Government of the Philippines approach to leading the nation out of its education crisis

DRAFT as 7/15/2005
DO NOT QUOTE

Table of Contents

FOREWORD
BY SECRETARY FLORENCIO B. ABAD

1 2

Chapter 1
WHAT IS SCHOOLS FIRST? AN OVERVIEW OF THE SCHOOLS FIRST INITIATIVE

Chapter 2
WHY IS THERE A NEED FOR SCHOOLS FIRST? A LOOK AT THE CRISIS IN PHILIPPINE EDUCATION

Chapter 3
WHAT DOES SCHOOLS FIRST SEEK TO ACCOMPLISH? THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHOOLS FIRST INITIATIVE

Chapter 4
HOW DOES SCHOOLS FIRST WORK? THE SFI STRATEGIC RESULTS FRAMEWORK

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Chapter 5
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO? PRIORITY ACTIONS

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Chapter 6
WHERE DO WE START? CHANGING THE WAY WE LOOK AT EDUCATION

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Chapter 7
ONE FINAL WORD CONCLUSION

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Appendix A
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

25 29 33

Appendix B
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT EDUCATION SUMMIT

Appendix C
ELEMENTS OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN

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Foreword
The task of reforming Philippine education is a formidable one.
As we struggle to reduce the tremendous resource gaps in education, we too have to contend with the deteriorating quality of our basic education programs, programs which have been in rapid decline over the last three decades. In the absence of an economic miracle in our countrys foreseeable future, we would need to develop highly innovative solutions if we are to reverse this downward trend. In the last few months, I have had the great privilege of meeting some of the best minds in the field of education. The valuable inputs of these dedicated men and women have contributed to our understanding of the education crisis and to the development of what is now our governments response to that crisis, the Schools First Initiative. It is my hope that with the cooperation of all our stakeholders, through our continuing discussions with people in the field and through their actual participation in Schools First, we can make headway in our battle against mediocrity in the performance of our schools and in the performance of our students in the coming months and years. The success of Schools First must be a common goal among all Filipinos. Through Schools First, we must all work together to ensure that we have better schools for our children. Through Schools First, we must all work together to ensure that our children get the best education possible. No less than our nations future depends on it.

FLORENCIO B. ABAD Secretary of Education

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Chapter 1
WHAT IS SCHOOLS FIRST? AN OVERVIEW OF THE SCHOOLS FIRST INITIATIVE
And what is principled leadership if not the kind that nurtures empowerment? The principled leader helps others discover and develop the leader in themselves and thus propagates a community of leaders all attuned to the common good. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

The Schools First Initiative is the flagship program of the Department of Education that attempts to significantly enhance our efforts at improving the quality of education in our country. Our Crisis in Education Schools First recognizes the need to provide solutions to the many problems of our schools. No less than our Secretary of Education, Florencio B. Abad, has declared a state of crisis in Philippine education. This crisis situation is rooted on the fact that we are not spending enough for education, leading to shortages in classrooms, teachers and textbooks that contribute to the overall mediocrity in the performance of our schools and our students. Beyond this, our centralist and hierarchal education bureaucracy, its history of short-term planning and short-lived leadership, and its isolation from the community, have not helped to counteract this decline. To learn more about the state of Philippine education, go to Chapter 2: WHY DO WE NEED SCHOOLS FIRST? A Look at the Crisis in Philippine Education. Our Objectives Through Schools First, we hope to improve the quality of education outcomes in the country based on three performance indicators participation, completion and achievement. As a reform package, Schools First has three components Enhancement of Learning, More Resources for Learning and Focused Organization for Learning under which are efforts designed to meet our strategic objective of enabling all Filipinos to acquire Basic Education competencies. In turn, this strategic objective shall be achieved based on five Out-of-Crisis Scenario indicators. To learn more about the objectives of Schools First, go to Chapter 3: WHAT DOES SCHOOLS FIRST SEEK TO ACCOMPLISH? The Objectives of the Schools First Initiative.

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Our Strategic Plan Schools First acknowledges the need to reform the massive education bureaucracy in order to make it more effective at delivering outcomes. A key element to the success of this flagship initiative is the decentralization and local governance of education in the country. While the Departments central and regional offices focus on providing support to those in the field, the decentralization of education shall enable our frontline instructional leaders and teachers to have a greater stake in the delivery of Basic Education. Local governance shall enable them to engage their respective local communities in productive partnerships for school reform. To learn more about how Schools First proposes to achieve these objectives, go to Chapter 4: HOW DOES SCHOOLS FIRST WORK? The SFI Strategic Results Framework. Our Priorities As we implement Schools First on its maiden year, 2005-2006, we must focus on twelve priority actions. At the school level, focus is placed on the creation of partnerships in local governance that will ultimately lead to the establishment of School Governing Councils in all public elementary and high schools throughout the country. A thorough discussion of these priority actions is in Chapter 5: WHAT WE NEED TO DO? Priority Actions. The task of reforming Philippine education out of the crisis situation is no easy task. It requires the participation of all stakeholders in what has to be the most comprehensive education reform package in our entire history. Just as important is the need for us to reevaluate our perception of education, from the way we look at the education bureaucracyto the way we look at public school educator. Schools First requires us to have a transformation towards an elightened mindset, one that shall generate positive results from the active participation of a mobilized citizenry. to learn more about the mind change Schools First requires from each stakeholder, go to Chapter 6: WHERE DO WE START? Changing the Way We Look at Education. Schools First shall empower an enlightened citizenry to solve the crisis in Philippine education. With the active participation of all stakeholders in education, we can expect a dramatic improvement in the performance of our schools, our teachers and our students. Through Schools First, we can achieve our goal of providing quality Basic Education for all.

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Chapter 2
WHY IS THERE A NEED FOR SCHOOLS FIRST? A LOOK AT THE CRISIS IN PHILIPPINE EDUCATION
The failure of education represents the failure of society. The failure of education represents the inability of society to adequately prepare its young for their inevitable ascendancy into leadership roles in the future. The failure of education represents the inability of society to properly perpetuate itself through succeeding generations. It therefore pains me to report to you today what you and I all know there is a crisis in Philippine education. Secretary Florencio Abads State of Education Address 2004

It should no longer surprise us that the state of Philippine Education is in crisis. What most
people do not know is the extent of this crisis. Let us begin by examining the nature of the crisis in Philippine Education. Surface Symptoms Although there had been some improvements in the past few years, shortages of classrooms, textbooks and teachers remain to be a major concern. This Fiscal Year 2005, we have a shortage of 57,930 classrooms, 7.8 million textbooks and 20,874 teachers. This shortage is expected to rise in the coming years since the student population of our public elementary and high schools, currently in the area of 17 million, increase by 2.8% annually. Also, the actual per student spending on basic

SURFACE SYMPTOMS
RESOURCE GAPS FY 2005 Classrooms Seats Textbooks Teacher Items @1:45 57,930 2.24M 7.8M 20,874

COUNTRY SPENDING ON EDUCATION United States New Zealand Thailand Philippines US$ 2,240 per student US$ 2,240 per student US$ 950 per student US$ 114 per student

education declined dramatically in 1988 when the country first implemented free secondary education without proportionately increasing the basic education budget. Today, we only spend around US$150 per student per year. This pales in comparison, for instance, to our neighbor Thailand which spends around US$950 per student for each school year.

