A month before the opening of classes on Oct. 5, the Department of Education-National Capital Region (DepEd-NCR) continues to roll out various initiatives this September to further prepare public schools in Metro Manila.
DepEd-NCR Director Malcolm Garma reported that 14 out of 16 Schools Division Offices (SDOs) have finished their respective simulation of the delivery of modules and conduct of classes.
Garma noted that eight SDOs in the region were at 80 percent to 100 percent in terms of production and printing of self-learning modules (SLMs) while four SDOs were at 50 percent to 70 percent and the other four were in the catching-up stage.
“There will be 1:1 distribution of learner package wherein each student will receive one learner package with the help of the LGUs in NCR,” Garma said. He added that the distribution of learner packages started on Sept. 1 and ends Sept. 15. “The distribution mode will be adjusted accordingly to possible changes in the community quarantine scenarios of each city,” he said.
Garma noted that 15 out of 16 SDOs have conducted division-level training for teachers. Training has been done virtually in partnership with Thames International and the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP).
Deped-NCR has designed a Regional Readiness Matrix that would guide SDOs in strategizing class organization and scheduling, establishing teacher workload, finalizing learning and teaching platforms, and distribution and usage of all learner materials.
“We take into consideration the school context and the learners’ context,” Garma said. “The school context is about the health status of teachers, the readiness of principals and supervisors to manage multiple learning delivery modalities, the availability of learning resources and materials, and teachers’ readiness and external partnership initiatives to facilitate multiple learning modalities,” he added.
To ensure the safety and welfare of the DepEd-NCR skeleton workforce, Garma noted that health guidelines and protocols for SDOs and schools have also been issued and reiterated.