Research shows that parent-teacher collaboration improves children’s attitudes and learning habits. In addition, this step helps the school’s sustainability in a better direction, as experienced by PAUD Joel.
Benefits of Parent-Teacher Collaboration
Parent-teacher collaboration and involvement can significantly improve a child’s education. PAUD Joel, which was rebuilt in 2017 by Happy Hearts Indonesia in partnership with ACS Jakarta, continues to demonstrate significant sustainability.
The PAUD Joel teachers recently participated in Kupang’s city-level fashion show competition. This competition was held to celebrate HIMPAUDI (Association of Early Childhood Education Teachers and Teaching Personnel) fifth anniversary.
This competition is unique in that each participant is required to create a costume out of recyclable materials. PAUD Joel creates costumes out of used bottle waste, which is done with the parents and demonstrated by one of the teachers.
PAUD teacher Joel’s collaborative and cooperative partnership with parents included planning and problem-solving to develop strategies for competing. This promising collaboration helped them finish third and increased the teachers’ motivation to perform their duties.
Impact of School Construction
PAUD Joel is one of the schools that has felt the positive impact of school construction. The number of students has continued to increase since the first phase of the school redevelopment. There has also been an increase in student attendance from around 70% to 98%.
The teachers have been actively involved in various capacity-building trainings, including those facilitated by the local government, Happy Hearts Indonesia, and other non-profit organizations. A comfortable and safe class attendance affects student participation rates and helps teachers feel more confident in their teaching ability.
“Thank you so much to our donors and Happy Hearts, who have built new classrooms twice for the students in our school. These facilities have allowed us to do our job effectively,” said Dortje Lubalu, PAUD Joel’s teacher.
About PAUD Joel
PAUD Joel was established in the city of Kupang in 2009. Initially, a church building was used for the teaching and learning process. However, in 2017, PAUD Joel received assistance from HHI and ACS Jakarta in the form of two classrooms and one toilet room.
The number of students increased over time, and the two classrooms we built could not accommodate all of them. Small-grade students continue to use the priest’s house for teaching and learning activities. As a result, Joel’s PAUD received one classroom, one teacher’s room, and one kitchen room from HHI and ACS Jakarta again in 2019.
