Anetri began serving as a school principal at one of KREASI Morotai’s partner schools in May 2025. Previously, she had worked as an early childhood education manager, so this transition became a new challenge for her. When she started her role, she immediately faced the reality that many students, both in lower and upper grades, were still unable to read.
“When I first became a principal, I found that in almost every class there were still children who could not read, especially in the upper grades,” said Anetri.
The limited number of teachers made the situation even more challenging. There were not enough personnel to support all students. However, facing these various challenges did not stop Anetri from continuing her efforts. She remained actively involved in various activities organized by KREASI Morotai and shared the needs and challenges she encountered in the field. Through this process, the support provided became more contextual and aligned with the school’s conditions.
Change began to be felt when KREASI Morotai introduced literacy and numeracy club training, known as the catch-up club. Through this training, Anetri began applying more active and enjoyable learning approaches in the classroom. She used simple media such as letter cards, dotted letter and number worksheets for tracing, as well as activities where students pasted letters and numbers to form words and numbers. Children were also encouraged to write their own names and find letter arrangements from the available cards. Gradually, the classroom atmosphere became more lively, and children became more engaged in the learning process.
“With this method, the children became more enthusiastic. They were very active in looking for the letter cards until they found the right ones and pasted them. They even often asked to learn using this method,” said Anetri.
The most noticeable impact was on students’ literacy skills. Children who previously did not recognize letters began to show progress, and some were already able to read simple words. Anetri also used students’ work as material to evaluate their development, including for further monitoring at home.
Beyond the classroom, KREASI also helped Anetri strengthen a safer and more positive school culture. Through the TPPK training, or Violence Prevention and Response Team training, provided by KREASI Morotai, Anetri began incorporating the values she learned into the school’s daily routines. Every morning during assembly, she and the teachers reminded students of things that may seem simple but are often overlooked: not using harsh language and not fighting.
“Every day during morning assembly, we remind the children not to use harsh language and not to fight. Now, incidents like that have decreased significantly compared to before,” she said.
Although the formation of the TPPK team still faces challenges due to the lack of teachers, Anetri continues to apply child protection values with the resources she has. To this day, she continues striving to create a school culture that is safe and comfortable.
KREASI’s support also came through Technical Support Personnel (TDT) from graduates of Universitas Pasifik Morotai, who assisted the learning process in partner schools. Their presence helped fill the gap in teaching staff at Anetri’s school, while also helping ensure that learning in the classroom could continue in a more structured way.
Over time, changes at the school became increasingly visible. Children became more active, more confident, and began to enjoy the learning process. From previously struggling to recognize letters, some students are now able to read, while the classroom atmosphere has become livelier and more interactive than before.
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KREASI (Collaboration for the Education of Indonesian Children) is a program to improve the quality of education by strengthening literacy, numeracy, and character education. KREASI in Pulau Morotai is managed by Save the Children and implemented by Stimulant Institute, with funding from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), as well as support from the Government of Pulau Morotai and Indonesia’s Local Education Group, led by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag).
Writer: Ayutama Putri Jordy | Editor: Andika Ramadhan | Photo: Ayutama Putri Jordy/KREASI/Yayasan Guru Belajar/Save the Children