Kia Ata Mai Educational Trust (Kia Ata Mai) was founded by practising kaiako and educational leaders who shared a strong commitment to enhancing the quality of literacy programmes within Kura Kaupapa Māori and Māori-medium education settings.
Kia Ata Mai is driven by the belief that every mokopuna deserves access to the highest standard of learning opportunities. Many of the founding Trustees continue to play an active role in the organisation, contributing to both governance and operational functions that serve the Māori-medium education sector.
At its inception, Kia Ata Mai identified several key objectives to guide its work:
to develop and promote Māori literacy programmes for mokopuna in Kura Kaupapa Māori and Māori-medium schools that broaden and enrich their educational experiences;
to promote, support, and assist in the publication of high-quality, classroom-tested Māori-language resources suitable for use in Kura Kaupapa Māori and Māori-medium schools;
to support initiatives that uphold the quality and integrity of te reo Māori, and to provide professional learning and development opportunities for kaiako in Kura Kaupapa Māori settings;
to deliver effective training and professional development programmes for educators;
to actively support kaupapa Māori initiatives that contribute to the growth and sustainability of Māori education.
In 2017, Kia Ata Mai Educational Trust established Te Kōpuku High in Hamilton—a designated Special Character (Section 156) school. Te Kōpuku High provides both immersion and late immersion programmes for mokopuna in Years 7–13, continuing the vision of Kia Ata Mai, delivering excellence in Māori-medium education.
