Trust Schools operate with regular government funding and resources, supplemented by strategic Trust School Roadmaps and annual Improvement Plans overseen by Yayasan AMIR. LeapEd Services Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian-grown education service provider, provides content development and assigns Teaching and Learning Advisors (TLAs) to coach and mentor teachers and Senior Leadership Teams (SLTs), ensuring the execution of strategic plans for holistic student outcomes. A key priority is creating engaging learning environments to help students achieve their personal and academic potential.

​

In striving to provide children with high-quality education, a welcome spin-off from the Trust Schools Programme is the enrichment of the teaching professionals who make it all possible. During the initial stages, emphasis is given to structured professional development through Continuous Professional Development (CPD) sessions. Teachers attend ‘TeachSmart’ to enhance key competencies while School Leaders, in addition to TeachSmart, attend ‘LeadEd’ to hone their knowledge and skills as leaders of learning, and administrators of learning organisations.

​

This approach has been adopted to ensure that the fundamentals of these institutions are suitably strengthened to embark upon and sustain school-wide transformation. Needless to say, change is not easy to implement. Therefore, stakeholder engagement and understanding are crucial to gain buy-in and support. Support is needed to ensure that the Trust Schools Programme is adopted, but perhaps more importantly, it is needed to ensure that the schools can institutionalise desired change and continue their heightened paths in the years to come.

​

This explains the importance placed on replicable and sustainable transformation in the Trust Schools as too often, good ideas may be introduced but implementation fades over time. To this end, the ownership of the schools’ participation, development and achievement targets resides with the ‘Pengetua’ and ‘Guru Besar’. Another measure that has been introduced is the role of Middle Leaders, who understudy the TLAs so that there can be key resource persons within the schools even beyond the five-year programme.

After 14 years, the Trust Schools have matured, with positive changes taking root and flourishing. It was important from early on that we recognise and respect the fact that each school faced individual circumstances that resulted in different priorities. This then was certainly not a case of applying a ‘one size fits all’ solution. In this, we were fortunate to still be united by a common vision to deliver an ever-higher quality of education for all students.

​

While all parties have a role to play in the Trust Schools Programme, the stars of the change these schools are beginning to see must surely be the teachers themselves. With strong leadership and high levels of commitment, these teachers are fast dispelling stereotypes of limitations in our schools. Instead, they have started to prove just how lively and productive learning can be in any Malaysian school. Time, God willing, will show that this translates to more capable and successful individuals.

​

Yayasan AMIR is grateful to Khazanah Nasional Berhad and all our esteemed sponsors for making the Trust Schools Programme possible through their continuous support. It is our sincere hope that the transformation works done in these schools will not only accelerate to fruition, but that their successes will trigger wider support for, and adoption of the culture of excellence being nurtured in the Trust Schools Programme.

​

The beneficiaries are after all, the future generation of Malaysians.