In his message during the 12^th National Education Summit, US Charge d’Affairs Michael Klecheski acknowledged the shared work to strengthen education governance in the Philippines.  “The United States Agency for International Development, commonly known as USAID, has been working in the Philippines for over 50 years now.  The US Government believes that education is crucial for development – both as  individuals and for the country as a whole.  Research demonstrates that education raises individual incomes and, in an enabling environment, can contribute to broad-based and inclusive economic growth.”

Charge d’Affairs Klecheski proceeded to mention that since 2013, USAID has been proud to partner with  Synergeia Foundation to implement Education Governance Effectiveness or EdGE.  “Guided by the proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child,” EdGE strengthens community participation in education.  EdGE mentors representatives from local governments; school division superintendents and supervisors; members of local school boards; and school heads to effectively plan, manage, and evaluate education programs.”

“Through this partnership, in collaboration with the Philippine Government, we have trained more than 10,400 administrators and officials in 91 cities and municipalities.    As a result, there are now nearly 1,400 active local school boards and school governing councils.  These school boards and councils have led to nearly 3,000 schools conducting remedial reading programs with 300,000 participants.  And  we are proud that today, almost 78 percent of these learners can now fluently read by the time they finish grade two.”

“xxxToday, five years later, we celebrate your successes.”

Mr. Klecheski stated that early-grade literacy is the foundation for future learning and this foundation also requires strong community engagement, accountability and transparency in education.  “Good education governance contributes to better literacy by ensuring that local governments use public education funds effectively and transparently, and that these funds are aligned with identified education needs.  With more efficient spending, barangays and school boards are able to purchase teaching and learning materials and organize after-school remedial reading programs.  Good education governance involves the collective participation of all stakeholders and partnerships with national, regional and local governments, civil society and the private sector.”

Mr. Klecheski also congratulated the winners of the Seal of Good Education Governance and the winners of the Jesse Robredo Excellence Award.  “We hope that this seal becomes both a challenge and an inspiration for local governments to continue championing good education governance.  I am honored to witness your commitment and I celebrate our partnership to improve basic education in the Philippines, for a more stable and prosperous Philippines.” 

At the 12^th National Education Summit, USAID Deputy Mission Director Patrick Wesner welcomed participants and expressed his great honor to address  a gathering of stakeholders who work tirelessly to strengthen education governance in the Philippines.

“At USAID,   we believe that in order to improve the quality of education, we must work together to transform how the education system is governed.”  He shared that since 2013, the USAID, Department of Education and Synergeia Foundation have been implementing the Education Governance Effectiveness (EdGE) project which contributes to achieving the shared goal of improving learning outcomes in the Philippines for children in the early grades.   This partnership heightened transparency, accountability, and the participation of stakeholders in education policy formulation and implementation.  This boosted community engagement by developing School Governing Councils and implementing school improvement plans, further accelerating academic performance in public schools.

“I congratulate the hard work and tireless dedication of school governing councils, principals, parents and teachers.  Your efforts have improved the learning environment at your schools and provided students with access to a quality education.”    He noted that over 2 million children have already benefitted from educational activities, including remedial reading classes and summer reading camps, because cities and municipalities prioritized early-grade literacy and good education governance.

“Our theme for this year’s summit is “Bigger, Stronger, Humbler.  “Bigger” because we continually strive  for the day when all Filipino children will have access to the quality education they need to fulfil their dreams.  “Stronger” because deeper commitment and unity across a wide range of partners will make us strong enough to achieve this bigger vision.  Lastly, “humbler” because we know that the work is hard, but by humbly learning from each other, we can create synergy to overcome future challenges.”  During the summit, Mr. Wesner encouraged everyone to take the opportunity to share ideas with each other on strengthening and sustaining progress within their communities in order to provide children with the best opportunities.

Lastly, Mr. Wesner commended all the partner cities and municipalities that have achieved good governance through education service delivery.   “This would not be possible without the tireless dedication of and leadership by champions, such as you.  You mentor peers and inspire them to keep moving forward by prioritizing education governance through transparent budgeting and effective policy-making.”

(Highlights of Mr. Wesner’s speech at the 12^th Washington Sycip National Education Summit held on September 5-6, 2018 at the PICC)

San Gabriel teachers travelled all the way to Bacnotan for their Remedial Reading Workshop because their town did not have a hall big enough to accommodate all the teacher-participants.  The long travel through hilly roads nor the lack of local venue did not dampen their spirits.  They have imbibed San Gabriel Mayor Hermenegildo Velasco’s passion for education.  Mayor Velasco said that even if San Gabriel is just a 4^th class municipality and a small town in La Union, he would not let these hamper their goal to improve the education of children in their town.  They cannot stay 4^th class forever, and education is the key to their development.

The teachers actively participated in the different exercises on phonemic awareness, comprehension and thinking skills.  They were not timid at all.  They were very thankful for the many things they learned from the workshop that they can use to teach reading to their Grades 2 to 6 students.

During the break-out session, Dr. Guevara asked them to create something that would summarize their experience in the whole-day training.  One of the participants, Grade 3 Teacher Laila Supanga Kawain of Lon-oy Elementary School wrote a poem on how she felt about the training, what she learned and what left a mark in her from her experience.   Teacher Laila explained that she saw her co-teachers were cutting pieces of colored paper to come up with art pieces. But she was not very good in art work.  So she wrote a poem to express how much she has learned and appreciated the training.  She said blending of sounds and the techniques to teach it are what she would use to her students.  Through her poem, she wants to show her gratitude to Synergeia and to EdGE, and wishes for another training in the future.

Below was the poem that she wrote:

TRAINING ON REMEDIAL READING

Teachers’ training on remedial reading

How I really love this thing

Blending vowel and consonant sounds,

Makes reading truly fun.

Things that I don’t know before,

This time, I have learned them now.

Teaching children how to read

Is what makes a teacher great!

Synergeia, we thank you

For the sacrifices that you do

We know we can never repay you.

What you have taught, we will just do!