Scots College – Learning. For Life.

In February 2010, Save the Children New Zealand entered into a strategic relationship with the Drucker Society in the USA to host the Drucker Society of New Zealand. Drucker the father of modern management was passionate about how people organised and conducted themselves in business, government and civil society and believed that the barometer for individual success should not only be measured by material gain but by one's values and ability to be of service to others.  This aligns well with the ethos of Save the Children founded on the outstanding leadership and volunteerism of Eglantyne Jebb and the work of volunteer Save the Children New Zealand Branches that strive to make a difference.

The partnership enables the seeding and development of a Drucker Society in New Zealand and the use of Peter Drucker's teachings and management framework to deliver a leadership and community service programme to senior school students in Years 11 to 13.  The Drucker in High Schools programme is being piloted in the Wellington region.  The high schools programme nurtures and supports young leadership with the help of highly talented volunteers that are community leaders and specialists in their respective fields.  The volunteers facilitate Drucker sessions in which they mentor and support the students to develop and implement a community project.

Recently, Dr. Allan Freeth, Chief Executive of Telstraclear and Chair of the Save the Children NZ Board and Mrs. Margaret Roberts, Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers worked with the Scots College students as they mapped out their child protection in emergencies project.  Challenging the young leaders to be value focused Dr. Allen Freth said,

You, will have the ability to change the world - in a Nobel prize winning way or a smaller, but just as meaningful way... Drucker provides a framework to think about our brand, or ourselves as a project.

The Scots College project is inspired by the recent earthquake in Chile where the college has a partner school as well as by the geographic vulnerability of Scots College itself in the event of a similar occurrence.  Scots College is located in the Miramar Peninsula connected to the rest of the Wellington city and region by an isthmus.  Given that most parents of the students attending Scots College either work or live in the city and beyond, kilometres away from the college, the Drucker students' club has decided to raise awareness on child protection in emergencies while fundraising for Chile.  The plan includes ensuring the safety of students in a junior school a block away from Scots College and providing emergency supply kits to local families in need.  The group are researching their school's emergency policy and response processes and will use peer education to ensure the messages resonate and stick with fellow students, families, local communities and businesses.  The vision of this project is big and the students envision replication across the Wellington region, nationally and internationally, possibly starting with Chile.  Drucker Society volunteers will guide the students to roll out the project in achievable phases.