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And little relief is expected by way of the budget allocation for Basic Education. For Fiscal Year 2004, 88.83% of the P109.5 billion earmarked for Basic Education goes to teachers salaries alone. Also, the P2.5 billion increase for Fiscal Year 2005 actually represents a decrease in the percentage of the national budget that is allotted for Basic Education (down from 13.62% in 2004 to 12.35% in 2005).

Poor System-wide Performance As the size of the student population increases each year, the pattern of poor outcomes has remained stagnant for more than thirty years. In the most recent National Achievement Test, the national average was 50.03% for Grade 5 and 44.36% for 4th year high school. In the High School Readiness Test, only 8,000 out of 1.2 million students passed (with a low national average of 32.13%, most of these Grade 6 students have a Grade 4 competency level). In the Trends in International Math and Science Study, we placed 36th out of 38 countries. In the Self-Assessment Test for English, we learned that 80% of our public school teachers have inadequate proficiency of the English language. Moreover, out of 1,000 children who enter Grade 1, 312 drop out before they finish Grade 6. Of the 638 who do finish grade school, 249 complete the program in 9.6 years due to repetition or interruption. And of these 638 students, only seven have mastered minimum competencies required for high school. Only 32 out of 100 Filipino children finish high school.
1991 UPCE-PRODED Grade 6 students score at 47.3% 1993-2004 NEAT Mean scores in Math and Science range from 40.4% to 52.7%; stagnant around 50% 2004-2005 High School Readiness Test English: 0.81% at mastery level (75+) Science: 0.85% at mastery level Math: 2.12% at mastery level Total: 0.64% at mastery level. Less than 1% of incoming high school freshmen have mastered minimum competencies of elementary education and most are not ready to learn the high school curriculum. 1986-1988 SOUTELE Math scores at 44.3% in 1986, 41.9% in 1988, overall scores of Grade 6 students at 47.5% 1989 BEE-PRODED Math scores of Grade 6 students below 50%; Math is least learned subject

EVIDENCE OF ABUNDANT AND PERSISTENT LEARNING GAPS

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Signs of Self-:Perpetuating Mediocrity What is truly alarming is the presence of growing signs of self-perpetuating mediocrity in our educational system. Poorly performing students progressing through the cycle of Basic Education eventually move on to become teachers who are unable to deliver high quality instruction. Meanwhile, our education managers become consumed by the day-to-day challenge of merely accommodating additional students. They do not have the capacity to address the need to focus on delivering quality instruction much less to devote any effort to reform the way current instruction is delivered. Further worsening the situation, in order to justify this daily and yearly struggle, there is a growing tendency to focus on acquiring academic credentials even without securing the real underlying competencies these credentials are suppose to represent (the publics negative reaction to the High School Bridge Program is indicative of this tendency). Root Causes of the Crisis in Education We have identified three critical issues that have allowed our Basic Education institutions to be overwhelmed by crisis. First, the centralist and hierarchical operations of the education establishment divert and distract our attention from teaching and learning in the classrooms. Second, short planning horizons and limited funds encourage mere coping and unsustainable niche performance. Third, bureaucratic isolation from the community limits independent initiatives for improvement. And although reform capabilities are tremendous in our country and solutions have been available for the longest time, our problems in education have reached crisis proportions because our unique strengths have not been fully exercised to have an impact on a sustained reform movement for the entire system. Part of the problem stems from institutional instability at the top. In the last 18 years, the Department of Education has been headed by nine Education Secretaries, each one serving an average of two years (or an equivalent of one budget cycle). While our education system
The program faced strong opposition from parents since it represents an additional year of studies for their children. Many parents opted to have their children go straight to high school, this despite their lack of requisite skills in these three core subjects. The High School Bridge Program is a one-year remedial program in English, Math and Science created for students who failed the High School Readiness Test (HSRT).

HIGH SCHOOL BRIDGE PROGRAM

FOUR EDUCATION SECRETARIES IN 5 YEARS

In the last five years, weve had 4 Education Secretaries: Gonzales, Roco, De Jesus, Abad.

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would benefit from a more consistent cumulative effort sustained over a period of at least ten years (since this would clearly demonstrate the full impact of reforms on one cohort of children) representing the basic education program from Grade 1 entrant to High School graduate, we cannot achieve this precisely because of this top level instability in the education bureaucracy. However, a bigger part of the problem stems from institutional stagnation at the middle and bottom of the education hierarchy. Heavily dependent on the quality of teachers and principals, the system has suffered so much because of two key weaknesses: (1) entry level recruits have not always been the best qualified; and (2) career progression has not always been based on who is the most capable of delivering educational outcomes. Moreover, most reforms merely cope with these two self-perpetuating weaknesses. While abundant evidence suggests that public schools do not always hire the best qualified candidates from among the large pool of potential teachers, in-service training programs have been very limited, poorly targeted, and with varying degrees of effectiveness. As a result, the demand by teachers for an improvement in their own teaching competencies is very low and the quality of teacher-student interaction has declined in many schools. With no consistent evidence of a systematic, sustained, organized, deliberate, unidirectional and effective effort to raise averages, reduce variations and lessen extent of lowerend performance, Philippine education will continue its rapid decline. With the daily demand to cope with running a large and complex enterprise, the task of improving the quality of Philippine education becomes an even more difficult undertaking. For education reformers, therefore, the challenge is to continue to deliver instruction while changing the conditions under which such instruction is being delivered. We need to perform while reforming.

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Chapter 3
WHAT DOES SCHOOLS FIRST SEEK TO ACCOMPLISH? THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SCHOOLS FIRST INITIATIVE
The wonderful institution established by mankind known as education can have only one function and this is the pursuit of truth, honor and justice. Jose P. Laurel

The SFI Package Our most important challenge is to make education delivery responsive t o the demands of communities ready to make these changes possible. Although this will not happen at the same time all over the country but there is a need to create the proper environment that would enable each community to move ahead at its own pace, given its unique capabilities and preferences, and based on its understanding of the goals and benefits of reform. Of greatest potential impact are institutional changes at the school level. We are therefore developing models of community governance of schools and we hope to respond to the needs of schools and communities that are ready to adopt these models. But Schools First is not just a formal package of policy reforms. It too is a popular movement based on the ideas and principles of the global movement Education for All. As such, beyond the policies and programs for Basic Education reform, we would like to instill among our people the knowledge, information and mindset that are crucial to understanding and appreciating education reform and to empowering them to participate in the process. As a reform package, the Schools First Initiative has three key components, namely: (1) Enhancement of Learning, (2) More Resources for Learning, and (3) Focused Organization for Learning.

