Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan peningkatan profesionalisme guru, kualitas anak didik, dan guru yang berkarakter. Populasi penelitian adalah guru SD di Provinsi Sumatera Utara dengan sampel yang diambil secara purposive, yaitu Kabupaten Batubara. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan teknik tes, wawancara, FGD, dan studi dokumentasi. Analisis data dilakukan secara kualitatif dan kuantitatif dengan teknik statistik deskriptif. Hasil penelitian memperlihatkan bahwa nilai UKG SD dan SMP tahun 2013 di Kabupaten Batubara secara nasional sangat rendah, bahkan ada yang memiliki nilai kompetensi 1,0. Nilai rata-rata kompetensi guru hanya sebesar 39,61 untuk guru SD, masih berada di bawah nilai rata-rata secara nasional dan Provinsi Sumatera Utara. Nilai UKG SMP sebesar 46,86 masih berada di bawah nilai rata-rata nasional. Hal itu menunjukkan bahwa sebagian guru di Batubara masih memiliki profesionalisme yang rendah dalam melakukan tugas profesinya sehingga ke depan diharapkan perkembangan karakter guru yang berkualitas. THE URGENT DEMAND FOR PROFESSIONALISM AND THE HOPE FOR TEACHERS WITH GOOD CHARACTERS Abstract: The purpose of this research is to describe the improvement of teachers’ professionalism, students’ quality and teachers’ characters. The research population was primary school teachers in North Sumatra in Batubara Regency who were recruited through purposive sampling. Data were collected through test, interview, FGD and documentation study. The research results show that the value of UKG at elementary and secondary schools in 2013 in Batubara Regency, is very low, and some schools even have the competence value as much as 1.0. The average of primary school teachers’ competence is only 39.61, below the national and provincial average. While the SMP UKG value is 46.86 which is still below the national average. It shows that some teachers in Batubara are still less professional and thus need to further develop themselves to be qualified teachers. Keywords: professionalism, teachers’ characters, competency; quality