School-Community Partnership PDF

Philippine Normal University - Visayas The National Center for Teacher Education Center for Environment and Green Technology Education Cadiz City, Negros Occidental School-Community Partnership Par...

Philippine Normal University - Visayas The National Center for Teacher Education Center for Environment and Green Technology Education Cadiz City, Negros Occidental School-Community Partnership Partnership implies two parties helping each other. Both parties benefit hence partnership exists. Below are examples of situations to present what communities can do for schools and what schools can do for communities. What can the Community do for Schools? 1. Brigada Eskwela-the program engages all education stakeholders to contribute their time, effort and resources in ensuring that public school facilities are set in time for the forthcoming school opening. It takes place more or less two weeks before classes begin in June. This is a school maintenance program that has been institutionalized since 2009 when Deped issued Deped Order #100. 2. Curriculum Development – this can mean use of community resources for learning e.g. museum, elders of the community as key informants in research or resource persons in the study of local history. 3. Work Experience programs- business establishments and offices in the community can serve as training ground for learners. A concrete example is the work immersion required for SHS students. (encl. Deped Order #30.3, 2017) In this school community partnership, the school can fulfill what curriculum requires and may improve on their curriculum based on community feedback, enables the students to undergo hand on work experience, while community establishments contribute to the formation of graduates who are more ready for life and more equipped for the world of work. Business establishments or any world of work in the community are the ultimate beneficiaries of these graduates who have been more prepared through work immersion. Some schools call this service learning since it actively involves students in a wide range of experiences which benefits students and the community at the same time fulfilling the requirements of a curriculum. 4. Remediation and enrichment classes – parents and retired teachers may be involved in the School Reading remediation and Learning Enrichment programs. 5. Youth Development Programs – the young may involve themselves in youth development programs and develop their skills and talents, learn how to deal positively with Peers and adults and serve as resources in their communities. 6. Community Service – students participate in tutorial programs, community reforestation programs, clean up drive for a river, assisting in medical mission, school head involved in planning local celebrations, teachers managing programs, projects, activities, school band playing in fiesta parade. What can schools do for Communities in return Schools may allow the community to use school resources. Some concrete examples are enumerated by the Deped Primer on School-Community Partnership:  1. Classroom used by community organization for meetings. 2. School used as a polling place and venue for medical mission which it may co-sponsor with the Rural Health Unit. 3. School used by the Rural Health Unit for mothers’ class on child care. 4. School used as an evacuation center 5. School used for community assemblies 6. School basketball court used for local celebrations and barangay sports league 7. Schools conduct livelihood skills training programs for parents and out of school youths by using school resources 8. Livelihood skills training for parents and out of school youths by teachers themselves Answer: Share some concrete learning experiences of schools and community partnership. Cite specific examples of school community partnerships that may benefit the youngs. Sociological Bases of School-Community Partnership The functionalist theory states that institutions must perform their respective functions for the stability of society. Other institutions must come in if one institution fails to do its part for the sake of society. The school cannot do it all. “It takes a village to educate a child’, so goes the African proverb. It has to work in partnership with other institutions in the community such as the church, government organization and non-government organizations. With the breakdown of families, schools face greater challenge in education the young. The rearing and education of the child is the primary obligation of parents. The school, the Church and other social institutions come in to assist parents and families to fulfill their irreplaceable obligation. The breakdown of marriages, the demand for both mother and father to work to meet the demands of a rising cost of living resulting to less or practically no more time for parents to spend time with their children have, however, attacked the stability of families and have adversely affected families in the performance of their irreplaceable duty to educate children. Added to these is the increasing number of families composed of single mothers struggling to raise a family. with the burden of earning lodged solely on the shoulder of one parent, single parents struggle to earn enough to provide for their families. Consequently, this responsibility leads to their having a limited amount of time to spend for and with growing and developing children who. Unfortunately become more likely single parent families themselves. The cycle goes on. This is not to mention the negative effect of uncontrolled and unregulated use of technology on the young. While the use of technology has brough a lot of convenience its uncontrolled and unregulated use by the tech savvy kids expose these kids to all sorts of information not necessarily favorable for their development. So families, schools and other social institutions need to work together to save the youth. Legal base for Parents and Community Involvement RA 9155- Governance of Basic Education Act, Sec E (10) explicitly states that one of the responsibilities of school heads is “establishing school and community networks and encouraging the active participation of teacher, organizations, nonacademic personnel of public schools and parents-teachers-community associations”  Sec 3 (f) of the same Act encourages “local initiatives for the improvement of schools and learning centers and to provide the means by which…. improvements may be achieved and sustained” Batas Pambansa Blg. 232, knowns as Education Act of 1982, Section 7 states that Every educational institution shall provide for the establishment of appropriate bodies through which the members of the educational community may discuss relevant issues and communicate information and suggestions for assistance and support of the school and for the promotion of their common interest. Representatives from each sub group of the educational community shall sit and participate in the bodies, the rules and procedures of which must be approved by them and duly published. RA 8525 – Adopt A School Program Act, also provides school community partnership. It allows “private entities to assist a public school, whether elementary, secondary, or tertiary…in, but not limited to the following areas: staff and faculty development for training and further education; construction of facilities; upgrading of existing facilities, provision of books, publications and other instructional materials and modernization of instructional technologies” Philippine Education for All (EFA) 2015 Plan – a vision and holistic program of reforms that aimed to improve the quality of basic education for every Filipino by end of 2015 likewise states: “Schools shall continue to harness local resources and facilitate involvement of every sector of the community in the school improvement process” This EFA 2015 Plan was extended to Education for All Beyond 2015 Agenda 2030. Agenda 2030 has 7 new educational targets from 2015 to 2030 that must involve education stakeholders which in essence is school community partnership. Answer: School and community partnership enhances sense of ownership and sense of belonging. What does these mean? How will these impact on schools and communities? Can schools take the place of families in the rearing of children? Why or why not? What sociological reality in the Philippines and in the world demand that school’s partner with the community (Church, mass media, business establishment, etc.) for the education of children? Teachers Ethical and Professional Behavior Code of Ethics for Professional Teachers, Article III – the 8 sections of Article III of the Code of Ethics refer to the community within the school and the community outside the school. Below is an elaborate explanation how teachers can be part of a community. Teacher as Facilitator of Learning Article III, Section 1 states that the teacher is a facilitator of learning and the development of the youth… therefore shall render the best service by providing an environment conducive for such learning and growth.  