Source: Radio New Zealand
April Marie Nordstrom had a sexual relationship with a student at Whangārei Girls’ High School. Social media
A former teacher barred from the job for sexual misconduct had worked at an organisation for vulnerable youth for roughly five months before a ruling detailing her offending was made public.
The Teaching Council’s Disciplinary Tribunal found April Marie Nordstrom had a sexual relationship with a student at Whangārei Girls’ High School and behaved inappropriately towards three other students at Horowhenua College in Levin.
The years the students attended the schools were not disclosed by the tribunal to protect their identities.
Rubicon Youth, a service helping young people in Whangārei through problems caused by alcohol and drug use, confirmed Nordstrom worked there for about five months in 2022.
Chairperson Ryan Welsh told RNZ they performed police checks and vetted staff.
He said he had not been aware of the misconduct allegations at the time, nor had Nordstrom disclosed it, to his memory.
“Otherwise, if we had of known about that, of course that would have been a red flag,” he said.
Welsh said he was shocked when he first heard what she had done.
“We would never expect to employ somebody who has that record, which has now been proven,” he said. “The expectation is we wouldn’t go near somebody with those issues.”
He said there were lessons to be learned from the inquiry process.
“There’s probably some learnings in that, I suppose, from the council who govern that process. But then again, there are issues around accusations having to be proved, but the process should have been a lot quicker.”
The ruling from the Teaching Council stated Nordstrom accepted the relationship with the student, referred to as Student A, was inappropriate and breached professional boundaries.
Tribunal documents stated they began messaging each other before Nordstrom offered extra tuition at her own home. The student would often stay there until after 10pm.
They began meeting outside of school hours, where Nordstrom would share intimate details about her life. Those details included struggles with her sexuality and relationship troubles with her partner.
Nordstrom had a sexual relationship with the student, who stayed overnight at her house.
On two occasions, Nordstrom took Student A away from school during school hours to engage in sexual activity.
Student A’s mental health began to deteriorate, and she grew increasingly distressed from constantly lying to her parents to cover up her relationship with Nordstrom.
Student A’s parents discovered the intimate relationship after two former students called her father and broke the news.
“Ms Nordstrom messaged Student A on Snapchat and asked Student A to lie to her parents and to continue to deny the sexual elements of their relationship,” the tribunal documents said.
A report was provided to the Teaching Council, and Nordstrom resigned from her teaching position at the school.
In her response, Nordstrom said a number of factors impacted her ability to make professional and emotional decisions. She claimed her relationship with Student A was loving and mutually consensual.
Her registration was cancelled and she was ordered to pay costs of $6600.
A complaint was referred to the Teaching Council’s Complaints Assessment Committee and it was years before a decision was made in June 2025. However, the decision was only publicly released in February this year.
Nordstrom not to teach
Interim chief executive Tom Gott said Nordstrom had been subject to an undertaking while the case was being considered – she was not to teach, specifically to prevent further harm to any child or young person in a school, ECE centre or kura.
“The undertaking not to teach was recorded on the public register, which was further updated to show Nordstrom’s registration had been cancelled at the conclusion of the disciplinary process in June 2025,” he said.
Gott said the council was working with the Crown Response Office and the care agencies to identify practical ways to strengthen workforce capability, improve suitability checks and safeguards, and lift the visibility and reporting of abuse and neglect. This was so safeguarding across education and care settings was more consistent and effective, he said.
“Any situation where a young person has been harmed or made to feel unsafe at school is distressing and unacceptable. Our thoughts are with anyone affected by this case.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
