He Whakatauākī
E kore e taea e te whenu kotahi
ki te raranga i te whāriki
kia mōhio tātou kiā tātou.
Mā te mahi tahi ō ngā whenu,
mā te mahi tahi ō ngā kairaranga,
ka oti tēnei whāriki.
I te otinga
me titiro tātou ki ngā mea pai ka puta mai.
Ā tana wā,
me titiro hoki
ki ngā raranga i makere
nā te mea, he kōrero ano kei reira.
The tapestry of understanding
can not be woven
by one strand alone.
Only by the working together of strands
and the working together of weavers
will such a tapestry be completed.
With its completion
let us look at the good that comes from it.
And, in time
we should also look
at those stitches which have been dropped,
because they also have a message.
nā Kūkupa Tirikatene
What we do
We address the areas of greatest educational needs from early childhood to life-long learning in your community. We identify significant hurdles and work with the education sector and others to change the system to create more equitable learning pathways for all. We currently lead six main campaigns.
Our mission is to drive systems change to make education and skills more effective and equitable. Our vision is Tino rangatiratanga for everyone, through lifelong learning.
We are an independent, not-for-profit charitable trust (Charity Registration: CC48407).
Our Values
Whanaungatanga: At COMET, we build relationships, collaborate and partner.
Manaakitanga: At COMET, we care, respect & embrace the diversity and mana of our team and our communities.
Mana Motuhake: At COMET, we affirm and work towards all people having control of their future through learning.
Annual Report 2022-2023 and Statement of Intent 2023/24 to 2025/26
Our Amohau
Our Amohau were chosen for their deep knowledge of tikanga, history, and te reo. They support us to challenge that the mana of the whānau, hapū, and iwi are maintained, and that our work is effective for Māori learners.
Tame Te Rangi
(Ngāti Whātua / Ngāpuhi)
Rereata ‘Ral’ Makiha
(Te Mahurehure, Te Arawa)
Our Trustees
Strong governance is vital to any organisation. The Te Hononga Akoranga COMET board unites a diverse talent from the sectors of education, finance, business and community development.
Our Team
Our mission is driving systems change to make education and skills more effective and equitable.
Our vision is tino rangatiratanga for everyone, through lifelong learning.
Katheren Leitner
Chief Executive
Linda Hu
Director of Finance
Avni Jain
Administrator
Noah Meggitt
Kaitūhono Māori
Dr Rajshree Krishnan
Data and Evidence Manager
Ying Yang
STEM Project Manager
Jonathan Longstaff
Operations & Communications Officer
Priyal Vidanage
Finance Administrator
Shaun Gear
Project Development Specialist
Dr Erika Freemantle
WeSTEM Project Manager
Our History
Our former organisation, the City of Manukau Education Trust (COMET), was born out of the commitment of the mayor and councillors to better education provision in Manukau City. The organisation was formally established as a charitable trust in October 1999.
Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2002, COMET became a Council Controlled Organisation (CCO). We resettled in 2012 with an Auckland-wide remit under Auckland Council. In October 2023, we became a fully independent charitable trust. We remain grateful for Auckland Council's continued support.