So do not fear, for I am with you; do not may dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. For I am the lord your God who takes your hold of your right hand and says to you, do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
This verse helps me to fight all the battles I have face along the way as I performed my duties of being a school head for the School Year 2020-2021. The outbreak of Covid-19 has greatly affected the learning delivery due to the implementation of various forms of community quarantine. As a school head, I am committed to ensure educational continuity, facilitate reskilling and upskilling of teachers and development of learners amidst the challenges but the health and safety of learners and personnel must be protected at all times. I want to share with you my leadership journey amidst Covid – 19 pandemics.
Courage. As a school head, having mental or moral strength to withstand danger, fear or difficulty is highly needed in this time of pandemic. Just like an ordinary person, I am so confused, I have also fear and I always ask myself “what if I will be affected by the Covid – 19 viruses? Is DepEd has contingency plan for the victims of Covid-19? What happens to my family? The school opening was moved from June to August 24,2020 and finally changed to October 5,2020. Before the exact opening of classes, Dr. Wilfredo E. Cabral, regional director of region IV-A CALABARZON conducted Technical Assistance (T.A) to all school heads and Public School District Supervisor (PSDS) to orient and guide us on how school will operate for the School Year 2020-2021. Likewise, ma’am Cherry Lou D. Repia, CESO V, School Division Superintendent also conducted series of virtual Ugnayang-guro and Kumustahan to all school heads and teachers to uplift and boost our confident to undertake the necessary preparations for the extraordinarily challenging School Year. The school programs and projects reflected in the Enhanced School Improvement Plan (E-SIP) and other deliverables were adjusted. The Basic Education – School Learning Continuity Plan (BE-SLCP) was also developed with the help of the School Planning Team (SPT) that served as guide in the learning delivery. To address the gap on the identified priority improvement areas like decline of enrolment, project En2PDMS (Enhanced Enrolment Process and Data Management System), Dropout rates, project SAGIP(Student Assistance and Intervention Program), Low academic performance in terms of MPS, Project SLDP(Student Learning and Development) Training of teachers, Project CB:IPE(Capacity Building: Intensified Programs for Employees) and low score in the Child-Friendly Survey, Project UCI & CFLE (Upgrading Classroom for Instruction and Child-Friendly Learning Environment) were organized. The five project teams of our school served as my backbone and gave me strength for the implementation of School Learning Continuity Plan (SLCP).
Online Learning is education that takes place over the internet. This is just one type of distance learning. Due to public health emergency, the educational system around the world was affected. As a school head, through the help of the project team CB:IPE, I initiated to implement the Inservice Training for Teachers (INSET) to update them in the new trends and techniques for online learning delivery modalities. I also allowed the teachers to attend the Competency-Based Teaching and Learning (CBTL) to enhance the content and pedagogy in their respective field of expertise. In addition, with this, 100% of teachers have attended and finished the Learning Delivery Modalities (LDM) Course 2 for teachers which also improved their ICT skills including learning assessment. Based on the results of the online survey to students, parents and other stakeholders, our school was rated very satisfactory in online learning delivery.
Victory is an achievement or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties. Due to Covid – 19 pandemics, the school operation is not so smooth compared to previous School Year. However, through the help of the DepEd top management of SDO Rizal, PSDS of Rodriguez Sub-office, School planning team, Project team, cooperation of parents, LGU officials, and active HEIs partners, the school implemented the different programs and projects. In behalf of the faculty and staff of KVSHS, I would like to thank all our partners for giving us school supplies, cleaning materials, and financial assistance for load allowance of teachers for online Quiz Bee under Project SLDP and cash prizes and medals for the winners in the online Quiz Bee and load allowance for students at risks with incomplete grades due to lack of internet access. When the municipality is under the General community quarantine, KVSHS team conducted series of home visitation to learners lagging behind. I also conducted home visitation to teacher together with the subject group head and master teacher to know the situation of one faculty member. The faculty club initiated “Kasiglahenyos Bayanihan” to help struggling students by giving school supplies, simple goody bags, and simplified activities for selected learning areas. I believed in the saying leadership by example that’s why I also joined in the home visitation. I experienced to visit our learners in a mountain area like Macabud and the students living near the sanitary landfill located in upper San isidro, Rodriguez Rizal. I hope I influenced and inspired them to really work hard to finish their studies. Teamwork makes our dream work. Through collaboration, the school has rated level 4 in terms of Instructional Supervision and presented the school best practices during the virtual sharing of best practices. The school head served as resource speaker/presenter in the sharing of best practices, project proposal and seminar-workshop of non-teaching personnel on database management system. The school is nominated in the school and individual category for Gawad Bayani ng Mondalban. Yours truly is the contender for outstanding public-school principal to the said Gawad Bayani ng Montalban in education sector.
