Hunua School
A RURAL CASE STUDY
Hunua School is a rural school nestled in the foothills of the Hunua Ranges. The school reflects a tight-knit community of supportive parents, teachers, and staff, serving a mix of long-time locals and families seeking a rural lifestyle. Under the leadership of Principal Mark Drummond, Hunua School aims to be the central hub of its community, driven by a vision of 'Excellence in education through the use of the environment, active student, parent and community involvement, and interactive learning.'
Executive Summary
Reclaimed Time & Staff Wellbeing Are Not Always About Price
For isolated rural schools, reliable IT infrastructure is more than just a convenience; it is a critical lifeline for effective teaching and learning. Hunua School faced a mounting challenge: an inconsistent IT support system that drained leadership time, frustrated teachers, and disrupted staff meetings.
By transitioning to Support IT, Hunua School gained a dependable, proactive service that immediately fostered confidence in their operational stability and crisis management. Although the investment is slightly higher than what they have committed to in the past, the partnership has delivered significant savings in leadership time and improved staff well-being, prompting Principal Mark Drummond to call it the "most positive contract change of the year."
“Based on experience with our previous IT support company, we realised that the most important thing that we needed as an isolated rural school was the reliability of a high-quality service and also continuity of personnel.”
THE Challenge
Overcoming high IT turnover, administrative stress, and lost teaching time.
Before the transition, Hunua School's IT environment was a major source of stress. The school's previous provider suffered from high technician turnover. For Principal Mark Drummond and his staff, this lack of continuity meant their working relationship "had to reset every time," requiring constant, frustrating retraining.
Furthermore, the school lacked confidence in the provider's ability to resolve critical technical issues across their internet connection, devices, and cloud-based platforms. Instead of focusing on their students, teachers were forced to collaborate with technicians to troubleshoot problems rather than leaving the work to IT professionals. The administrative burden grew so heavy that IT issues frequently dominated staff meeting discussions, detracting from the core work of teaching and learning. As educational leaders, the management team found themselves exhausted by vendor management instead of empowered to lead.
THE Solution
A flexible, human-centric IT partnership with dedicated support.
Recognising that they could not compromise on reliability, Hunua School transitioned to Support IT. The change was immediate and deeply human-centric. Rather than a revolving door of strangers, Support IT provided a dedicated technician, Leo, who has worked consistently with the school for nine months and has built a strong rapport with the staff. This consistent, empathetic approach reassures staff that their needs are understood and prioritised.
Support IT demonstrated a rare ability to bridge two distinct environments: they truly seem to understand "the world of the teacher as well as the world of ICT." This empathy allows them to design tailored, solution-focused strategies that perfectly suit the school's mixed technology infrastructure, which comprises a blend of Google platforms and Mac systems (used by about half the staff).
Moreover, Support IT introduced vital operational flexibility. While visits are scheduled fortnightly, the team is highly adaptable. When the school installed new photocopiers, Support IT shifted their visit to align with the installation—even though it wasn't their normal day—to guarantee everything worked seamlessly.
“Our staff often had to spend time collaborating with the technicians to solve problems rather than leaving it to them to do it on their own.”
“When it came to reviewing our IT support company provision, we were therefore highly aware of what we didn't want and therefore extra careful about committing to a new company that may not have provided a significant lift in service.”
THE RESULTS
Rapid crisis resolution, eliminated administrative roadblocks, and strong ROI.
The partnership's true value became undeniable during a recent crisis. When the entire Hanua area lost internet and phone lines, Leo arrived promptly and restored the school's connectivity by morning tea. This rapid, on-site response enabled Principal Drummond to maintain vital communications via a student management system on his phone. During any significant challenge, the Support IT team has shown unwavering commitment, refusing to leave the site until issues are fully resolved, reinforcing their reliability and dependability.
While the new contract represents a slightly higher financial investment, the return on investment has been transformative. Leadership no longer wastes valuable time dealing with IT roadblocks. As Martin Hughes noted during the interview, "people ultimately pay with time, stress, or money." By investing financially, Hunua School eliminated a massive administrative burden. Mark Drummond firmly concluded that they would never return to their previous provider just "to save a few thousand dollars."
THE CONCLUSION
Restoring peace of mind so leadership can refocus entirely on education.
The partnership with Support IT shows how the right operational support can transform a school's culture. With IT running smoothly in the background alongside other key services, Principal Drummond and his teaching staff can finally dedicate their time and energy to their true passion and core expertise: education. The transition has drastically reduced stress, saved countless hours of leadership time, and ensured that technology acts as a tool for learning rather than a barrier. Highly satisfied with this transformation, Hunua School proudly recommends Support IT and plans to serve as a marketing reference to help other schools reclaim their time and focus.
“In short, we feel we are getting great service and great value for money, and we are very glad that we have made this transition from our previous provider to Support IT. We can't recommend them highly enough.”
READY TO GIVE US A TRY?
Claim Your 15% Savings & No-obligation Discovery Meeting Today!
Give us just 15 minutes to show you how much your school can save. We will audit your current spend in the background, provide a plain-English proposal detailing the full audit report, and handle 100% of the transition with zero disruption to your staff.
If we can't save you 15%, you keep the full report at zero cost.
Phone: 0800 72 7877
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.support-it.co.nz
Address: A13 16 Saturn Place, Rosedale, Auckland
