History

Pelita Harapan Group (YPPH) was founded in 1992 by Dr. James Riady and Dr. Johannes Oentoro who had a vision to serve families across Indonesia with quality Christian education. The next year they opened their first international school campus called Sekolah Pelita Harapan (which means “school of light and hope”) Lippo Village, followed by SPH Sentul City in 1994. Today SPH Sentul City has 350 students, it is one of the five SPH international school campuses which serve a total of 2,400+ students. SPH is one of the six school archetypes which are governed by the YPPH foundation which has over 60 schools across Indonesia, educating over 47,000 students. 

Background

I first learned about SPH from my mentor, Dr. Brian Modarelli while working at International Christian School Hong Kong. A few years later, while connecting with school leaders on LinkedIn I came across Matt Mann, who was SPH’s Executive Director at that time. Matt is a Canadian leader who had previously led a school in Prince Edward Island, not far from my hometown of Sackville, New Brunswick. Any time I see an international school leader from Atlantic Canada, I like to connect. Matt kindly shared about his experience serving at SPH. I liked what I heard so I added it to my list of schools to visit on Adventure Year. 

In 2025 I connected with Alex Tho, Head of School at SPH Pluit Village. Alex is a kind and purpose driven leader who shared about his 20+ years of experience serving at SPH. 

Later on I connected with Dr. Sheldon Nord, SPH’s current Executive Director, who has used his gifts in Christian education leadership to serve in the university education space for the majority of his career. This includes being the President of both Universitas Pelita Harapan (part of YPPH) and Corban University in Oregon, USA. 

While we visited, Sheldon shared about SPH’s current initiatives and strategic direction. He also shared about his leadership and what he does to support school culture improvement at each of SPH’s 5 campuses. One of the ways that he does this is by identifying, cultivating, and investing in leaders. Leadership development and mentorship are essential for a healthy international school culture, but I find that few schools have systems in place to support this work and few leaders make the time for it. 

Highlights

SPH Sentul City is known as “the garden campus” and it shows! The campus is surrounded by tropical rainforest which has made its way into the design and vibe of the campus itself. Director of Operations, Heri Seotjipto showed me around the campus and provided an inside scoop about how his team keeps it so lovely. 

One of my favorite spaces on the campus is the newly redesigned library. Imaginative and dynamic learning spaces like this help students to develop a love for reading and literacy of all kinds.  

As I walked around the campus I was struck by the bold vision of the YPPH foundation to open the Sentul City campus just 1 year after their first campus, Lippo Village. It shows a clear financial and logistical commitment to their mission and a belief that their vision would be realized, despite the organization being in its infant stages at the time. 

3 Key Takeaways

• Willing Leadership: As a leader, often what is asked of you will evolve. Having the capacity to adjust and continue to serve wholeheartedly models the healthy school culture you’re creating. 
• Campus with Character: Designing your campus to show your school’s unique personality affects both the climate (feeling) and culture (actions) of your school. 
• Unstoppable Upgrades: Continually look for ways to revitalize your campus and provide unique learning experiences for your students.  

Build culture, unlock potential. Visit my Connect Page or send a message on LinkedIn. 

Stay tuned for more international school visits – up next Sekolah Pelita Harapan, Lippo Village!

Peace & Blessings, 

– Josiah