EDUCATION FOR ALL

The quest to achieve Education for All (EFA) is fundamentally about assuring that children, youth and adults gain the knowledge and skills they need to better their lives and to play a role in building more peaceful and equitable societies. This is why focusing on quality is an imperative for achieving. As many societies strive to universalise basic education, they face the momentous challenge of providing conditions where genuine learning can take place for each and every learner. Kochiro Matsuura UNESCO Director-General

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Enhancement of Learning The first component of the SFI Package focuses on the improvement of teaching and learning practices. As such, this component aims to achieve the following objectives: 1) ECCD. Development of early childhood education standards linked to national co-financing of local daycare and preschool programs; 2) Reading Proficiency. Development of reading standards, improvement of teacher proficiency in teaching beginner reading, and the creation of library hubs; 3) English Proficiency. Improvement of teacher hiring standards and in-service interventions for non-proficient teachers; 4) Math and Science. Improvement of Math and Science learning in Basic Education; 5) Muslim Filipinos. Promotion of Madrasah programs in Basic Education; 6) Indigenous Peoples. Promotion of Indigenous Peoples programs in Basic Education; 7) High Schools. Improvement of High School programs, including Bridge to high school, Science & Technology high schools, and Technical-Vocational Track in high school; 8) Teacher Preparation. Improvement of pre-service programs, induction, and in-service training; 9) Student Assessment. Improvement of national achievement tests in elementary and secondary levels and development of division-based testing for instructional improvement; 10) ICT in Education. Promotion of ICT for teaching and learning in all high schools (e.g., DepEd-GILAS/US-AID Program); 11) Values Formation. Promotion of Values Education; and 12) Distance Learning. Development of Distance Learning programs for conflict-affected areas.
The Early Childhood Care and Development program aims to ensure that preschool children are adequately prepared for the formal learning system. ECCD focuses on the Preschool Program and the Preschool Service Contracting Scheme.

ECCD

MADRASAH
(pl. madaris) madrasah is an arabic word meaning school or place of learning. In the Philippines, it is defined as school in the Muslim communities.

DEP ED-GILAS/ US-AID PROGRAM

Through the efforts of a consortium of private corporations and civic organizations in partnership with DepEd, this program aims to provide basic internet literacy programs and internet connectivity to all the 5,443 public high schools by 2010.

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More Resources for Learning The second component of the SFI Package focuses on the improvement of resource generation and resource management. As such, this component aims to achieve the following objectives: 1) Multi-Year Spending Framework. Development of a comprehensive multi-year country spending framework for Basic Education for all financing sources for 2006 to 2010; 2) Medium-Term Reform Program. Development of a medium-term reform program backed by loanfinanced budget support linked to policy reforms starting 2006; 3) Better Use of Available Resources. Improvement in teachers hiring, improvement in the management of MOOE at the division and school levels, more effective SEF spending, increase in private sector participation through GASTPE, intensive use of school buildings (e.g., two-shift arrangement), promotion of privately-financed education, and promotion of LGU delivery of government-financed ECCD and ALS programs; 4) Mobilization of New Domestic Resources. Increase in SEF collections, increase in use of community assets for Basic Education (e.g., Brigada Eskuwela), and increase in private and non-government contributions to Basic Education; 5) Grant-Financed Projects. Development of framework for mobilization of grant-financed projects with outputs linked to mainstream policies and programs; and 6) Convergence. Participation in human development services convergence programs with other national government agencies, particularly in those that address the non-education factors that affect educational outcomes (e.g. Food-for-School and School-Feeding programs).

MOOE/SEF
MOOE stands for Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures, this represents recurrent expenses for travel, communications, maintenance and repair, rents, electricity and other expenses of the school. SEF stands for Special Education Funds, this represents local government funds intended for education.

BRIGADA ESKWELA
Brigada Eskwela is the National School Maintenance Week, a yearly project that encourages parents, local civic organizations, church groups, barangay councils and concerned individuals in the community to volunteer financial, material and human resources for the minor repair and maintenance of school facilities. This community effort is done nationwide in the month of May, in time for the opening of classes in June.

FOOD-FOR-SCHOOL/ SCHOOL FEEDING

School feeding programs are common strategy to improve childrens health, a key issue in school attendance, retention and performance especially in indigent communities. The Milk Feeding Project is implemented to develop the childrens milk drinking habit while the Breakfast Feeding Project is a response to the elimination of short-term hunger.

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Focused Organization for Learning The third component of the SFI Package focuses on the improvement of the education bureaucracy. As such, this component aims to achieve the following objectives: 1) Schools and DepEd Division Offices. Promotion of school-based management and enhancement of Division Offices powers and responsibilities for Basic Education delivery; 2) DepEd Regional Offices. Shift in focus of Regional Offices to standards enforcement and quality assurance at divisional level; 3) DepEd Central Office. Shift in focus of Central Office to policy, strategic direction, standards and outcomes specification; 4) Rationalization. Implementation of DepEd reorganization with organizational structures and staffing rationalized according to functional focus; 5) Decentralization. Acceleration of decentralization at the division, provincial and city levels (decentralization calibrated in scope and degree of autonomy based on readiness and performance); and 6) Leadership Development. Development of principals, superintendents and educational administration specialists under these new conditions. Strategic Objective

INDICATORS
Our strategic objective is to enable all Filipinos acquire Basic Education competencies. As such, Schools First aims to provide the conditions necessary for us to achieve this strategic objective and to get our country out of the education crisis. This requires us to develop in our children the ability to learn in non-natural settings, the ability to learn literacy and numeracy, and the ability to learn high order thinking skills. Also, we must create measurements that both teachers and the public can understand. Scenario Out of Crisis
4. 2. 1.

All children enter Grade 1 ready for school. All children in school read by Grade

3. Teachers with English and subject proficiency. All students obtain adequate instruction. schooling by poor.

5. Increased demand for

The Out-of-Crisis Scenario shall be based on five (5) Indicators, namely: appropriate early childhood education content and outcomes. Subsequently, we would

1) All children enter Grade 1 ready for school. We would like to see more Filipino children aged 3 to 5 obtain organized early childhood development experience with adequate and like to see all Filipino children ready to enter Grade 1. In order to help attain this goal, policies

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and programs and resources of the ECCD Council shall mobilize standards-based local delivery of daycare and pre-school programs to the benefit of all poor households. 2) All children in school read by Grade 3. We would like to see more Filipino children in Grades 1 to 3 read with comprehension as early as possible through the use of their native tongue. Subsequently, we would like to see all Filipino children read by Grade 3. DepEd policies and practices in the deployment, training and supervision of teachers and instructional support on beginning reading and basic numeracy in Grades 1 to 3 help to attain this goal. 3) Teachers with English and subject proficiency. We would like to see all new teachers hired have adequate English proficiency while more have subject mastery. Also, we would like to see an improvement in instruction from Grade 4 to 6 and Year 1 to 4 and a rise in mastery of grade level competencies. Policies and programs on education, licensing, hiring and evaluating teachers and instructional support and supervision in schools help to attain this goal. 4) All students obtain adequate instruction. We would like to see engaged time on task in schools increased to required levels and more students meet required competencies for their respective levels. Subsequently, we would like to see all students meet required competencies for each level. Classroom and school level policies and practices supported by parental involvement and local government support help to attain this goal. 5) Increased demand for schooling by poor. We would like to see poor parents keep their children in school longer while alternative learning reaches and raises competencies of all drop-outs to levels equivalent to those in school. Other public services (e.g., health, livelihood, social protection, nutrition) converging on poorer communities to induce poor parents to keep their children in school longer help to attain this goal.

