Not many of us have unlimited funds to provide the most elite level of school education with all the bells and whistles to make our kids feel like kings and queens of the universe!
There is certainly an argument that all the extra money spent does not always lead to an equivalent increase in either learning performance now or wealth or happiness in the future. Nor does the extra money necessarily lead to the development of good values or respect for others!
On the other hand, some families undervalue the importance of international standards and send their children to a lower-priced school that may use the right sounding terminology but fails to genuinely deliver on a truly international experience. The quality of instruction in global languages such as English and Mandarin is key – alongside 21st-century skills such as analytical thinking and familiarity with emerging technologies that will drive business and employment opportunities. Do the teachers at the cheaper schools have the fluency and confidence to truly deliver on this?
This is the context of the re-launch of SIS South Jakarta. It is a school in Lebak Bulus / Cilandak that has been preparing students to international standards for 25 years and has seen scores of students graduate to local and foreign universities – creating a huge alumni base. The relaunch is about a fresh focus on a better value of education – with an emphasis on a stronger ESOL program so that students with limited English can quickly improve their skills, a school-wide robotics and virtual reality centre and a brand new space for our specialist Islamic Studies program ( as well as parallel programs for other religions and those without a religion ).
The brand new pricing structure makes SIS South Jakarta affordable for many more local and mixed nationality families than before. It now matches the highly successful SIS Kelapa Gading – the leading school in North East Jakarta. SIS Kelapa Gading has been seeing a large proportion of students graduate with top tier results in the IB Diploma and scores of them going to the world top 200 universities, many with scholarships and all with native speaker standard English and strong skills in Mandarin or Hindi that helps them interact with foreigners confidently.
SIS Kelapa Gading and SIS South Jakarta are good value schools with enough expat teachers (60%) to ensure a high standard of English and to create a genuine English immersion environment while maintaining a strong local teacher presence for easy parent communication, local curriculum elements such as PPKn and the teaching of local values and religions.
Using some good value fee schemes, students can now stay a step ahead in terms of confidence and readiness for their futures – sometimes for only 15-20% more than schools which are not truly providing a genuine international experience.
So don’t throw your money away on fancy extras of limited value but remember that you get the quality you pay for when it comes to teachers and it is the teachers that inspire!
