REFLECTION PAPER ON CURRENT ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION

TOPIC STATEMENT:
SCHOOL BASED MANAGEMENT

TOPIC OVERVIEW:

School-based management (SBM) is a strategy to improve education by transferring significant decision-making authority from state and
district offices to individual schools. SBM provides principals, teachers, students, and parents greater control over the education process by giving
them responsibility for decisions about the budget, personnel, and the curriculum. Through the involvement of teachers, parents, and other
community members in these key decisions, SBM can create more effective learning environments for children.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES?

 Allow competent individuals in the schools to make decisions that will improve learning;
 Give the entire school community a voice in key decisions;
 Focus accountability for decisions;
 Lead to greater creativity in the design of programs;
 Redirect resources to support the goals developed in each school;
 Lead to realistic budgeting as parents and teachers become more aware of the school’s financial status, spending limitations, and the cost of
its programs; and,
 Improve morale of teachers and nurture new leadership at all levels.

With SBM, several enabling policies were formulated such as the School Governing Council (SGC); conduct of Assessment of Level of Practice; School
Improvement Planning (SIP); and reporting of accomplishments through School Reports Cards (SRCs). These policies were supported by a budget line
item in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the installation of SBM in all public elementary and secondary schools. With this, SBM had been
revised to better highlight the learner as the center of SBM practice; to encompass the diverse realities of learning contexts defined and uniquely
occurring within specific geographic, social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental make-up of the contemporary society; to enhance
commitment of education stakeholders at all levels to their responsibilities and accountabilities in realizing the education outcomes for children; and
to improve the school system’s capacity to be on track in achieving the Education for All/Millennium Development Goals and sustain good
performance (Department of Education, 2012). With this and even before this, the Department of Education (DepEd) had been implementing several
projects, programs and activities (PPA) that will realize SBM and other sound philosophical and legal frameworks of the department. These PPAs
include Brigada Eskwela, Every Child-A-Reader Program, School First Initiative; Child-Friendly School System; Project WATCH (We Advocate Time
Consciousness and Honesty); and Adopt-A-School Program.
KEY POINTS CONSIDERED as TRENDS/ISSUES on the TOPIC:

Some of the programs lack in terms of information dissimilation. When it comes to program implementation, some were not properly
executed due to extraneous variables such as bad weather and flood which were not given careful consideration. Availability and schedule were some
of the hindrances in ensuring each teacher will undergo improvement seminars and improve teaching competency. Lack of follow-up in programs held
by the Guidance Office is also noticed. Active participation of each faculty member in all the improvement plans the school was not sustained
although out the school year. Lastly, lack of proper documentation for each principles that often leads to fabricated documents when the time for
validation comes.

REFLECTION/REACTION:

A school year has always been a specific given time use in assessing the effectiveness of the school systems in our country. More often
than not, what happened in an entire school year mostly determines how successful the management of head is. School-based management (SBM) is
a strategy to improve education by transferring significant decision-making authority from state and district offices to individual schools. SBM provides
principals, teachers, students, and parents greater control over the education process by giving them responsibility for decisions about the budget,
personnel, and the curriculum. Through the involvement of teachers, parents, and other community members in these key decisions, SBM can create
more effective learning environments for children.

In school based management, it provides different advantages to the operation of the entire school. It allows independency for decision-making
among the school head and its personnel. It also caters accountability of the people within the school with regards to decision planning and
implementation. School based management creates room for creativity and versatility since programs can be design more applicable to the clients
while promoting localization and contextualization. In terms of budgetary aspect, school based management provide a more realistic allocation and
spending since it allows hands-on and direct approaches. Moreover, the entire school system from top to bottom are more involved and participative
in school based management.

What has been? In my personal point of view, I can rate our school’s performance as above satisfactory for this school year. This can be attributed to
enormous factors. First, continuous improvement of the faculty members has given priority thru SLACS and school based seminars. Second,
absenteeism rate among the students has been closely monitored on a daily-basis to decrease number of possible students who are at risk of
dropping. Third, the teachers and the guidance counselor work hand in implementing programs that will focus on proper guidance and monitoring of
the students. Fourth, Food Feeding program was implemented to assist students who are undernourished with the aim of assisting them to go to
school with food in their stomachs and ready to learn. Fifth, cleanliness within the vicinity of the school is highly implemented and promoted to bring
awareness to the whole school community. Improvement plans such as “Project SMART” has been implemented and closely monitored with the
target to improve students’ performances. Sixth, the school was able to establish a strong sense of involvement among the other stake holders of the
community as they provided support to programs of the school.
RECOMMENDATION/SUGGESTIONS

How to deal with these? “In order to be a leader, one must be a good follower. “This is an old cliché that is given emphasis when it comes to
instructional leadership. In order to properly deal with the previous mishaps, lacking and areas of improvement of the previous school year,
instructional leadership must be well crafted and practice. As the head of the school, it is expected for people like us to efficiently perform our duties.
More often than not, we are compared to artists who performed different roles and act every time we are on the stage. Changing of hats from time to
time is a huge responsibility for a Head Teacher to ensure that what to be done will be done in expected time. But we have to always bear in mind
that efficiency alone is not the key to properly manage an institution, a school. Effectiveness should also be given focus. Thus, effectiveness can be
achieve by a leader who inspires his people to work because they see that the leader is also involving himself and not only merely provide instructions
to be done. Communication should also be maintain among the Head and his people.

What to do next? ONE. In terms of information dissemination of programs, everyone should be involve and scar all possible resources such as social
medias in ensuring a widespread of information. TWO. Alternative plans must be included in planning to become more resilient if in case the first plan
was not properly executed. THREE. Seeking help from stakeholders and working with income-generating activities that can provide monetary support
for different projects of the school. FOUR. Create a schedule for seminars and SLAC that will cover ll the members of the faculty, if not possible, create
another schedule for those who cannot attend it in the given schedule. FIVE. Be a model, get involve and inspire, in this way your members/ people
will be motivated to act like you do. Lastly, we all know that we religiously do every thing that is listed on the different principles of the SBM, we just
need to document them properly or we may assign the principle leaders to remind their fellow teachers to properly document every projects,
meetings, slacs, or donations and put them on the proper file box that are assigned to them so that they would no longer cram or end up fabricating
any document that are needed when the time has come for validation.

Every year is a learning process. There is no perfect formula in managing a school. What applies to other may not be effective to others. But the key is
you involve yourself, as the head, as the leader.

Prepared and Submitted by:

ARNAGERLIE B. GONZALES

MAED Student
 Submitted to:

LEONARDO D. ZAPANTA, Ed. D, CESO VI