After More Than 50 Years in Education, a School Principal Is Preparing to Say Goodbye

For more than five decades, Alan McIntyre has spent his working life in primary education. Now, after leading the same Auckland school for more than 36 years, he is preparing to close one of the longest chapters of his career.

McIntyre has been principal of Owairoa Primary School in Howick since 1990. During that time, thousands of children have passed through the school’s gates, and some of those former pupils later returned with children of their own.

This week, McIntyre received a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to education at an investiture ceremony attended by New Zealand Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro.

The honour comes as he approaches retirement at the end of the current school year.

When McIntyre first became principal in 1990, Owairoa Primary had 251 students. The school later grew to more than 1,000 pupils at its peak.

But numbers are only one part of the story he tells about his career.

McIntyre has described education as a lifelong passion rather than simply a profession. Over the decades, he has worked alongside students, teachers, families and community members while helping the school introduce new programmes and technology.

He was an early supporter of international programmes for primary-school students and established an international teaching exchange programme. In 2015, Owairoa also formed a sister-school relationship with Chaotian Primary School in Guangzhou, China.

At the school, McIntyre introduced a Digital Dream Lab where students could explore science and technology through tools including 3D printing, virtual reality, drones and robotics.

He also established the Super Start programme, designed to help children become familiar with school before they officially begin their education.

For McIntyre, however, the most meaningful part of his work has always been the people.

He has said that watching young people become more confident, discover their strengths and develop their potential has been one of the most rewarding parts of being an educator.

That perspective has shaped the way he views the recognition he has now received.

Rather than seeing the honour as something belonging only to him, McIntyre has described it as recognition of the many students, teachers, families, colleagues and mentors who shared his journey.

His retirement will mark a major change for a school that has been closely associated with his leadership for decades. A new principal is being sought to lead Owairoa into its next chapter.

McIntyre, meanwhile, still has several months with the students and staff he has worked alongside for years.

After more than 50 years in education and more than three decades at the same school, his career is coming to an end not with a dramatic departure, but with a final school year surrounded by the community he has served.

For a man who says his focus was never really on the number of years, but on the people he was fortunate enough to serve, that may be the most fitting way for the story to continue.

Sources: Howick & Pakuranga Times, Owairoa Primary School.