Whanau and parents in Parakai, near Auckland, are fighting the closure of the local school's Maori medium unit, Te Whare Kakano.
Parakai School last month closed the bi-lingual unit, which had been operating since 2009.
An online petition was launched on Wednesday last week calling for Te Whare Kakano to reopen at the school, where Maori make up 40% of the roll.
It states the bi-lingual unit is the last of its kind in the south Kaipara rohe, and says tamariki and wider whanau should have the opportunity to learn Te Reo Maori if they want to. The closure has been labelled "racist" and "sad" by some one those who have signed the petition.
Just two months ago, the land Parakai School sits on was transferred back to local iwi Ngati Whatua o Kaipara.
