Māori, Pasifika students get access to top Auckland schools with homes in zones - 'I saw the difference between the haves and the have nots'

A Chicago-born man who now calls New Zealand home is helping Māori and Pasifika students succeed by getting them access to top schools.

TVNZ1's Seven Sharp reported Terrence Wallace founded a radical education programme that takes Māori and Pasifika students from outside of the best school zones and puts them on the roll of some of the country's best.

He started the programme called InZone seven years ago to give kids from out of zone a home inside the best school zones in Auckland. 

"When I first came to New Zealand I thought this was a paradise. Then I got out to some of the most impoverished communities and I saw the difference between the haves and the have nots. And I decided I wanted to do something about it," Mr Wallace said.

"We have segregation of communities. And that affects the education you receive, therefore your life. I decided to give kids a home to give them the best opportunities."

First he set up a home for boys to go to Auckland Grammar School, then one for students to go to Epsom Girls' Grammar School.

Mr Wallace said he's seeing "Māori and Pasifika kids academically reach their full potential, exceed expectations, be pioneers in community and social issues".

So successful has the programme been that Mr Wallace has taken the idea home to Chicago, a documentary crew capturing the journey.