Did you know that no two persons – not even identical twins – have the same fingerprints? The small grooves on your hands and fingers are your personalized “signature” because nobody can have the same ones exactly like yours.

At Synergeia Foundation, we also have our own signature. And you can see it in how we do our work. Our uniqueness lies in five strategies that guide us in making schools a better place for learning.

1. Systemic
   Providing books alone cannot improve the quality of our children’s education. We need to address not only one but all the major components in the learning system. That is why we try to improve the quality of education with integrated strategies, instead of disparate programs.
2. Collaborative
   We make sure all the stakeholders in education including local town and barangay officials, school administrators, teachers, parents, and students are given the chance to take part in the huge task of improving schools. They help each other see what needs to be done and how to best address these challenges. They also lead in laying down the solutions and in making sure that these solutions make an impact.
3. Empowering
   By building stakeholders’ capability in making and articulating their choices on the kind of education they want for their children and what programs should be put in place to move this vision forward, Synergeia ensures that all voices are heard and are recognized on equal terms.
4. Encompassing
   No child is left behind and every child in a municipality where Synergeia works participates in a Reading or Mathematics program.
5. Starting from the bottom
   Education reforms should not always come from top to bottom but can actually start from below – with an active community, supportive local government unit, concerned parents and students, and committed school administrators and teachers.

In a nutshell, Synergeia is an organization that works with local governments, the Department of Education, the Department of Interior and Local Governments, socio-civic groups, schools, teachers, parents and students to implement systemic programs that will improve the processes, systems and structures of learning and teaching. Synergeia is a pioneer in demonstrating how devolution of basic education to local governments can work. We have partnered with 250 local governments, their communities, and the DEPED in improving achievements of children in reading and mathematics. Our entry point is the reinvention of the Local School Board into a vehicle for meaningful community participation.

To make sure that our efforts are making an impact, Synergeia reviews its programs using a report card system that measures improvements in:

• Learners’ Performance;
• Teachers’ Performance;
• Governance of Schools;
• Governance of Local School Boards; and
• Community Involvement.

Synergeia in numbers

1.5 million – the estimated number of children who are touched by Synergeia’s education governance programs
65.76% - average reading scores of students in Negros Occidental, an improvement from 61.75%
79% - average reading scores in Bulacan, up from 71%
51.2% - average reading scores in Naga City, a jump from 35.2%
78% - average reading scores in Nueva Vizcaya, a rise from 62%
50% - average reading scores in Ajuy, Iloilo, from 36%

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