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Chapter 4
HOW DOES SCHOOLS FIRST WORK? THE SFI STRATEGIC RESULTS FRAMEWORK

I am convinced that if this country is to move forward to grow at a rate consistent with the aspiration of our people, we have to decentralize much of that authority wielded by the National government. Corazon C. Aquino

Key Requirements for Success The success of Schools First is dependent on how well teachers and learners enhance learning in three environments, namely: (1) early childhood programs, (2) elementary and high schools, and (3) alternative learning systems. Our frontline instructional leaders School Heads, Principals and Supervisors must work with teachers, parents, local governments and community groups so that they can unify all efforts and resources for organized instruction in these three environments. Our Basic Education managers at the local level the Division Superintendents must work with local government executives so that they can provide the leadership and the support necessary to meet education standards throughout their assigned locality. Parents, local governments and the community must get involved at the school-level and local-level governance of Basic Education. The collective efforts of all of these individuals to pursue a common goal shall provide the strength required to focus, drive and sustain the entire reform process. The DepEd Leadership the DepEd Central Office and Regional Offices shall provide the impetus to make local governance of Basic Education yield better educational outcomes in every community. The DepEd Leadership shall make sure that everyone stays focused on their respective reform efforts. It shall mobilize all stakeholders, leverage existing good practices to catalyze broader implementation, attract new forces, resources and approaches to further enhance the capabilities of those in the field, and provide an effective structure for coherence among diverse efforts.

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Decentralization and Local Governance Schools First calls for the interaction between education professionals and the community. As such, each school is expected to benefit from the active involvement of parents, local government executives and community leaders in the running of its affairs. Local governance of education allows each school to take full advantage of the local resources available for education, resources that have been untapped by most schools primarily because of the lack of cooperation between these schools and other stakeholders within their respective communities. Our common desire to effectively deliver our programs for enhancement of learning shall serve as a driving factor that will enable us to link or integrate resources and organizational authority at each level. Resources and organizational authority for delivery of instruction shall be concentrated at the School and Division levels. Resources and authority for the enforcement of standards and quality assurance for instruction at the division level shall be concentrated at the Regional level. Technical resources and systems oversight authority for policy, strategic direction, standards and outcomes specification for learning enhancement programs shall be concentrated at the Central Office level. Strategic Results Framework The attainment of our strategic objective is anchored on four (4) Intermediate Results, namely: (1) Implementation of School Improvement Plans, (2) Implementation of local Basic Education Plans, (3) Implementation of regional Basic Education Support Plans, and (4) Implementation of National Policies and Programs. Intermediate Result 1 Intermediate Result 1 (IR1) represents outputs at the school level. All public schools are expected to implement their respective School Improvement Plans. Under the Schools First model, these School Improvement Plans shall focus on the leadership of the School Head and the participation of all stakeholders in the affairs of the school with the end view of attaining school level governance.

FOCUS ON FUNCTION
School and Division Levels (Field Operations) Operate of effective public schools Maximize contribution of private schools Support cost-effective early childhood education Support cost-effective alternative learning systems Maximize productivity of teachers and staff Steward of educational facilities and assets Optimal use of instructional materials Fair and best use of financial resources for basic education Good relations with communities Establish and maintain action-oriented monitoring of basic education performance

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Intermediate Result 2 Intermediate Result 2 (IR2) represents outputs at the division level. All 184 DepEd Division Offices are expected to implement their respective local Basic Education Plans. Under the Schools First model, these local Basic Education Plans shall focus on the collaboration with local governments, development of population-based plans, and implementation of local ECCD and ALS programs. Division Offices shall focus on local governance and shall provide support to schools for the effective implementation of their respective School Improvement Plans. Intermediate Result 3 Intermediate Result 3 (IR3) represents outputs at the regional level. All 17 DepEd Regional Offices are expected to implement their respective regional Basic Education Support Plans. Under the Schools First model, these regional Basic Education Support Plans shall focus on region-specific issues, including the measurement of performance and partnership development for teachers and school heads. Also, Regional Offices are expected to provide support for the attainment of IR1 and IR2 in their respective localities. Intermediate Result 4 Intermediate Result 4 (IR4) represents outputs at the level of the DepEd Central Office. The DepEd Central Office is expected to provide a policy and program climate that encourages the attainment of quality basic educational outcomes throughout the country. Under the Schools First model, the Central Office shall focus on administrative decentralization, budget reform, creation of institutional policies, advocacy and the development of leaders for Basic Education reform.

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THE STRATEGIC RESULTS FRAMEWORK

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Chapter 5
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO? PRIORITY ACTIONS
What we do for our country will be measured by what we are doing now for our children. Fidel V. Ramos 12 Actions Our immediate concern is to prepare the entire education system for the maiden year of the Schools First Initiative, school year 2005-2006. Our efforts must therefore be focused on these twelve (12) Priority Actions: 1) Teacher Hiring. Revision of guidelines for teacher hiring; 2) Demographics. Delineation of school service areas and set school targets based on results of household surveys of children ages 3 to 21; 3) School Management. Establishment of guidelines for School Improvement Planning and good governance (to include School Head training and revised guidelines for School Head promotion); 4) District Management. Establishment of guidelines on re-orientation and re-tooling of Supervisors as instructional facilitators and consultants for SIP implementation; 5) Division Management. Establishment of guidelines for local Basic Education Planning for each Division in coordination with their respective LGUs; 6) Regional Management. Establishment of guidelines for Regional Basic Education Support Planning for each region; 7) Student Readiness. Assessment of readiness for school of all Grade 1 entrants, use of assessment results for planning of local ECCD coverage and planning of instruction for Grades 1 to 3; 8) Teacher Development. Assessment of teachers and development of Teacher Development Plans that include the creation of new support infrastructure for the professional growth of teachers; 9) Alternative Learning. Collaboration with LGUs and other stakeholders for the development of ALS Plans based on results of household survey; 10) Reading Proficiency. Establishment of guidelines for upgrading reading strategies to improve reading skills of all public school students; 11) Strategic Measurement. Establishment of policies on standardized measurements of Strategic Objective indicators; and 12) Formative Assessment. Establishment of guidelines on formative assessments to support management and instruction.