Intelligent. As a human being, educator and school leader, having or showing the ability to get easily learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult situation is very important. I knew not all intelligent persons succeed in life. In Filipino there is the quotation “Daig ng masipag ang matalino”. These two traits can be inherited from parents or imitated to somebody who possessed those characteristics. In my case, I can say that I inherited those traits of being intelligent to my father and being diligent to my mother. Since elementary up to high school, I was a consistent honor student. However, in my college days I need to worked hard to support my studies. I have no enough time to review but I passed all the subjects and after graduation, I passed the LET in one take only. When I transferred to public school, I did not stop studying. I enrolled in the master’s program and I finished it, then I pursue my doctorate degree and luckily, I graduated. I was awarded as Most outstanding Teacher in the school level. After 15 years, I took the principal’s test and I made it. And now, in this time of pandemic, I was nominated for Most Outstanding Public-School Principal to Gawad Bayani ng Montalban sa Edukasyon. If we have determination and we are willing to learn new things, innovative, and open minded, we can also influence and inspires others to become an effective and efficient public servant.
Development to grow and become more mature. As a school leader, I believed that education is a continuous process. Everything around us undergo the process of change so we must be an active participant in different professional development. “You cannot give what you do not have”. Before the start of the School Year, I kept on attending virtual conferences, training-workshop, and “kumustahan” to make me aware and updates in the new trends in education. I also participated in the modular international training for effective leadership. This enhanced my skills in ICT which is very important in instructional supervision, communication with stakeholders, Data management, and student and parent orientation and other school programs and projects implementation.
19 years of continuous service as an educator including private and public school. The journey of being a teacher is not easy from the time a person takes an education course or certificate of teaching. After college graduation, the struggle for applying the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) is a big deal for me. Incomplete documents will not be processed specially if you have issues in your birth certificate or school records. In my case, my old sister has no birth certificate so when I applied for my birth certificate in the National Statistics Office (NSO) I was so nervous and confuse because without that document I would not allow to take the LET. I’m so happy and grateful because I have received the authenticated NSO birth certificate. After passing the LET, I was employed in one private school as a science teacher for almost three years. Due to change of residence, I applied in the public school near to my new house and luckily, I was hired as volunteer teacher for almost one year. Then, I was given the permanent teacher 1 position the following year. I was assigned as a class adviser, year level chairman, and designated as liaison officer for almost eight years. Since our school is not yet Implementing units, I am the one who prepared payroll, compute salary adjustment and other benefits aside from my task as a teacher. After three years, I was appointed as teacher II through reclassification of position, after two years, teachers III, then Head teacher III. I was ranked 2 in the head teacher position, so I was assigned to newly created public high school in the farthest barangay in our town. I served as Officer- In charge for almost three years but because of the road going to school is not accessible and not yet developed, I was experienced to have motorcycle accident. Because of that incident, I wave my position and I applied in the senior high school position. Due to my educational qualification, I was given the position of Master Teacher II in the Senior High School which has the equivalent salary range to principal I. I served as a classroom teacher for almost ten months. I took the national Qualifying Exam for School Heads (NQUESH) 2017 and luckily, I am one of the 45 passers in our division. After the School Head’s Development Program (SHDP) training of all passers, I was appointed as Assistant principal II in the Senior High School.