La Salette joins Smart, Synergeia to spike education system

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

DAGUPAN CITY – With Escuela de Nuestra Senora de La Salette’s technique here where more of their students increase their passing rate in the National Achievement Test (NAT), Smart Communication, Inc. and Synergeia Foundation (S.F) collaborate with EDNSDLS to improve the education system in Northern Luzon.

SMART Vice President for Community Partnership Darwin Flores said it selected La Salette because of her innovative and pedagogies for schools CVIF-Dynamic Learning Program (CVIF-DLP) it adopted from the Ramon Magsaysay laureates and world-renowned Theoretical Physicists Dr. Christopher Bernido and Dr. Ma. Victoria Carpio-Bernido.

QUALITY EDUCATION - Officials and teachers of the Department of Education from Region-1 pose with Synergea Foundation Northern Luzon Program Officer Nengneng Doble, SMART Vice President for Community Partnership Darwin, Marianne Tan – Lor President of Escuela de Nuestra Senora de La Salette (3rd, 4th, 5th, respectively, in photo) during the introduction of La Salette School of the innovative and pedagogic Dynamic Learning Program that could boost the “survival rate” of graduates from Grade 1 to Grade 6. MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

“They are foremost practitioner ng DLP sila mga kaunaunahan na ni certify ng mga Bermejos so iyong sabi naming kailangan naming ng e-promote ito sa Northern Luzon na school logical La Sallete kasi pinapractice nila,” cited by Flores with the new strategy adopted by Marianne Tan – Lor President of EDNSDLS.

CVIF-DLP, according to the website of EDNSDLS, promotes independent learning in students to improve academic performance particularly in Science, Innovative Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

Flores said one of the criteria for quality education that Smart and SF use is the Cohort Survival Rate where if 100 students enrolled in Grade 1 it is expected that these same number hurdle Grades 6 or 7.

Some of the criteria according to Nengneng Doble, SF Northern Luzon Program Officer, is how the Local School Board (LSB) deals with the Parents Teachers Association, and how the LSB spend funds allocated by law to it.

According to the Local Government Code, the LSB is appropriated by operation of law one percent assessed value of the Real Property Taxes collected by the province, city, or town for its residents.

Usually the hundreds if not millions of pesos funds go to the repairs of school buildings or their construction.

“Ang pinaka importante po na idea iyang tatlo iyong learning outcome talaga or more children study and enrol in school or more school children graduating at least Grade 6. Are they performing well sa achievement test like NAT?” explained and posed by Doble.

Lor, whose school is supervised by De La Salle, observed that the Philippines school system has very poor performance in international mathematics and business elective tests.

She and her teachers therefore illustrated before teachers and town officials from Region-1, in a seminar held at La Salette, how DLP was adopted by their school.

“Marianne acts as experienced science teacher in Math and Science in Grade 1.  Facilitators sila Teachers Jeff and Resty from Grades 2 and 3. Our facilitator expert teachers in another subjects,” school principal Sonia T. Camacho. 
 
explained.

She said that teacher Marianne lectures 10 to 15 minutes, the period where the mind is most absorptive, while the two mentors oversee the pupils in Grades 2 and 3 answer their concept books and digests.

After 15 minutes, Teacher Marianne goes to Grade 2 while Teacher Jeff watches the Grade 1 pupils. Then she lectures in Grade 3 while Teacher Resty supervises the Grade 2’s students.

Lor cited the innovative LDP of the Bernido couples in Bohol that transformed the students from 2001 to 2010 from being poor, average, to excellent in their academic performances.

“We were surprised when we went there where high school students were already discussing the merits of the impeachment of ex-Supreme Court Justice (Renato) Corona,” Lor cited.

For the local government unit (LGU) to strive more to better off their education system, Smart dangles various financial and cash packages for those who get the Seal of Good Education Governance (SGEG).

During its awarding last year of the 24 LGUs, Smart’s Senior Vice President and Head of PLDT Enterprise Mr. Jovy Hernandez handed P1.5 million each to these towns.  The incentive was tailor-fit technology-based solutions for education with digital learning content.  It also included the installation of wifi in hot spots of the winners.  For LGUs in remote areas, Smart gave “SMART school in a bag” that included mobile devices and solar panel.

Moreover, Smart had also provided a P200,000 each “Technocart” to eight LGU-partners of Synergeia like San Gabriel and Santol, La Union; Tuba and La Trinidad from Benguet;   Dao and Sapian from Capiz; and two for the LSB of Lanao del Norte.  The cart contained a laptop, 20 tablets, a CD projector, pocket wifi, and learning packages.