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Author: synergeia

Three Men and a Town Called Vigan

Posted on by synergeia
Sir Sunny Sevilla imparting his knowledge on the event's participants
Sir Sunny Sevilla imparting his knowledge on the event’s participants

Vigan is a dream destination.  Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Vigan experiences the cool northeast winds in February which bring the temperatures below the 20s.  One walks the cobblestone streets, is charmed by colonial era architecture, and soaks in its rich history.  For the Synergeia team that went to Vigan on February 5-6, 2018 for a Remedial Reading Workshop, one of the highlights though was seeing up close three men whose dedication towards uplifting the level of education is commendable.

We were fortunate to meet Mayor Juan Carlo Medina and hear him speak enthusiastically about his administration’s thrust to improve education.  Mayor Medina is a young first-termer local chief executive.  He says with humility that he is still learning the ropes and looks up to Former Governor Lito Coscoluella as his mentor.   He realizes that all stakeholders must hold hands and work together to deliver quality education to the children.  The effort to do so does not only depend on teachers nor parents but requires the cooperation of everyone including the city government.  This he emphasized when he spoke before the participant-teachers and DepEd officers in the Remedial Reading workshop.

City Schools Division Superintendent Anselmo Aludino was not only physically present during most of the workshop activities, it was under his directive that the 1 and a half day Remedial Reading Workshop was a full-house.   The teachers took the opportunity to review the techniques and learn new strategies in teaching English and Reading to their students.   As SDS Aludino said, “The success of our learners is in our hands.  Turuan natin sila kung ano ang mga dapat matutunan.”

Former Customs Commissioner Sunny Sevilla served as mentor in the reading workshop.   From collecting customs duties and running after smugglers, can one imagine that F/Comm. Sunny would delight in teaching elementary school teachers about phonetic awareness, reading comprehension and story-reading techniques?   One of the exercises he conducted was for teachers to develop a story from a situational sketch he gave.  Three schools gave the most interesting stories and won token prizes from Synergeia.  The teachers said the exercise made them work together and share ideas, imagine situations from a child’s perspective and look at how to interject a moral lesson in the story.

The three men making education work in Vigan.
The three men making education work in Vigan.

Marawi Principals Sit Down to Identify Education Priorities

Posted on by synergeia
20180220 Marawi Workshop (2)

Travelling back to Marawi City last February 19-20 for a consultation on education priorities was a bittersweet homecoming for Synergeia family.  Marawi City ran several education programs with Synergeia back in 2004 to 2010.  These were very fruitful ones that involved reinventing the Local School Board, community engagement, teachers development, alternative learning and skills training.  This time, however, on our way to the City Hall, it was sad to see canvas tents serving as makeshift classrooms on some empty lots and in the middle of what used to be playgrounds of some schools that were not destroyed.  Only 15 out of the 69 public schools have reopened as of last month.  Four months after the war had ended in October 2017, government rehabilitation efforts have not begun, including those of the 22 public schools which were completely destroyed and 47 others that were damaged and requiring massive repairs.   Because of this, only some 3,000 students out of about 20,000 were able to return to continue their studies.

But the community is resilient and brimming with hope that they can rise again.  And Synergeia is committed to help in their journey to recovery.  Their slogan, “Bangon, Marawi!” is not only very apt but they live it.  The City Hall conference room where the consultation workshop was to be held was full-packed with the presence of City Officials, school principals, DepEd officers, barangay officials and civil society representatives.   Everyone wanted to contribute to the conversation on education priorities.

The consultation workshop was intended to identify aspects of education that need to be immediately attended to after the destruction and displacement of war.  The education priorities were to be set by the school principals and local officials themselves.    City Administrator Sultan Khamid Gandamra, Councilor Nasif Marangit who is the Chairman of the Committee on Education, and DepEd Superintendent Pharida Sansarona gave inspirational messages on the importance of prioritizing education.  Councilor Marangit could not have said it more truthfully that one of the most affected by the war is education of the children of Marawi.

During the workshop, the participants were asked “Ano ang programang nararapat gawin upang maging mabuti, masaya at magaling ang pag-aaral ng mga kabataan ng Marawi?”   They wrote their suggestions on meta cards and pasted them on manila papers.  Some explained their suggestions during the sharing session.

