School Series #4: Why we chose the school we chose
How we came to our school choice and the other schools we considered
Hello all! We are finally down to it - which school we picked in the end and how we got here! (Those of you who follow me on Instagram will already know cos I posted about it there.)
*drumroll*
Fighter now attends Dwi Emas International School. He started immediately after the Chinese New Year break so he’s been there…. two months?
In this post, I will be sharing my decision making process, the factors we considered and the search for the best school for our family, which literally took years. Sorry I took so long with this post – I wanted to spend at least a few weeks in our new school before coming up with an (introductory) review. Anyway what’s a few weeks compared to our years long search for a school hahahaha.
My school search started the year Fighter turned three. That’s six years! The plan was always for him to start with a Chinese school, but we knew that we would eventually swap him out to another (most likely private or international school), and it would only be a matter of which one. I take school hunting very seriously (because money and children), and I wanted to take my time to really learn about the options available before making a decision.
All in all, I visited eight schools: Stella Maris, St Joseph, Alice Smith, Acton Academy, Sri Cempaka, Dwi Emas, Sri Emas, and The Steiner School.
I chose most of the schools I visited based on budget, location or proximity to KL where we live, and word of mouth, all key factors in most parents’ decisions. So that excluded the “big, famous” schools like ISKL, GIS, British International School, etc because they just seemed way too pricey. Annual primary school fees only can be like RM 100K and I couldn’t tell at all (even with a school tour) if the education would be better by that much more? I just couldn’t justify it in my head. To be fair, Alice Smith was also a bit out of our budget but I heard so many good things that I wanted to kepoh it anyway hahaha.
I got quite a few DMs asking me if I would share my thoughts on the schools I visited so I’ll do it quickly here. Keep in mind that I’m limited by what I experienced in my tours obviously and first impressions are often wrong! I’m sure parents with kids attending these schools would be better able to give their input so if you know anyone, go ahead and ask them!
Stella Maris: I didn’t like the campus, I felt it was very meh, and teachers seemed uninspired. I didn’t come away with any exceptional impression from it other than the fees are one of the lowest for international schools wtf.
St Joseph: The campus was beautiful and because the school is new, the facilities look amazing. If this is important to you, you will like this school! But when I spoke to the sales rep, I noticed she kept focusing on the fact that they had foreign teachers, which is not something I’m interested in at all. I don’t care where our teachers are from as long as they’re good and if the focus is on foreign teachers, I worry that maybe they’re just picking teachers for their nationalities than their merit?
Alice Smith: I really liked Alice Smith! I felt that they had a great balance of academics, social and emotional learning and extra curricular activities. I remember being very impressed when I peeked in on the preschool. Very good vibe, but I didn’t know if I could justify paying that much money.
Acton Academy: I love Acton actually. They’re a very small school that turns the traditional approach to education upside down - the focus is on project based and student led learning. They are very alternative and it requires a huge mindset shift from parents. I’ve been following their journey (and campus relocations) ever since they first started in KL. I even applied to start an Acton Academy myself but got rejected FML story for another day. I’ve kept up with them and visited them many times over the years and this was my top preference. But as I’d said, the school is very child led and as Fighter developed into himself, I noticed that he works better with more structure; if left to his own devices he gets overwhelmed if he faces obstacles and often flips table and quits.
Sri Cempaka: I liked that they had a pool but at the time, I visited right after Acton Academy and the kids I met seemed so subdued, almost coerced to say hello to me by the school rep, in comparison to Acton whose kids were bright, energetic and curious, calling out to me and asking me questions. There was nothing wrong with Cempaka but also nothing seemed to really stand out for me; I couldn’t tell if paying RM 40K a year for primary school was justified.
Sri Emas – I initially balked at both Sri Emas and Dwi Emas (which are sister schools) because of how far away they are for us. But I had also heard that Sri Emas would be launching an e-sports focus which is like wow??? Fighter wants to be a gamer?? Plus it was the nearer one of the two hahaha. I was very impressed by the students whose energy matched Acton’s - one kid on his way to the toilet actually stopped and asked us if we were sending our kids to the school. We asked him if he would recommend this school and he said, yes! Please send your kids here they will love it! Suffice to say, I was very blown away by his enthusiasm for school hahaha. The downside is I did not like the campus. It felt too closed up and there weren’t enough windows wtf. I didn’t like the surroundings either cos the campus is in the middle of an industrial area.
In the end, we chose Dwi Emas.
First some background. Dwi Emas is a school that offers IGCSE. They also say they are an “entrepreneurial school”, offering a program called Powerpreneur in which the students are taught about entrepreneurship and the different aspects of running a business.
I asked before, why choose entrepreneurship as a focal point? Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur what. They told me, yep, not everyone will run their own business but everyone would thrive if they had the qualities associated with a good entrepreneur - creativity, grit, innovation, the ability to sell (not just sell products, but enrolling people to your cause), to name a few. I nodded furiously wtf.
So anyway, Dwi Emas and Sri Emas really got on my radar about three years ago. A friend who was working there asked me to check it out but I scoffed at traveling so far to school daily. Fighter also had just started Standard 1 in Chinese school and we were comfortable at the moment where we were. At the same time, every single thing I had heard from parents (either friends’ friends or followers) about Dwi Emas and Sri Emas was positive. Not just good, but super satisfied with the schools. It was nearly unbelievable. We hear good things here and there about other schools but the feedback of Dwi/Sri Emas parents was very strongly, consistently positive. We even heard things like “the kids don’t like school holidays because they don’t get to school”. Got or not? What kind of kids are these!?
