The pandemic has forced institutions across the globe to rethink strategies and the way they do business. Schools were also not spared from redesigning the way they deliver continued learning to their learners in the new normal.
“A lot of essential things related to teaching and learning must be in place to ensure that the delivery of services to our clientele – the learners, is not compromised when the new school year begins. It has also brought initiatives of retooling and equipping the teachers of the teaching practices responsive to the so-called “new normal,” shared Dr. Gregorio Cyrus Elejorde, Schools Division Superintendent of the Department of Education Division Office of Dumaguete City.
The switch towards the new normal offered the much needed nudge towards innovation. The pandemic has inspired the division to develop new programs and projects that help in the transition towards distance learning. The Schools Division Office of Dumaguete City introduced the “Abot Ka Namin Program” which identified several initiatives to make education accessible to learners in the division.
Under the program is the “Project TEAMbayayong” which highlights the importance of building and managing relationships with stakeholders. As resources remain to be a growing challenge to the education department, the project cultivates strong relationships with the various stakeholders in the community.
The division also introduced the “Material Recovery Kiosk”, a station where learners can easily access offline learning materials closer to their homes.
“[This] seeks to ensure offline access to learning materials as learning materials will be made available at stations a lot closer to the learners’ thereby significantly reducing cost,” shared Dr. Elejorde.
Among other initiatives include the Learning Resource Portal for easy access of learning materials for teachers and the “2 Subjects in one-day Curriculum.”
As the new normal has lead an exciting road towards innovation and creativity, the Education department and schools still face pressing challenges.
“Resources will always be a major challenge for us. Even during normal times, resources will always be limited. Much more during the pandemic. What we need in normal situation may even be 10 times more during the pandemic,” explained Dr. Elejorde. He added that creativity was the key in ensuring they hit their goals.
While the pandemic may have changed the way they do business, Dr. Elejorde said their goal of taking care of every learner under their wing remained the same. With a little more creativity and innovation, the Schools Division Office of Dumaguete City continues to roll out programs to help reach every learner.
In preparation for the school year, the division rolled out its Academic Panda program, a mobile application which gives learners online access to books, learning materials, forms, and other online services that the schools and the division office regularly provide. This makes all the necessary information and documentation available right at their fingertips.
“It is a material delivery system where a learner could request what he or she needs and gets his or her needs either in softcopy or hardcopy,” shared Dr. Elejorde. If physical delivery was required for hardcopy materials, the local school mobile unit would be activated to deliver materials to any part of the city.
The division has likewise partnered with globally acclaimed education service platform, Edmodo, for the training of all teachers and students. It also set up a “DepEd Dumaguete Cares” social media platform that offers special counseling sessions with licensed counselors.
A lot of work has been placed into ensuring that every learner in Dumaguete City would receive the quality education they deserve in the new normal. Despite the new challenges, the division remains thankful to its partners who have helped them through these tough times.
“Without them, our sector might be in a very grim position to offer continuing education. With them, things seem a little less difficult. We have people to help us. We have people to think with us all the way. That even make life even more exciting,” said Dr. Elejorde.
Sustainable partnerships, thorough planning and co-creation of projects and initiatives is the secret sauce of all the projects and initiatives of DepEd Dumaguete. By working together as one education community, projects become more sustainable, shared Dr. Elejorde.
While the challenges remain real and continue to stay, Dr. Elejorde notes that his experience at the RAFI Center for Leaders is extremely helpful during these times.
“KAC is very helpful. It helps me shape my character in a way. It helps me redefine my focus as a leader. It in fact, help me discover things about myself that I haven’t thought I have in the past. The trainings I have from KAC come handy in many ways,” said Dr. Elejorde who fondly goes by the camp name “Gregorio Del Pilar.”
With the opening of the school year just weeks away, schools across the country are hard at work in ensuring the transition towards distance learning. The story of DepEd Dumaguete reminds us of the importance of building sustainable and lasting partnerships with our local school community and finding innovative solutions together in these extraordinary times.
For the month of September, the RAFI Center for Leaders honors our teachers in celebration of National Teachers’ Month. We recognize the dedication they put into their work in taking care of and teaching our young learners.
Text by Elisabeth Baumgart; Graphics Edit Marlon Perilla, RAFI Center for Leaders
The RAFI Center for Leaders provides learning and development programs that equip leaders and enable communities through world-class, safe, powerful learning experiences. The RAFI CFL headquarters are located in the scenic mountains of Balamban, Cebu at the Kool Adventure Camp, the country’s first and fully-dedicated adventure education facility.
