Banda Aceh visits Probolinggo

The tsunami disaster that devastated the town of Banda Aceh did not discourage their education stakeholders from wanting to improve the quality of education. A number of efforts have been made to improve education quality, one of which was a practical training program.

At the end of August 2005, 28 people consisting of principals, teachers and school committee members from Banda Aceh conducted an in-service program for 6 days in a number of schools in Probolinggo District. Schools in Probolinggo that took part in the practical training included SD Kedung Dalem 2 in Dringu sub-district, SD Betek 1 in Krucil sub-district, SD Maron Wetan 1 in Maron sub-district and SD Tongas in Tongas sub-district.

During their training activities at SD Kedung Dalem 2 and SD Betek 1 which are MBE target schools, the participants learnt much about making school plans and budgets as well as PAKEM learning methods and community participation in supporting school activities. Participants from Banda Aceh were particularly impressed by the progress achieved by SD Betek 1, which within a short time has made tremendous progress.

The location of this school, which is a long way from the town has not hampered development in the school. On the contrary, it is said to be more advanced than most schools in the town.

Merging Primary Schools in Probolinggo

As part of the effort to improve educational management by making better use of facilities and infrastructure, with the main objective being to improve educational quality, the Government of Probolinggo District issued a Decree of the Bupati (Head of District) No. 421.2/442/426.12/2005 relating to the Merging of State Primary Schools in Probolinggo District.

This Merging of State Primary Schools was decided based upon the outcomes of School Mapping and Planning, conducted by Dinas Pendidikan, Probolinggo District. The Merging of State Primary Schools in 2005 affected 14 out of 24 sub-districts throughout Probolinggo, with the result being that after combination 49 State Elementary Schools were reduced in number to 23.

This affected the three MBE partner sub-districts: Kraksaan, Krucil and Dringgu. 13 primary schools were scheduled for merging into 6 schools. This Bupati's decree was scheduled to be effective as from 10 June 2005.

How The Principal Can Improve Teacher Performance

The following article is written by Bpk Suyitno, the principal of SD Ngepung, Probolinggo. He sets out a number of ideas for improving teacher performance.

Clinical Supervision: The Principal focuses upon a number of teachers and supervises and observes them teaching in the classroom. The results, both positive and negative, are reviewed in a staff meeting.

Informal Open Discussions: During informal open discussions teachers can express their feelings in a informal atmosphere. The time chosen to do this is flexible. It can be during breaks or any other spare time. The topics discussed are generally about school activities and student learning. These sessions can also be used for lobbying new ideas amongst the teachers.

Principal and Teachers Working Together: This is a partnership model between the principal as supervisor and the teacher as the party being supervised. The form of partnership can be illustrated as follows. If a teacher is having problems implementing PAKEM in a certain subject, then the principal and teacher together will make a lesson plan, followed by their team teaching the lesson together. This activity is repeated several times until the teacher really understands and is competent.

Student Competitions: To motivate teachers and students to become more active and creative, the school can conduct a competition every couple of weeks. Various kinds of competitions can be organized including speech, story telling, drama, drawing, essay writing, singing/karaoke, tidy and clean classrooms and exhibitions of students' work.

Open House: To strengthen and to support teachers' performance, the principal needs to open up the school, and possibly invite other schools to visit the school, especially to observe the classroom learning activities that they believe to be successful. The teachers who are to be visited should be informed of the schedule well in advance so that they are well prepared.

'Retreat': A retreat is when you travel together to a particular destination during a holiday break. The principal, teachers and other staff all take part in the retreat, possibly together with their families. At the retreat they organize activities to do with the school and education issues. From these retreats you usually get lots of new, fresh ideas.

These strategies really are able to improve the performance of teachers. Believe it or not: try it first, then comment.

By Suyitno, School Principal, SD Ngepung, Probolinggo