Held in celebration of National Education Day (Thursday 2nd May 2019), the event was an opportunity to recognise Batu City as a ‘Literacy City’, and showcased INOVASI’s program implementation and promising education practices. Batu is one of five INOVASI partner districts/cities in East Java. Other partners include Sidoarjo, Pasuruan, Sumenep, and Probolinggo.
More than 250 participants attended today’s Temu INOVASI, including various educators, government officials, community members and partners. Attendees were able to view a range of interactive education exhibitions during the day, featuring innovative learning materials from teachers and principals. Student works were also on display, helping spark conversation and discussion around the importance of creating a more literate younger generation in Batu City.
INOVASI’s engagement with Batu City began in 2017, through an education innovations stock take. The results of the stock take, which identified promising education practices across East Java, highlighted strong principal leadership and potential at Punten 1 and SDN Sumbergondo 2 primary schools in Batu. Building on the results of this stock take and mapping study, it was decided that INOVASI pilots in Batu would focus on leadership and learning and literacy learning outcomes. In Batu, INOVASI is also partnering with Kolaborasi Literasi Bermakna (KLB) to implement an early grade literacy pilot.
Three sub-districts are participating in INOVASI pilots, including Batu, Junrejo and Bumiaji. Partner schools include 4 primary school working group clusters and 11 madrasah school working group clusters.
In the future, it is hoped that the results from the pilots will be shared with many other schools, teachers and principals across East Java.
Said INOVASI’s Communications Manager, Stephanie Carter, “at today’s Temu INOVASI gathering, we are fortunate to hear from a range of stakeholders. There is much to learn from their discussion, and promising practices at the classroom level. The topics explored today are incredibly relevant as we continue to find ways to strengthen educational quality and literacy learning outcomes in Batu City.”
The Mayor of Batu also spoke positively about the event. “Batu City would like to thank the INOVASI team, who have worked together with the Batu City government to help us become not just a tourist city, but also a strong education city. We are committed to seeing Batu City becoming a Literacy City. INOVASI is helping us put into action the Mayor Regulation Number 93 2018, which confirms Batu City as a Literacy City.”