadership as we continue to support Catholic education throughout New Zealand."

Jenny Gordon, Chair, APIS Executive said “APIS and Proprietors welcome and celebrate the appointment of Maria Neville-Foster. Maria is a passionate advocate for high-quality education grounded in Special Character. Her unique combination of skills, leadership and experience positions her well to further strengthen and advance the State Integrated School sector.”

APIS congratulates Maria on her appointment and looks forward to working closely with her in the New Year to support the continued growth and success of the sector.
Maria said she was honoured to accept the appointment.

"I am honoured and excited to be appointed Chief Executive Officer of NZCEO and APIS. Our special character schools are uniquely positioned within New Zealand's education system, and it is a privilege to lead and advocate for this important sector.”

I look forward to building strong relationships with proprietors, school leaders, government agencies, and stakeholders across the education community. I also acknowledge the outstanding contribution of Kevin Shore, whose leadership has strengthened both organisations. It is an honour to build on the strong foundation he has established as we continue to support and grow our special character schools."
As Chief Executive, Maria will provide leadership across NZCEO and APIS, working closely with proprietors, school leaders, bishops, government agencies, and sector partners to advance the mission and objectives of Catholic education.

Maria is currently the Principal of Sacred Heart College, Napier, having held that position since 2018.

She has held education leadership roles in both state and state integrated schools for the last twenty years having initially trained and undertaken her first teaching role in Ireland. Maria has a Master of Arts in Education (Hons) and a Bachelor of Science in Education (Hons) through Limerick University in Ireland.

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PRINCIPAL'S DAY 29 JULY 2026
The Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools (APIS) and the New Zealand Catholic Education Office (NZCEO) wishes all our principals in the state integrated school sector a Happy Principals Day!
The student success in our schools starts with a passionate and driven school leader who can capture the hearts and minds of the students, staff, and the school community. It’s not a job for the feint hearted but it is an incredibly fulfilling role and one that has significant influence in enabling our wonderful young men and women to thrive.
Thank you for what you do every day in promoting and preserving the special character of your school and for ensuring that every child receives the attention and support they deserve.

REMINDER - Expression of Interest APIS Workshops - Working Well Together - Proprietor & School Board Relationships - Closing Date Extended

APIS is offering practical workshops in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington for proprietors, particularly proprietor chairs, and presiding members of school boards.
The workshops will focus on one of the most important relationships in a state-integrated school: the relationship between the proprietor and the school board. When this relationship works well, there is clarity, trust, respect, and a shared commitment to the school’s special character and success.
Although APIS does not usually focus directly on school boards, in this case it makes sense to involve presiding members. They are often the key communication link between the board and the proprietor and play an important role in building a constructive partnership.
Others involved in the proprietor–school board relationship are welcome to attend; however, the workshop is particularly focused on proprietor chairs and school board presiding members.
These workshops are for all state-integrated schools, across the full range of faith-based and philosophical special characters. The focus is not on one particular tradition, but on how proprietors and boards can understand each other’s roles, respect each other’s responsibilities, maintain appropriate boundaries, and work together in the best interests of the school community.
We encourage proprietor chairs and presiding members to attend together where possible.
Presenters
The workshops will be led by Dr Kevin Shore and Karen Raitt, bringing together practical governance experience and sector knowledge.
Dr Kevin Shore, CEO APIS, brings significant experience in the state-integrated school sector, including the role of proprietors, the protection of special character, and the practical realities of working well with school boards.
Karen Raitt Deputy CEO, brings strong school governance experience, including seven years with the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSBA) supporting school boards and good governance practice.
Karen’s interest in integrated schooling also began personally, as a parent of two children who attended a Montessori primary school. This gives her a broad perspective beyond any single faith tradition, with a focus on supporting all integrated schools to build strong, respectful and well-understood relationships between proprietors and boards.
The workshop dates are as follows:
• Auckland – 19 August, 6pm to 8pm
• Wellington – 9 September, 6pm to 8pm
• Christchurch - 16 September, 6pm to 8pm
Further details will be provided once participant numbers have been confirmed.
Please RSVP by 17 July 2026 to [email protected] if you are interested in attending.
Thank you to everyone who has registered their interest to date.

Celebrating 50 years of State-Integrated Schools
The publication has been launched with a presentation made to the Minister of Education, the Hon Erica Stanford.
We would like to thank all those involved in getting the publication completed. This effort reflects our enduring theme: Stronger Together
Link below:
https://www.apis.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/APIS-50-Years-08-screen.pdf

Left - Karen Raitt, Deputy CEO for NZCEO
Middle - Hon Erica Stanford, Minister of Education
Right - Dr Kevin Shore, CEO for NZCEO

The Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools (APIS) and the New Zealand Catholic Education Office (NZCEO) wishes all of our principals in the state integrated school sector a Happy Principals Day!

We want to join several of the national peak education bodies such as the PPTA and NZEI in acknowledging the fantastic work you do in leading our wonderful school communities. The student success in our schools starts with a passionate and driven school leader who can capture the hearts and minds of the students, staff and the school community. It’s not a job for the feint hearted but it is an incredibly fulfilling role and one that has significant influence in enabling our wonderful young men and women to thrive.

Thank you for what you do every day in promoting and preserving the special character of your school and for ensuring that every child receives the attention and support they deserve.

The Association of Proprietors of Integrated Schools (APIS) and the New Zealand Catholic Education Office were saddened to hear of the passing of Nikki Kaye.

Nikki held the role of Minister of Education through the period when Paul Ferris was CEO of APIS and NZCEO. Paul remembers Nikki as someone of integrity, vision and energy and who was supportive of the work of state integrated schools in New Zealand.
Nikki Kaye was the Minister of Education who completed negotiations and signed off on the 2017 Quantity Funding agreement providing for the government to pay 85% of the costs of new classrooms in situations where the government introduced education policies that required proprietors to build new facilities. One example of this was when new teacher student ratios were introduced requiring some schools to build more classrooms to operationalize this policy. This settlement also provided a compensation payment to proprietors for past policy changes where proprietors were not compensated. This was a significant agreement and one for which our sector was grateful to the government for and in particular for the part that Nikki Kaye played in its successful conclusion.

APIS and NZCEO pass on our prayers and support to Nikki’s family. She has left us far too early but her passion, enthusiasm and goodwill is something that we will always remember her for and we are grateful for her life and service in Aotearoa.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻; 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆 – 𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀

APIS has developed a series of video resources to capture the history of the one-hundred-year battle to gain state support for what we now know as state integrated schools. The videos contain many very powerful stories that highlight that our current state integrated schools stand on the shoulders of the sacrifices made by those who started our journey as private schools.

This series of four videos is available on the APIS website:

The story of state integrated education – Video Resources The story of state integrated education; our journey, and where we are today – Video ResourcesNZCEO have developed a series of video resources to capture the history of the one hundred year battle to gain state support for what we now know as state integrated schools. The catalyst was the concern ...

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