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At the same time, we must endeavor to understand the cognitive basis for the formation of desired Filipino social identities and core ethical values so that we can develop the curriculum and the instructional policies that would support these social identities and core values. We must endeavor to define the classroom, the school and the community environments that support learning so that we can develop policies that create these environments. And we must endeavor to define assessment tools so that we can make accurate formative and summative measurements of actual learning. Actions at the School Level Schools First requires every school to move towards a community-based governance model. As such, the ultimate goal here is to establish a community-based School Governing Council in every school. Recognizing the different levels of preparedness of each and every community, however, we expect schools and communities to reach this ultimate goal at varying speeds. Based on their readiness, therefore, they can participate in Schools First at any one of these four (4) Stages: Stage 1. School Head engages with stakeholders in school improvement planning. Stage 2. School Head involves existing organizations like the PTCA in school improvement. Stage 3. School Head joins a group of people from among stakeholders who together embody leadership for school improvement. Stage 4. School Head and group create a School Governing Council to direct school improvement. School Governing Council The School Governing Council is the embodiment of local governance of education. It is therefore an essential component of the Schools First Initiative. The establishment of School Governing Councils in all of our public schools is therefore high on our reform agenda. As a governing body, the Council shall serve as the policymaking authority of the school. While the day-to-day operations of the school shall still be managed by the principal or school head, the Council has overall authority over the operation and direction of the school. The principal, as chief executive of the school, shall in fact be accountable to the Council. Based on their School Improvement Plan, the principal and his staff shall execute a performance contract with the Council.

PT(C)A: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A LETTER MAKES

PTCA is created to maintain an active working relationship among parents, teachers and the school administration so that each may contribute effectively to the education and welfare of the schoolchildren. It is intended to be a very good medium of continuing exchange of ideas and information among parents, teachers, the administration and the community. Thru PTCA, every stakeholder is given an opportunity to get involved in enhancing the educational goals of the school.

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Recognizing the important role of the Principal (or School Head) as the chief executive of the school, he too shall serve as co-chair of the School Governing Council together with the LGU representative to be designated by the LGE with concurrence of the local council. The other members of the council are as follows: 1) Two (2) Parent Representatives, male and female, designated by the schools PTCA; 2) One (1) Teacher Representative, elected by the school faculty; 3) One (1) Student Representative, the student council head; and 4) Two (2) Community Representatives, belonging to the business, professional, academe, retired, NGO, private school sectors, both nominated by the School Head with the concurrence of the school faculty. Working together as the School Governing Council, these men and women shall be empowered to approve the School Improvement Plan, oversee the use of school-based MOOE and SEF allocations available to the school, define school-level policies and resolve schoollevel issues. They too shall be mandated to approve the official school profile. Potentials and Risks The creation of the School Governing Council offers both potentials and risks. The Council provides a broader ownership of our public schools. The school stands to benefit from the availability of more resources for learning, greater stability due to the increase in grassroots support, and greater flexibility for the implementation of viable local solutions. As the School Head is given greater latitude to function as administrative and instructional leader, local politicians become more accountable for school improvement than for patronage. As the rest of the DepEd hierarchy is relieved of a lot of school-level burdens, they can focus on solving other DepEd concerns. Finally, school success becomes less dependent on recognition from above. Instead, success shall be based more on performance from below. Of course, the Council must contend with the possibility of abuse of power, conflicts among stakeholders due to their individual self-interests, resistance to good policies and programs, and misunderstanding among members of the community. The School Head may worry about the reduction of his authority. Council work can be perceived as mere distraction to educators not familiar with the new school management procedures. And finally, the risk of instability in the composition of the Council can affect its performance. In general, however, despite these risks, the potentials remain attractive. In fact, these risks are quite manageable.

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The success of School Governing Councils is guaranteed by the fact that each school is expected to develop and move towards the establishment of its Council at its own pace. There is no one-size-fits-all formula; there is no onetime deadline. And while there are considerable rewards for moving towards that direction, no administrative penalties shall be enforced on those who are not moving at pace with others. Furthermore, the benefits of having a School Governing Council will fuel sustainability. Success will be addictive and better outcomes will further energize the community to pursue greater change. Environment for Change The establishment of the School Governing Council shall be facilitated by three (3) key conditions, namely: 1) Division Superintendent and his staff prepares for school improvement and makes the school ready for the establishment of the School Governing Council; 2) School Head sees of the advantages of having a School Governing Council and acquires the ability to lead school improvement; and 3) Teachers, parents, students and community leaders support the schools desire to move towards the creation of a School Governing Council. Schools First requires us to initiate public discussions of Basic Education outcomes. These discussions are aimed at establishing a broad consensus on goals that may be articulated through Education Summits at the local level. And while we actively engage local government executives, other partners and potential allies in the community, a core group composed of individuals from the DepEd further internalizes, develops and articulates the reform process. Most important of all, we all have to make sure that these processes are brought down to the level of our schools.
The provincial, municipal or city school board determines the annual supplementary budgetary needs for the operation and maintenance of public schools and disburses these funds from the Special Education fund. The local board also serves as an advisory committee to the sanggunian concerning educational matters and in the appointment of division superintendents, district supervisors, school principals, and other school officials.

THE SGC IS NOT THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD

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Chapter 6
WHERE DO WE START? CHANGING THE WAY WE LOOK AT EDUCATION
We must transcend our petty selves, forget our hurts and bitterness, cast aside thoughts of revenge, and let sanity, reason, and above all, love of country prevail during our gravest hour. Benigno S. Aquino Jr.

The

task of transforming Philippine education requires a

change in the way we look at our public schools. This, in turn, requires a change in the way we look at the public school educator for they are in fact the embodiment of our schools. For years, the public school teacher has been unjustly maligned and blamed for our failure to provide quality education for the Filipino child. And since we too have inaccurately diagnosed our past failures in the education sector for so many years, it is important that we properly examine these past failures if we are to effectively respond to the demand for better outcomes. Analysis of Past Failures

REAL SCOPE OF CHANGE

Performance level: Five indicators readiness for school, participation, completion, achievement, functional literacy Characteristics behind performance: decentralized, localized, democratized, stabilized, totalized and longtermized Capacities underlying performance: leadership for change, greater competence, wider perspectives, commitment to values and positive culture

It would be easy to assume that our poor outcomes were brought about by the lack of effort on the part of our public educators. But in truth, we all know they work very hard, continuously and consistently. It would be easy to assume that our poor outcomes were brought about by the lack of resources for Basic Education. But in truth, we all know that areas with vast resources available for education have produced outcomes no better than those who have few resources. And it would be easy to assume that our poor outcomes were brought about by bad policies, programs and projects for Basic Education. In truth, however, we all know that we have benefited from so many excellent policies, programs and projects. It is significant to note that while all Filipinos share a common desire for better education, this unanimity did not make a sufficient impact on the quality of our schools in the last three decades. Our schools have in fact deteriorated significantly over the years. We therefore need

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to look at other reasons for the proliferation of poor outcomes throughout our education system.

