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SINGAPORE: Co-ordination, Communication and Compassion. Practicing these 3Cs has put Clementi Primary School on the list of most improved schools based on results from the 2007 Primary School Leaving Examination results.
The neighbourhood school registered at least a five per cent improvement in the percentage of pupils qualifying for the Express course in Secondary school compared to 2006. It also saw the percentage of its pupils eligible for entry to secondary schools exceeding the national average of 97.7 per cent.
According to 32-year-old form teacher Chan May Ling, whose class saw the school's top two students clinching an aggregate score of 275, one of the main reasons behind this success is the coordinated effort by the entire batch of Primary 6 level teachers. They worked together seamlessly, meeting on a weekly basis to share resources, discuss the various challenges students were facing and evaluate if their teaching methods have been effective.
"Most of the teachers are more experienced than me so they constantly provide me tips on how to perform better and even though I am teaching the top class and they are teaching the tail-end classes, they would still provide me with worksheets which would be suitable for my class", Ms Chan said.
With the success of these teaching strategies, the plan at Clementi Primary is to implement this method among primary five level teachers to raise their competency level.
The coordination among teachers fostered closer communication among the staff which was also extended to the parents.
According to Ms Chan, parents helped to play a more pro-active role in monitoring their child's performance at home and this is pertinent as it is not solely the teachers duty to ensure that students are not going astray.
Communication was also key to the PSLE success of Li Yixing, one of the top students in Clementi Primary. Instead of spending money on herbal tonics or assessment books for their child, her parents focused on enhancing communication as a family. Yixing's parents, who are both language teachers, said they did not add any pressure on her daughter, focusing instead on dinner-time discussions on their daughter's day in school.
The last, but not the least essential C, compassion, comes from Principal of Clementi Primary, Jean Sng. She off-loaded duties such as CCA commitments from all the Primary 6 teachers so they could direct their attention on the academic performance of the students.
"My philosophy is that teachers are human beings and not robots. They communicate regularly with the parents and that eats up a lot of their time. So it is important to prioritize what is important and what is not."
The warm and friendly Principal who is set to retire this year, also added,"Of course, I am lucky that I have enough good teachers to handle the activities so the focus on the Primary 6 level teachers is to work as a team to improve the students results." CNA/vm
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