SCHOOL SUPPORT AND COLLABORATION FROM THE COMMUNITY

The school is one of the most important institutions in any community. Its importance is
undisputed hence it is enshrined in the fundamental law of the land, the Constitution. Tilhaong
Elementary School recognizes that the most significant component of starting a community
school is community engagement. This includes stakeholders, parents, the barangay council
and the community at large. When schools and community organizations work together to
support learning, everyone benefits. Partnerships can serve to strengthen, support, and even
transform individual partners, resulting in improved program quality, more efficient use of
resources, and better alignment of goals and curricula (Harvard Family Research Project, 2010).

Basic Education Governance Act of 2001 (RA 9155) calls for greater decentralization in
the delivery of basic education services in the tradition of school-based management. That is, it
calls for the empowerment of schools and learning centers “to make decisions on what is best
for the learners they serve” (Section 2 – Declaration of policy). Section 2 also asserts that the
state will encourage local initiatives towards the improvement of the quality of basic education.

Basic public education is still largely the responsibility of the central government,
delivered through the Department of Education (DepEd), notwithstanding the devolution of
many basic services to LGUs. However, the local government units (LGUs) do provide
supplementary funding support to public basic education because they have access to a
sustainable source of financial resources that are earmarked for the basic education sub-sector,
the Special Education Fund (SEF). The SEF comes from an additional one percent tax on real
property that LGUs are mandated to impose and collect by virtue of Republic Act 7160 or
otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991. Thus, LGUs are considered major
partners of the national government in the delivery of basic education services.

i. BARANGAY SUPPORT TO BASIC EDUCATION

In Tilhaong, Consolacion, Cebu, the support to basic education exists through

the barangay level of government. The barangay council provide financial and non-
financial support to the school within their jurisdiction. The barangay council is deeply
concerned and involved in the plight of the school. Financial support comes in the form
of budgetary allocation from the Barangay Development Fund and or from the
discretionary fund of the Barangay Chairperson. Infrastructure support comes in with
the barangay hall which is used as temporary classrooms of the school. The barangay
officials have been generous in committing available resources in the implementation of
school improvement. They have been participating in setting goals, strategies and
making needs of the school a priority.

The barangay council has also been providing non-financial support comes in an
assortment of goods and services. This nonfinancial support includes the following:
 • provision of security and traffic management through the barangay tanods;

• provision of labor for clean-up drive of the schools as well as in the

maintenance of school grounds and simple repair of school buildings;

• monitoring or random check of school children who are cutting classes to

engage in recreational activities/petty vices like internet games and some forms
of gambling

• preparation of barangay resolutions endorsing to and seeking assistance from

higher levels of government and officials concerning the funding of perceived
urgent needs of public schools

• barangay solicitation from private donors for the funding requests of schools

• provision of paint, sand and gravel, waste bins, as well as labor for the Brigada
Eskwela

• feeding program for the underweight school children

• water system of the public schools

• Alternative Learning System (e.g. trainings for mothers on food processing,

food preparation)

ii. ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS IN EDUCATION

The Tilhaong Elementary School are reaching out to stakeholders to support the
school’s mission and to empower school improvement. The school needs advocates for
improved program outcomes outside the immediate organization—constituents who
understand the mission of the school, who share the champions’ vision and passion for
student success, and who have a personal stake in the performance of the school and
its students. It is important to identify schools’ external stakeholders in which these kind
f support can be a positive force for helping school staff achieve improved outcomes for
all students and sustain them over time.

There has been an on-going collaboration focused on the needs that the school
face to improve student learning. The school staff and barangay council has been
providing stakeholders the data and other information they need to be productive
partners around student achievement. The partnership activities between the school and
 the stakeholders are directly aligned with student achievement goals. Information
sharing has been transparent. All parties operate from common values and a common
vision for student achievement. All efforts are mission-oriented and data-driven.

iii. PARENT AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

The Tilhaong Elementary School teachers have made a concerted effort to get
the word out to parents about their efforts to improve student achievement. Student
successes are made visible within the neighborhood of the community. They have
increased their efforts to reach out to parents. They have launched parent involvement
on how to support children’s success in school. The Tilhaong Elementary School keeps
all parents involved in their child’s education in several ways. Progress reports are sent
out quarterly. Each child has a teacher advocate that monitors students’ grades,
attendance, and behaviors and communicates concerns to parents. Teachers are
required to contact parents directly.

The Parent-Teacher-Community Association (PTCA) is a cooperative organization

within the school dedicated to the interest of children. It is composed not only of the
parents and teachers but also of interested people from the community, including local
officials. The establishment of a PTCA is encouraged in all schools but its membership is
voluntary. Parent involvement in education has taken in the form of parent support in
terms of the school’s homework practices and the child’s homework efforts, including
student independent reading in their homes. Parent involvement in education has taken
in the form of parent volunteering which ranges from volunteering in the classroom to
helping out with social activities at school which enhances the academic or social
dimensions of a child’s school experience and extend what the school can provide, most
parent involvement activities remain at a distance from the heart of the elementary
school’s mission—to impart basic skills and foundational knowledge in preparation for
the more advanced learning required in middle school, high school and beyond. The
gatekeepers this type of parent involvement, of course, and those who determine its
form and extent are the school staff.

Quality education is not the sole responsibility of the school. It is and it should be the
community’s responsibility as well. It is in the interest of the community to see to it that its
children are well taught. Poorly educated children will result in an undeveloped community.
It is important for the school and the community to build a partnership in the business of
educating the young. In this partnership, it is the school that must initiate the move for a
positive linkage, nurture it, and sustain it in the long term. The relationship must be based on
mutual respect and trust, and must rest in the belief that quality education is a shared
responsibility.