Mind Change for Reform We may have been focusing on the wrong problem. While we have to work on improving the quality of our teachers, providing more resources for our public schools, and developing better policies, programs and projects (at the same time, extend the benefits of good policies, programs and projects already existing), we must recognize the need to change the way we manage our schools. Our education system has practiced an Administrative Approach to Education. This approach underscores the importance of hierarchy, a hierarchy that is based on standardization management by rules and regulations, demanded compliance and exacted
Were doing fine. No need to change. All we need is more resources. Tutok-pukpok will yield results. (results elicited by enforcement or maximum supervision) Just mandate change and we will comply. These are passing fashions. Real change is not possible, not necessary, not desirable.

IMMOBILIZING BELIEFS
Mind change requires us to abandon these immobilizing beliefs in favor of more mobilizing beliefs:

accountability for inputs and procedures. It is a hierarchy that emphasizes a system of supervision and control, a hierarchy that rewards obedience and punishes deviations. This approach has resulted to bureaucratic atrophy characterized by massive efforts bringing about little improvement. Under this approach, we have been asking ourselves this question: How do we get our public schools to properly implement the policies, programs and projects our best leaders have created?

The mind change for reform requires us to practice an Education Approach to Administration. This approach underscores the importance of self-governance, self-governance that emphasizes the need to transform our public schools into institutions that are efficient in learning and in applying what is learned to what is unique to local situations. This approach stresses the need to turn all public educators at the school, division, region and central office levels into authors or creators of the four intermediate results that will enable us to attain our strategic objective. Under this approach, we should now ask ourselves this question: How

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do we get our public schools to learn continuously and apply what they learn to how best they can obtain better educational outcomes for all? This mind change for reform is what we intend to institutionalize through the Schools First Initiative. Schools First shall enable us to reinvent the Philippine education system to make it more efficient and effective at addressing the needs of each and every school. Mind Change for Success The success of Schools First shall rely upon how well we change the way we look at our public educators. We cannot achieve our strategic objective if public

nobility of the teaching profession is personified here in the Philippines in our teachers for it is their unwavering dedication and their continuous performance of their duties despite all odds that make all 40,000 of our schools work day in, day out. The Filipino Teacher is overworked and underpaid. The Filipino Teacher is maligned and unrecognized. And in order to fulfill the mandate of our countrys constitutional democracy, the Filipino Teacher is even placed in harms way during elections. Despite all hardships from poor pay to poor working conditions the Filipino Teacher is still there. Florencio B. Abad Secretary of Education

The

educators are perceived with disdain by other stakeholders. And we cannot improve the quality of Philippine education if public educators have low regard of themselves as well. Although we recognize the need to raise teacher standards, we too must recognize the fact that the public school teachers failures are rooted on the defects of our hierarchal system of education, a system that marginalizes and sidelines the teacher, a system that keeps the teachers hands tied, his decisions second-guessed and his actions subjected to policy restrictions. Schools First requires us to acknowledge them as dedicated professionals. As such, we must accord them the autonomy they need to learn and develop expertise. As such, we should grant them control over the resources they need to pursue excellence. And as such, we should provide them with unending opportunities to learn and practice what they have learned to increase their impact. At the same time, we can expect them to be held accountable for responsible performance. The men and women that comprise our public education sector are some of the most dedicated and hardworking public servants in our country. Given enough support and encouragement, we can expect a lot more from them. We can expect no less than prompt turnaround of our educational outcomes and our immediate exit from the crisis scenario.

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Chapter 7
ONE FINAL WORD CONCLUSION

Ang matinong edukasyon, kapag ito ay nakamtan, ang sa taoy magluluklok sa mataas na pedestal na mahigit pa sa gintong kapurihat karangalan. Jose P. Rizal

Education in our country has been declining for the past three decades. And although the
task of reforming our education system may seem daunting, we can no longer allow this crisis to continue for another 30 years. It is our responsibility to effect change today. As proven by our many failures in the past, this responsibility must not rest in the hands of the Department of Education alone. We have to realize that we all have a stake in this and that we all have a role to play in this undertaking. With much faith in the collaboration of all of us who share the same genuine concern for the welfare of our children, we must all take part in this great endeavor. The success of Schools First depends on the enthusiasm of the people in the field, enthusiasm that would translate to cooperative efforts at improving each and every one of our schools throughout the country.

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APPENDIX A
GLOSSARY

BASIC EDUCATION refers to education intended to meet basic learning needs, instruction at the first foundation level, in which subsequent learning can be based. It encompasses early childhood and primary (or elementary) education for children, as well as education in literacy, general knowledge and life skills for youth and adults, and it extends into secondary education. BASIC OR SIMPLE LITERACY refers to the ability to read and write with understanding simple messages in any language or dialect. (FLEMMS) COHORT SURVIVAL RATE - is the proportion of enrollees at the beginning grade or year level who reach the final grade or year level at the end of the required number of years of study. COMPLETION RATE - is the percentage of first year entrants in a level of education who complete/finish the level in accordance with the required number of years of study. CURRICULUM a systematic group of experiences or sequences of courses or subjects required for graduation or certification in the elementary and secondary levels of education. DROPOUT RATE - is the proportion of pupils/students who leave school during the year as well as those who do not return to school the following school year to the total number of pupils/students enrolled during the previous school year. EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT (ECCD) - was institutionalized by RA 8980 in 2000 to promote the optimum growth and development of children. To ensure that children are adequately prepared for the formal learning system, preschool education was provided and most of these classes were established under the Pre-School Service Contracting Scheme. EDUCATION comprises organized and sustained communication process designed to bring about learning. ELEMENTARY EDUCATION - refers to the stage of formal education primarily concerned with providing basic education and usually corresponding to six or seven grades. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL - refers to a school offering elementary education. ENROLMENT - is the total number of pupils/students who have registered as of August 31 in a given school year. FORMAL EDUCATION is the institutionalized, hierarchically structured, chronologically graded educational system running from the elementary to tertiary levels. FUNCTIONAL LITERACY represents a significantly higher level literacy which includes not only reading and writing skills but also numeracy skills. These skills must be sufficiently advanced to enable the individual to participate fully and effectively in activities commonly occurring in his life situation that require a reasonable capability beyond oral and written communications. (FLEMMS) GASTPE (Government Assistance to Students & Teachers in Private Education) This widen access to secondary education and assist small private schools through Education Service Contracting (ESC) Scheme and Tuition Subsidy (TS). Students who cannot be enrolled in public schools because of lack of teachers, space or facilities are entitled to receive P4T yearly subsidy from the government to be able to enroll in the private school. GRADE refers to a stage of instruction usually covered in the course of a school year.