Fast forward a couple years later when I started school hunting more seriously. After I saw Sri Emas, I went on to visit Dwi Emas (DE) because what the heck, it was only ten minutes away from Sri Emas already drive so far wtf.
I did a couple of visits, really liked the campus and the school’s philosophy towards learning. Students were as vocal and curious as Sri Emas’s and Acton’s and I really liked that. There was a lot of student work and projects on display, and I found them really rich, well thought out and fun.
The campus was new and quite well equipped. I’d say maybe not as nice as Alice Smith or Cempaka, but only because these schools have a lot more land and the buildings are spaced out. DE is housed in a big building, something like American schools you see in movies, not open air and spaced out so there’s less shrubbery and trees about, although you can see they try to make up for it with potted plants.
We also did a trial class for two days. At the end of the second day, Fighter was hugging his new friends and declaring, “See you guys next year!”
I guess he already made up his mind hahahaha.
Price wise, DE felt decent to us. RM30K++ for upper primary school which I can stomach hahaha. The price increase the higher you go in school is not too drastic either.
Another thing was Karthik’s interview experience. He’s my best friend Suet’s husband and they both were part of Teach for Malaysia. After TFM, he interviewed at DE for a teaching position. He didn’t end up taking it but he said the way they approached teaching (especially math) was quite unconventional and refreshing. They also offer quite a bit more in salaries to teachers which appealed to me! I totally think teachers should be paid more for the work they’re doing lo and their teachers really are very enthusiastic and spirited hahaha.
DE is a relatively new and small school which I actually quite like cos I sense that the teachers and administrators are also more open to innovation and adapting to change. Biosphere is the extension of their entrepreneur education and it introduces an added curriculum - nature tech and environmental sustainability. We didn’t end up picking this because it’s a fairly new program and there’s only one class a year dedicated to it at the moment. I’m adopting a wait and see approach to this wtf. I’m VERYYY interested in this though, cos I believe that sustainable industries will be huge in the future (also save the world pls).
TL;DR
Pros:
Decent price range, can opt to pay fees monthly as opposed to every semester
Powerpreneur and Biosphere programs
Loved the energy of the students and teachers
Nice and new campus
Good facilities - indoor, temperature controlled pool, dodgeball court, badminton courts, table tennis tables, multi purpose hall, basketball court, playground
Loved the creativity of their assignments and projects - there seems to be a big focus on making learn fun and therefore effective
A more liberal approach to self identity and freedom e.g. school uniforms are only required 3x a week, hair coloring is allowed; students are allowed to walk around the classroom and snack as long as they don’t bother others
Cons:
I would prefer a more open, spaced out campus and more greenery but the building itself is bright and airy. Also apparently building a driving range is in progress!
Far from home (but not if you live in that area I suppose)
Do not accept neurodivergent children. One of their requirements is that a potential child attends a trial class; not only the child can decide for themselves if they like it but the school can also assess if the child will fit in. Fighter had to go for the trial class, so his teachers could evaluate him. I had to send his psychology reports and diagnosis over for them to review as well. He had no problem following the classes so he was accepted.
Cafeteria food more expensive than subsidized canteen food at Chinese school lolol. Hahaha but these are also hot, balanced meals la, not processed snacks.
Newer school (although the founder has run many smaller schools before and SE is older, but I guess not at this size and scale?) so it’s less established. It’s possible that because they’re new they might still be trying new things and shifting; I see them running different projects and and I can imagine it being messy even. Some parents may prefer a longer running, more established school.
Overall I felt like DE presented a lot of value and potential that was clearer compared to other schools. True, it could be a marketing spiel, but I like how they innovate (with Powerpreneur and Biosphere) to equip kids with more diverse skills and knowledge needed for the future and not just for today. Their school philosophy really just resonated with our beliefs.
From a non choice it turned into our top choice! I filled out the documents and prepared to make arrangements to switch Fighter over.
And then…. Marketing contacted me and said they wanted me to come on board as a parent ambassador. *cries*
I have always made it clear that I only accept products and sponsorships that resonate with me or whose products I already use and like, rejecting many campaigns before. This was a no brainer because this was already a school I was 100% behind and already planned to enroll at.
So to make it very transparent, I will be embarking on a long term collaboration with Dwi Emas. This will be my second education collaboration (first was with Julia Gabriel!) so I’m very excited! I’m also very proud of myself hahahaha and touched because it’s a huge honor to be so trusted and selected for such a big, long term collaboration.
In that sense, I totally understand the responsibility on my shoulders. My caveat to the school is that I am going to be totally honest about our experience –the good, the bad, and the ugly. I will be sharing our authentic experience and any information that you might find useful only. With such a big decision such as education, it’s even more crucial that I am candid and real about our experience here, and I intend to be! This is a promise I make to the school and to you guys, my readers and followers whom I know put so much of your trust in me.
Until my next blog post!
x,
Aud.
Thank you for this post. We were also looking at this school, and I absolutely loved it. However, as I have to make a big move in terms of location, your post really helped me to make that decision. Thanks a lot