This makes us proud and happy.  Five of our partner schools in Upi, Maguindanao scored very high marks in the March 2018 assessment of SGCs.  They used to have low scores but in just three years, these schools and their respective SGCs have definitely stepped up. Kabugkabug Elementary School, Passi Primary School, Renti Elementary School, S. Midal Primary School, Tenonggol Elementary School-Annex are now empowered to champion education policies and are more proactive in initiating programs for the schools.

Three of these schools share their stories.  Kabugkabug Elementary School credits the good relationship of SGC officers with stakeholders and the community.  SGC projects receive support from the barangay development fund and the secret ingredient is the SGC Chairmanship of the Barangay Captain and the membership of the School Principal in the Barangay Development Committee.  To raise funds for projects, the SGC has partnered with the alumni association and the PTA, held a bingo bonanza, a foundation day celebration and a “King and Queen” contest.  Some of their projects are concrete fence and installation of wash facilities in front of all classrooms.

Tenonggol Elementary School’s transformation came with the appointment of a new principal. Principal Joven Molanggana along with the SGC president Sheila Marie Arino did a complete overhaul on the SGC. According to Principal Molanggana, SGC President Arino has a gift for fundraising.  We can see this tenacity and drive at how in 2016, after the SGC Level 2 workshop, the SGC planned to construct a makeshift school building for third and fourth graders.  Through hard work, the SGC was able to construct a makeshift classroom made of wood and bamboo.

Many of the schools that Synergeia works with are in far-flung parts of the Philippines and S. Midal Elementary School is one of those, being in a DENR reservation site in the mountains of North Upi.  The population is composed of Teduray, a major IP group in Southern Philippines.  Florencio Midal, the barangay’s tribal chief, is the current adviser and major benefactor of the SGC. He donates wood from his vast farms and woodlands.  The SGC is comprised of dedicated officers who always attend SGC meetings.  Among the projects they have carried out, some jointly with the PTA, are the construction of 2 makeshift classrooms for kindergartens and third to sixth graders, construction of classrooms for first and second graders, a multi-purpose hall, and a school stage.

We imagine the happiness and comfort of schoolchildren in North Upi who have classrooms, wash facilities and school stage for their programs.  This is the true success story to tell.

It was 10:30 in the morning of January 16, 2018 and the LSB members were already seated in the SB Session Hall.  Mayor Ligaya Apura, our tireless education leader and partner in Lemery, has called the LSB meeting to order.  The SEF budget and the LSB plans for 2018 were up in the agenda for the Board’s first meeting of the year.

Mayor Apura was proud to report to the Local School Board the improvement in SEF spending allocation in 2017.  A bigger slice of the P1 million budget, or P600,000, was spent for school repairs and only the remainder to sports activities.   For 2018, District Supervisor Wilma Diolata, the LSB co-Chairperson, proposed that the SEF budget should prioritize remedial reading in elementary schools.  The Municipal Treasurer then updated the LSB on his tax campaign program to raise the target 2018 SEF of more than P1 million.  He said he will convene a “pulong-pulong” in different barangays, send out demand letters to delinquent land owners and conduct auction sales.

Having attended the last Synergeia National Education Summit, Mayor Apura expressed interest in the Seal of Good Education Governance.  Our program officers, Edwin and Estong, discussed the process by which the 2017 winners were chosen, and informed the Board on the LSB and SGC assessment scores for Lemery.  At mid-assessment, the LSB scored a 4.1 while the SGCs scored only a 2.2.  Mayor Apura was not pleased with the low performance of SGCs and asked DS Diolata to challenge all  schools to make their SGCs fully functional and involved in setting school policies on student welfare and discipline.

There were 2 other items taken up by the LSB.  First was the proposal of DS Diolata to conduct the Municipal Education Summit which Mayor Apura supported, and the second was the announcement of Mayor Apura that she was about to sign an Executive Order expanding the membership of the LSB.

It was a very productive meeting and we are happy that Lemery’s LSB is driving the planning and implementation of education programs for the locality.  It was indeed a good day. The travel to Lemery for the on-site LSB mentoring and monitoring has been gratifying, with the view of ricefields, vegetation and green mountain ranges our cherry on top.