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GRADE-TO-GRADE/YEAR-TO-YEAR SURVIVAL RATE - is the percentage of pupils/students enrolled in a grade/year who reach the next grade/year of a particular level. LITERACY is the ability to read and write with understanding a simple message in any language or dialect. LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD - In terms of functions, the provincial, city or municipal school board determine the annual supplementary budgetary needs for the operation and maintenance of public schools, disburse funds from the Special Education fund, serve as an advisory committee to the sanggunian concerned on educational matters and in the appointment of division superintendents, district supervisors, school principals, and other school officials. MADRASAH - (pl. madaris) schools in Muslim communities MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenditures) - refers to the account which includes recurrent expenses for travel, communication services, repair and maintenance of government facilities, supplies, materials, desks, rent, water and electricity, maintenance of motor vehicles, discretionary representation expenses and other expenses. NEAT (National Elementary Assessment Test) - is the national examination which aims to measure learning outcomes in the elementary level in response to the need of enhancing quality education as recommended by the Congressional Commission in Education. It is designed to assess abilities and skills of Grade VI pupils in all public and private elementary schools. NSAT (National Secondary Assessment Test) - is the national examination which aims to assess abilities and skills of Fourth (4th) year high school students in all public and private secondary schools. NON-FORMAL EDUCATION or ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SYSTEM refers to any organized educational activity outside the established formal system, that is intended for specific objectives and to serve identifiable clientele.

OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH those of school age from six (6) years old to thirty (30) years old who are not enrolled in any educational institution, public or private, for one reason or another, not employed and not a tertiary level graduate. (UNESCO)

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS - refer to the several key indicators that can be computed and utilized for evaluating the educational systems performance at various levels, using the data available in the education statistics data bank. These indicators constitute an important component of a management information system.

PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION - is an organized learning experience including play activities for children below 6 years old. It aims to develop the child in all aspects (physical, social, cognitive, and emotional) so he/she will be better prepared for socialization and cope with the demands of formal schooling. PRE-SCHOOL - refers to a school that admits pupils who are not old enough to enter the first level of education. These pupils are usually from 4 to 5 years of age.

PRIMARY SCHOOL - refers to a school primarily concerned with providing basic education and usually corresponding to the first four grades of elementary education.

GOVERNMENT (PUBLIC) SCHOOLS are the schools controlled, managed, supervised and operated by the Department of Education (DepEd); the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

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PRIVATE SCHOOLS are those operated by a non-government organization or association, a religious body, a foundation or a business enterprise, on either a profit or non-profit basis.

PTCA (PARENTS-TEACHERS COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION) - association of parents, teachers and school administrators in the school. It is created to maintain an active working relationship among parents, teachers and the school administration so that each may contribute effectively to the education and welfare of the schoolchildren. PUBLIC SCHOOLS DISTRICT SUPERVISOR Provide professional and instructional advice and support to the school head and teachers/facilitators of schools and learning centers in the district cluster thereof.

PUPIL/STUDENT refers to a child enrolled in the elementary level while children or adults enrolled at the secondary and tertiary levels are students.

REGION/REGIONAL OFFICE - is an administrative unit covering a geographic area over several elementary and secondary schools and is headed by a regional director. There are 15 regions/regional offices and 1 autonomous region (ARMM). REGIONAL DIRECTORS - Has the power over all schools division superintendents and assistant division superintendents in the region. Approve the establishments of public and private elementary and high schools learning centers REPEATERS are pupils/students who failed or left a particular grade/year levels during a given year, or pupils/students who are enrolled in the same grade/year for a second (or further) year.

RETENTION the enrolment in any school year that continues to be in school the following year SCHOOL an institution recognized by the state which undertakes educational operations. SECONDARY EDUCATION - is the stage of formal education following the elementary level usually corresponding to four years of school, concerned primarily with continuing basic education and expanding it to prepare the students for higher education and/or the world of work through the acquisition of employable gainful skills. SECONDARY SCHOOL - is an educational institution offering secondary education usually consisting of a four-year general secondary curricula. SCHOOL-AGE POPULATION (FOR BASIC EDUCATION) the population from ages four to sixteen inclusive and irrespective of the existing requirements of compulsory education or the period of education provided for in various types of schools. SCHOOLS DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT Develops and implements division education development plans and is assigned to monitor the utilization of funds provided by the national government and the local government units to the schools and learning centers. Supervises the operations of all public and private elementary, secondary and integrated schools and learning centers SCHOOL HEAD - Administer and manage all personnel, physical and fiscal resources of the school and develop the school education program and school improvement plan. SPECIAL EDUCATIONS FUND (SEF) - This represents local government funds intended for education. SCHOOL GOVERNING COUNCIL (SGC) Structure organized by the school head, with support of the superintendent, and concurrence of schools stakeholders (teachers, students, parents, community leaders and local government officials) according to administrative guidance to be issued by DepEd

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TEACHER is a person employed in an official capacity for the purpose of guiding and directing the learning experiences of pupils/students in an educational institution, whether public or private. In the public schools system, a teacher is one who holds the position tile of Teacher I, II or III or Master Teacher I or II. TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) - An action plan describing objectives, results, activities and organisation of a specific endeavour. Most often used to describe technical assistance, study assignments, or evaluations THIRD ELEMENTARY EDUCATION PROJECT (TEEP) - It is the flagship project of DepEd in response to the Social Reform Agenda (SRA) initiatives of the government. TEEPs goal is to give children in 26 poor provinces good, quality education. This means that these children will have a chance to learn more, to stay in school, and to finish their basic education. It focuses on disadvantaged children in poor, isolated and remote rural areas, children who have little or no access to education. UNDERSECRETARY (USEC) advises and assists the Secretary in the formulation and implementation of Department policies, plans and programs; Oversees all the operational activities of the Department for which he will be assigned and held responsible by the Secretary, Coordinates the programs and projects of the Department; On the basis of an official designation, discharges temporarily the duties of the Secretary in case of the latters inability to discharge his duties or in case of vacancy of the said office. YEARS INPUT PER GRADE percentage of a pupil cohort actually reaching each successive grade of elementary education.

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APPENDIX B
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about "Education Summit"
1. What is an education summit? This is a special meeting about basic education matters of importance and strategic concern to influential persons in barangays, municipalities, cities or provinces. It is a summit because it includes the key persons in the locality - educators, political leaders, parents, and other citizens - who have both the interest and capability to improve basic education outcomes for children in the locality. 2. Who undertakes an education summit? Local government leaders in cooperation with heads of DepEd units serving the locality jointly undertake an education summit. In some localities, a non-government organization assists and participates in the organization of a summit. 3. Why does DepEd support the holding of education summits? DepEd regards an education summit as an essential foundation of sustained and successful multi-sectoral ownership of local reform in basic education as part of the Schools First Initiative and the Education for All 2015 Plan. A summit can create widespread awareness of the specific local nature of the education crisis, facilitate the emergence of local consensus for purposive action to improve future educational outcomes, and start the community moving on the road towards cooperation for continuous quality improvement in education. For DepEd, a summit demonstrates the key principle that basic education is a shared responsibility of schools and the community and that children's education is too important to the life and well-being of the community to be left to DepEd alone. 4. Why does DepEd not undertake education summits on its own? The lead taken by LGUs, particularly by mayors and governors, and the critical participation of cause-oriented NGOs, in organizing the education summit are crucial aspects of a successful summit. Substantive participation by key stakeholder institutions such as LGUs is what makes a summit a valuable starting point of education improvement. DepEd holding a summit on its own and merely inviting key stakeholders to attend will not achieve the prime purpose of the summit, which is to build multi-sectoral ownership of local reform in basic education. It is important that the desire and drive to hold an education summit come from local stakeholders themselves rather than from DepEd, although it is also important that DepEd be as supportive as possible. 5. What happens during an education summit? Many different things happen during an education summit. People from different backgrounds encounter factual information about the state and direction of public

