A memorandum of agreement (MOA) pledging a P3.28-million allocation for a teaching fellowship program in Makati City was signed today (October 20) by Mayor Abigail "Abby" Binay with the Department of Education, Makati City Schools Division (DepEd-Makati), and the Teach for the Philippines, Inc. (TFP) during a virtual signing ceremony.
She said the TFP program will be implemented in three selected elementary schools for two years: school year 2020 to 2021, and 2021 to 2022.
“The City of Makati is proud to be a part of this meaningful collaboration with the prime movers of quality public education in the country. As we shift to remote learning in the new normal, multi-stakeholder collaboration is crucial to addressing the many impediments to our envisioned quality education for all,” Binay said.
Six college graduates, through the MOA, were chosen by TFP as fellows in the partner schools of Makati, according to the local government.
The city government said it will shoulder the allowances and cost of the training of the teacher fellows for two years, including the summer period between them.
TFP, a non-stock and non-profit organization, said it will provide all fellows with access to various resources including sample lesson plans, assessments, grade tracking systems, and instructional materials.
According to the local government, the principals of DepEd-Makati will directly supervise the fellows and collaborate with TFP to support them in creating an interactive classroom where critical and analytical thinking skills can be developed.
As such, this program seeks to implement a training program for teachers and non-education majors to become successful and transformational teachers.
It also has a research and development component for the formulation of science-based policies on education in the future.
The city government said that there will be two teacher fellows assigned to each of the three public elementary schools selected by the city for the program: La Paz Elementary School, Mark Mailom and Don Neri; Maximo Estrella Elementary School, Kate Gaetos and Meo Nacar; and Nemesio I. Yabut Elementary School, Aya Datuin and Fran de Guzman.
TFP co-founder and chair Elizabeth “Lizzie” Zobel de Ayala, during the MOA signing, said she was elated to have finally forged a partnership with Makati City.
“We are honored to be working with the City of Makati because the leadership that you provide is extraordinary, and not just in COVID times but also in the way you supported the educational system of Makati,” she expressed.
Makati City's various initiatives, according to Ayala, have inspired TFP to pursue the partnership, citing the city's distribution of learner’s package to students, provision of free Internet load, and the Dyipni Maki mobile learning hub project.
Present in the virtual signing ceremony conducted via Zoom were Superintendent Carleen Sedilla of the Department of Education Schools Division of Makati (DepEd Makati) and TFP Chief Executive Officer Clarissa Isabelle Delgado. TFP chair Zobel de Ayala also signed as witness to the agreement, together with Rita Riddle, city education affairs director, and Margarita Delgado, vice chair of TFP.