Jakarta (The Jakarta Post: 01/10/06) General interest in education in Indonesia has grown substantially in the past five years and many Indonesian schools are claiming to be a national-plus school. What this means to the population in general and many parents is ambiguous but it is clear that the term national-plus, as a marketing tool, is a very effective way of attracting increased enrollments to a school. There is more to being a national-plus school, however, than simple and often misleading gimmickry.

Partly the problem arises because there is no official government definition of what it is that identifies a national-plus school. The government is exploring the idea but has not come to any firm resolution on how to classify a school as one that deserves the term national-plus. The Association of National Plus Schools (ANPS) was established in 2000 and since that time has produced written documentation outlining seven characteristics of what it means to be an ANPS national-plus school. The association has also established the criteria for acceptance as an accredited ANPS school.

These characteristics of an ANPS school are: the school must have developed, documented, published and implemented a set of clear policies; there is knowledge of respect for Indonesian cultural values, diversity and the natural environment; students are to be educated in and can communicate using both Indonesian and English; there is a commitment to plan and implement ongoing staff professional development; the school develops and uses national and international learning outcomes in their curriculum framework; educational programs, teaching methodologies and a range of assessment practices support student-centered learning; and there is an appropriate range of resources and facilities to achieve described learning outcomes.

Schools can become members of ANPS but within one year they must submit extensive documentation to become accredited as an A class, B class or C class school. There are nearly 60 member schools but thus far, only five schools have been accredited as A class ANPS schools. They are: Sekolah Tiara Bangsa-ACS (International) Jakarta, Sekolah Global Jaya, Sekolah Bina Nusantara, Sekolah Bogor Raya and Sekolah Ciputra (in Surabaya). Several other schools have submitted the required documentation and are awaiting confirmation or otherwise of their status.

What are the benefits of being an ANPS school? ANPS produces quarterly newsletters; has an active website which contains updated information about education; runs annual conferences for staff working in kindergarten and for teachers at primary and secondary level; runs job-alike sessions for specialist and non-specialist groups and forums for leaders; organizes tours to schools; organizes performing arts festivals; and liaises with government and non-government educational bodies.

A more appropriate way of describing what happens in accredited ANPS schools is to look at how the schools respond to the following:

-What is the ethos and culture of an ANPS school?
-What type of learning is present in the school?
-What type of organizational structure does an ANPS school have?
 -To whom or what is an ANPS school accountable?

All schools exhibit a certain feel and this is expressed in their beliefs, values and attitudes. These are often expressed in vision and mission statements and will influence the employment of staff and key personnel. ANPS schools recognize that learning is life long and is central to the purpose of the school. Thus learning is crucial in meeting the demands of change and for developing the potential of every individual. New theories of learning have emerged in the last decade that assists us in understanding how to unlock and enhance the reserve capacity of the brain. While we have 100 billion brain cells we only use between 1 to 5 percent of them. Brains develop by making connections and they thrive in an environment which is multi-sensory.

Teaching strategies that stimulate and activate the reserve capacity of the brain allow students to acquire higher levels of motivation and engagement in their own learning. The result is that students develop positive and creative attitudes to learning and so become deep learners. Once students become eager to learn and are enthusiastic about their own learning and realize that learning is fun, they are then able to push their learning boundaries outwards and upwards to ultimately enhance their creativity.

ANPS schools therefore recognize that everyone has the capacity to learn and improve. Without an embedded culture of learning students will not be equipped to face the challenges of the future. Visiting a school that has a embedded learning culture also demonstrates that there is an effective working relationship between parents, teachers, students and the wider school community. The relationship is generally based on a commitment to improve and it underpins the notion of mutual trust and respect. Within an Indonesian context this means that the parent voice will sometimes be very loud, strong and sometimes negative. Despite this, it is the collective voice which must be heard and acted upon, especially when it can lead to substantive improvements in the school.

Parental involvement can take many forms with friend-raising and fund-raising being two of the most important avenues. The engagement with parents must be authentic, ongoing and realistic and it will vary from school to school. What is clear, however, is that the parents are listened to and genuine concerns are always addressed promptly.

The organizational structure of every school is different as each is governed by a yayasan that has set a particular vision and mission for the school. How that is interpreted and implemented by the principals or leaders in the school will depend largely on the values and expectations of the wider school community. Generally the bureaucratic top-down model of leadership is eschewed and the leadership journey is shared by a number of participants. At the recent Bali Forum on Leadership Brian Cox from Sekolah Pelita Harapan summarized this approach by stressing that effective leaders "Don't tell people how to achieve goals; (they) set the boundaries in which they can be creatively filled." The executive committees are volunteers from member schools and consist of 13 principals and owners who are responsible for arranging all ANPS activities.

Activities planned for this academic year include: three teacher conferences covering kindergarten, primary and secondary education, three speaker brunches on current issues in education; two performing arts festivals for students, 10 job-alike sessions and in 2007 a leadership trip to Australia to visit several first class independent schools. Liaison with government personnel and departments is essential so that ANPS can keep track of developments and be informed of the latest government attitudes, policies and requirements.

Relationships with other bodies that provide professional development for teachers in ANPS schools are also strong. For example, the newly created Teachers Institute and the School Quality Improvement Program (SQIP), both initiated by the Sampoerna Foundation, will be using several speakers from the ANPS executive and schools to assist in their conferences and schools.

There is now the reality that schools are increasingly vulnerable and accountable to the stakeholders. There is an increased emphasis by parents on, for example, getting value for money, test scores, benchmarking, Chinese language programs, the use of English outside the classroom, year on year improvement, extending the range of options in extracurricular programs. Significantly more complex and demanding issues face educators as they attempt to meet the challenges, both operational and strategic of implementing reforms that will enhance the quality of learning in their schools. The Association of National Plus Schools endorses the view that young people will become effective, efficient, flexible and creative learners when learner-centered leadership is encouraged and implemented.

In mid-September, over 150 school leaders from ANPS schools met in Bali for the second leadership forum. The focus was "Leadership in Practice" and it became increasingly obvious that there are brilliant educators in our schools who are developing programs of academic quality and international rigor. It was evident that they shared the belief that as leaders of Indonesian schools they had an obligation to improve their schools and to transform their schools into effective learning communities.

Governments are not known for taking calculated risks. With sensitivity to the cultural imperatives so obvious in Indonesian education, leaders in ANPS schools have accepted the challenge to work collegially and to take the risk of internationalizing their schools and establishing creative and energizing learning environments. There is definitely a plus in being a national-plus school, but there is a plus in being an active and accredited ANPS school.

The writer is chairperson of the Association of National Plus Schools and executive director of Sekolah Tiara Bangsa - ACS (International) Jakarta.