The construction or repair of school buildings has been identified as a top priority.  The principals stressed that children cannot go back to school if the classrooms are still destroyed.  Classrooms have to be conducive to learning as well as teaching.  In Bito ES, kinder modular tables and chairs are among their highest priorities.  The principals also identified health and sanitation facilities such as water system, hand-washing area and comfort rooms for the learners.

In terms of soft infrastructure, the participants identified as their top 3 priorities training on the use of technology in learning, training on management of schools, and values and peace education.   Principals from Banga ES and Toros ES said they need workshops to retrain teachers in teaching English, science and math.  Our educators also think it is important to make learning fun and creative so they hope sports facilities can be built in their schools and children can play volleyball and badminton.

Ma’am Nene reiterated Synergeia’s commitment to help Marawi.  Synergeia will work with DepEd Superintendent Sansarona in mapping the priorities on a per school basis and to avoid duplication with national government programs.

The consultation workshop has been productive and the real work on Marawi’s education priorities is just beginning.   We put to heart and mind what Father Ben Nebres said, “It is now the time to look at the long-term future…which is education of our children.”

20180220 Marawi Workshop (11)

Synergeia and Teresa Work It Out!

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With the New Year comes new beginnings and for the Municipality of Teresa, 2018 marks the beginning of a newfound commitment to education. On the 23rd of January, Synergeia and the Municipality of Teresa officially began its education partnership with the town’s first ever Education Summit.

Everyone was abuzz with excitement and eagerness. The participants yelled the summit’s title “We Can Work It Out” like a battle cry to kick-off the day’s program of activities. Mayor Raul Palino was inspiring yet firm in his remarks. To everyone in the room — to the school officials and teachers, students, parents, implementers of the 4Ps program, private sector, and local government officials, he posed this challenge: “May gagawin po tayo…Ang ating layunin ay sama-samang makatulong sa mga bata. Papaano natin itataas ang antas ng karunungan sa Teresa?”

Synergeia Mentor, Former Governor Josie dela Cruz, discussed School Governing Councils – – how they are created, who can be SGC members, their functions and how they differ from Parent-Teachers’ Associations. She highlighted their important role in the formulation of school improvement plans after finding out that many schools in Teresa did not have SGCs at all, or if they did, these were not functional or active in school policy making and planning. The SGC is the vehicle to involve members of the entire community who might have a stake in the improvement of every child’s education. As F/Gov Josie so aptly stated, “Ang edukasyon ng kabataan ay pakialam nating lahat…Pagkatapos nitong summit na ito, sana magbubuo po tayong lahat ng School Governing Councils sa ating mga paaralan.”

The two break-out groups facilitated by F/Gov Josie and Ma’am Nene were interactive, fun, and instructional at the same time. There were follow-through modules on identifying SGC circles of influence, how to make one attend an SGC meeting and what could be ground rules an SGC must observe. The participants worked on a group puzzle that quizzed them on historical facts about the Philippines and in the process, they learned about cooperation and working as one team. They next dove right into capacity-building activities that focused on setting attainable goals, translating goals into tasks, and differentiating between inputs, outputs, and outcomes. These skills are instrumental in building and fostering a successful SGC.

The participants, shown the National Achievement Test scores of Teresa schools, expressed concern at the declining trend of scores over the past few years. Participants, including young students, had stories to tell on possible reasons for this drop such as the sudden change in curriculum, the focus on mother tongue, parents who are unable to read themselves, newbie teachers assigned in the lower grades, students distracted with games, and so on. The bottom line, however, was everyone agreed that there was much work to be done.

To cap the day’s workshop, the participants were asked to prepare a simple action plan that identifies their desired goals and tasks. The teachers want to improve the reading and math competencies of schoolchildren. The parents look forward to a training on parenting skills. DepEd Schools Division Superintendent, Dr. Meliton Zurbano, identified reading, numeracy and writing as priorities. Teresa Marble, the partner-private corporation of Teresa in its education program, promised to support and monitor the development of SGCs, the remedial reading training of teachers and parenting workshop.

After hearing the participants, we know that there is so much hope and promise that Teresa’s education program will succeed. Ma’am Nene promised Synergeia’s full support and commitment. Her parting note – “Ang programa ng Synergeia ay ang inyong edukasyon…”

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