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SCHOOLS FIRST INITIATIVE PRIMER schools and basic education. They grapple with issues such as drop-outs, underachievement, large class sizes, lack of textbooks, non-readers, lack of English proficiency, among others concerns. They then determine what are the key priorities for improvement and propose solutions they can carry out with their means and resources. In the most successful summits, participants move towards a common view about their shared educational situation or at least begin to understand the different views of various groups about the situation. This allows them to agree to pursue common goals and work for desired results. And finally they decide to cooperate in taking action towards producing the results that can bring them closer to their common goals. There are four distinct parts to a complete education summit. Part 1 is the discussion of the state of education in the locality. Part 2 is the consideration of current ideas for improvement. Part 3 is the negotiation on goals and results to attain. Part 4 is the agreement on actions to take. The actual form and specific activities to cover these four parts could vary from locality to locality depending on the desire and capabilities of organizers and participants. 6. Who should participate in an education summit? Three groups are essential, first parents and students; second, public educators at division, district and school levels and, third, local government officials at barangay, municipality/city and province levels. In addition, NGOs, private schools, local business leaders, local professionals, local Church leaders and other interested parties are also desirable participants. 7. What preparations should precede a summit? Prior to the summit, the following preparations should be made: Undertake a fact-finding of the state of basic education in the locality. This largely involves collecting available data on various education indicators from schools and division offices of DepEd. This might also involve collecting information on the levels and use of local Special Education Funds in the past year or so. Prepare presentations and fact sheets that can serve as starting points for the discussions during the summit. This might include a presentation on the state of education in the locality, specific proposals for education improvement goals in the coming year(s) and specific proposals for actions to attain improvement goals in the period. Some summits consider only one year of action, while others consider 3-year time frames to match the term of local governments. It is important that specific proposals will be made during the summit for discussion by the participations. Invite participants and guests to the summit. It is important to stress that the summits is not merely an occasion to listen to experts or authorities, but for concerned citizens in the locality to talk among themselves about a matter important to them and their children. The guests are to be invited to support the discussions and decisions of the participants, not to make decisions in behalf of the local stakeholders.

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SCHOOLS FIRST INITIATIVE PRIMER 8. How should preparations be undertaken? Localities intending to hold a summit should organize a "preparation team" that will plan and organize the meeting. The members of the preparation team might include councilors or board members from the local council's Committee on Education, district or division supervisors, a school head or principal, heads of PTCAs, association of barangay councils, teachers' organizations, and youth associations, representatives from NGOs, church, business, professions (such as the local medical association) and similar groups in the community. A team of not more than 10-12 people should be manageable. It is important to choose people who care deeply and passionately about the education of children in their own community but who come from the range of backgrounds and interests the cut across the community. The composition of the "preparation team" should be negotiated between the local chief executive, the DepEd official in the locality and the NGO involved in organizing the summit, if there is any. The "preparation team" should undertake all preparations for the summit such as: decide on the program, determine participants, issue invitations, arrange for venue and amenities as needed, prepare inputs to substantive discussions at the summit, arrange for facilitators in the summit discussions, and invite guests and participants to the summit. Localities can hold their education summits anytime during the year. 9. What results or output are expected from a summit? Three results are obtained by successful summits: agreement on the local problems in basic education, agreement on improvement goals desired by the locality, and agreement on actions to take in order to attain the improvement goals. In most cases, a successful summit leads to the proper allocation and use of SEF to support school improvement priorities. 10. How should DepEd support a summit to be successful? DepEd should not approach the summit with defensiveness and fear of being criticized. DepEd should provide truthful, honest, cooperative, responsive and professional assistance to those in the locality who demonstrate a desire to help education improve by undertaking an education summit. DepEd should encourage mayors and governors to lead in organizing a summit and should then provide its staff's substantive participation in the preparation team as well as in the summit itself. DepEd should provide technical expertise to enable participants to understand any specialized information on education so that even ordinary laymen and non-educators can understand what the issues and proposed solutions are all about. 11. What follow-up actions should be done by DepEd after the summit? Except when the summit leads the participants to create a permanent committee to oversee the implementation of agreements reached during the summit, DepEd is often the only organized group that can take the results of the summit and follow through by periodically reminding everyone about their agreements and commitments. So the follow-up of the summit's decisions is something that DepEd

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SCHOOLS FIRST INITIATIVE PRIMER should take up with mayors and governors as well as other stakeholders in the community. 12. How could central or regional DepEd participation in a summit be arranged? Municipalities, cities and provinces holding a summit can coordinate with DepEd regional and central offices through their respective divisions to arrange for the attendance of senior DepEd officials in the summits. 13. What resources are available for localities holding an education summit? DepEd itself does not have resources to organize and hold education summits as all of its resources are allocated as far as possible to the delivery of basic education. Most summits held thus far are funded by localities themselves with support and assistance of local sponsors. In some cases, NGOs with access to donors provide the assistance to undertake the summit.

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APPENDIX C
ELEMENTS OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN I. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS A. School Performance Student Achievement Performance Indicators B. Instructional Materials School Equipment Textbooks Teaching Aids C. Personnel Profile Teaching Non-Teaching D. Physical Facilities Classrooms Workshop Toilet and Bath Buildings Library Medical/Dental Laboratories Guidance School Furniture Non-Instructional E. School Management 1. Planning and Development Process 2. Organizational Structure and Staffing 3. Systems and Procedures EMIS M&E Fiscal Rewards Communication/Feedback Recruitment/Selection of Teachers Instructional Supervision INSET 4. Leadership

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SCHOOLS FIRST INITIATIVE PRIMER Administrative Academic (Instructional Leadership) Establishing Linkages Management of Stakeholders

5. Ancillary Services Delivery Quality Scope/Types 6. Management of External Environments/Affairs II. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES F. Vision, Mission Statements G. Goals and Objectives School Performance (academic, participation rates, retention rates)

H. Contributory Objectives Instructional Materials Human Resource Physical Facilities School Management Ancillary Services III. IV. PRIORITY IMPROVEMENT AREAS PROGRAMS AND ACTIONS FOR 5 YEARS V. 5-year Plan Annual Plan

ORGANIZING FOR IMPLEMENTATION (specifically the M&E section)

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