Facilitator comes form the word “facilitate” which means to make something easy or easier. Professional teacher facilitates learning or make learning easier. Learning is a difficult task and is made easier when you make dry lesson interesting, exciting and enjoyable. Teacher make learning easier when they simplify the complex and concretize the abstract. To facilitate learning, a conducive learning environment is necessary. It has been proven that learners learn best in a pleasant environment. A pleasant environment is where the learners can be themselves because teachers are caring. All forms of bullying have no place in a conducive learning environment. It is not competitive ad everyone is not tense. They can be themselves. Teacher Leadership and Initiative for Community Participation Section 2 refer to the “leadership and initiative of the professional teacher to participate in community movements for moral, social, economic and civic betterment of the community”. As professional teachers you do not live in an ivory tower, being removed and aloof from community. Schools are at the heart of communities and you as professional teachers are expected to be in the world and to be in the world with others and for others. The words in Section 2 of Article III “provide leadership and initiative”. This implies that as a professional teacher you have not to wait for community to ask for help. Section 6 further explicitates how you can show your professional leadership, to wit:” Every teacher is an intellectual leader in the community, especially in the barangay, and shall welcome the opportunity to provide such leadership when needed”. Section 2 states that you, the professional teacher ought to take the initiative to offer your help for the improvement of the community. Many a time, you can be a guidance counselor, a prayer leader, commentator or reader in religious celebrations, fiesta coordinator, a judge, or coach in a contest, financial adviser, a nurse, a doctor, commentator or rolled into one. Providing leadership and initiative also means working with the community. This means getting the parents and other members of the community participate in school activities. Teachers, as they participate in community affairs prove that they “are the most responsible and most important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth”. Professional Teacher with Honor and Dignity Section 3 states “every teacher shall merit reasonable social recognition for which purpose he shall behave with honor and dignity at all times and refrain from such activities as gambling, smoking, drunkenness, and other excesses much less illicit relations”. Society expects to much of teachers that when they fail to live up to the challenge to behave or model good behavior, they are “condemned without trial”. It is no wonder why many are afraid to answer to call to teach. Society seems to expect much more form professional teachers than from any other professional and sol look at teachers with scrutinizing eyes. Teacher Attitude Toward Local Customs and Traditions Section 4 expects every teacher to live for and with the community and shall therefore study and understand local customs and traditions in order to have a sympathetic attitude, therefore refrain from disparaging the community”. The professional teacher is neither ethnocentric (belief that his/her culture is superior) or xenocentric (belief that his/her culture is inferior to other culture). The Professional Teacher and Information Update  Section 5 states that the teacher “shall help the school inform the community about the schools work, accomplishments, needs and problems”. Community here refers to internal as well as external stakeholders. Internal stakeholder includes the students, parents of the school and teachers. External stakeholders are the other parents in the community without children enrolled in school, barangay officials and other government officials, non-government organizations, government organizations, alumni/alumnae and retirees. Stakeholder are needed to be informed for the school is there for the community and the community has the right to be informed about its activities, accomplishments, needs and problems. Informing them about the school’s projects, needs and problems give them a sense of ownership. Having a sense of ownership, these stakeholders will participate more actively in the resolution of school’s problems and needs. Parents-Teachers Association – this is an internal stakeholder; it is an association of teachers and parents with children enrolled in a school. It is a forum for discussions on school problems and how they can be solved. The School Governing Council – The SGC has different membership and functions. The SGC is a policy making body has the school head as Chief Executive Officer, Manager and Chief Operations Officer. The formation of the SGC in every school is a proof of school head sharing his/her leadership with members of the community. It determines general policies on student welfare, discipline, well-being; it is concerned with the development and implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the School Improvement Plan (SIP), and reporting of the progress of the SIP implementation to the school’s division superintendent and the community. The Professional Teacher and Government Officials and Other Professionals Section 7 states “every teacher shall maintain harmonious and pleasant personal and official relations with other professionals, with government officials and with the people individually or collectively”. As a professional teacher, you cannot afford not to be in pleasant relations with others especially those with whom you work with like other professional teachers. It is always best to be in good terms with everyone else in the community. Desiderata gives this advice “As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, ven the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story”. The Professional Teacher Does Not Use Position to Proselyte Section 8 says “A teacher possesses freedom to attend church and worship as appropriate, but shall not use his position and influence to proselyte other”. To be in a position means to have power or influence for a purpose, i.e., for you to use that position to perform your job as a professional teacher. It is highly unprofessional for a teacher like you to use your position of influence to proselyte. Answer: Give 3 expectations that community has for teachers. In what other ways can parents and community leaders be involved in the school to improve school performance? “I don’t hear what you are saying because who you are speaks louder than what you say”. How does this quote apply to the professional teacher as a community leader?