Mr Nathan (47) was appointed principal of Queenstown’s sole high school last year, following the retirement of his predecessor, Steve Hall, who held the role for 10 years.
The California native worked for Mr Hall throughout his entire tenure and was appointed as deputy head in 2013, just three months into Mr Hall’s time as head.
Both his parents were in education and he decided he wanted to be a teacher when he was "13 or 14 years old", and got his first teaching job in 1998, he said. He moved to New Zealand at the end of the following year, and spent nine years at Christchurch’s Cashmere High School, including stints as head of maths and statistics, and acting deputy head.
He initially joined Wakatipu High in 2010 as assistant head of maths, and was there when a statutory manager was appointed after a critical 2011 Education Review Office report.
However, the school had come a long way since then, he said.
This year the school roll was sitting at more than 1340 pupils — 305 of those in year 9, with a more than 95% retention rate from primary schools in the Wakatipu — while teaching staff totalled 120, including more than 90 teachers.
"That’s been the one constant — we’re a growing school."
While the school’s phase 2 expansion was now complete — approved in 2019 and including a two-wing extension to the east, a new double-sized gymnasium — that also meant the school had reached site capacity.
It was expected to reach its pupil capacity of 1800 within the next seven years.
After that, a second high school, operated independently or as a second WHS campus, would be required.
Mr Nathan said the school met Ministry of Education representatives at the end of last year "and those conversations have started to begin".
"We’re ... starting to discuss that at a board level now."
He agreed, however, there was no time to waste — design for the the existing Wakatipu High started in 2014, it opened four years later and it had taken nine years to be fully completed.
"It takes a good five, six, seven years to design, procure [and] build a school, so that’s something in terms of growth in the basin and, like I said, an extra 130, 140 students this year ... we’re continually keeping an eye on and trying to be proactive with."
The first full school day for the year was last Wednesday and he was "really enjoying" his new role so far, Mr Nathan said.
"I’ve worked very closely with Steve over a number of years, so I kind of knew what I was getting myself into.
"I’m really happy with how the first couple of weeks ... of the school year has begun.
"The school was left in a good place and it will continue to be in a good place.
"[I’m] just really, really thrilled to have the privilege and opportunity to be the principal at Wakatipu High School."
