By DIANN IVY CALUCIN
A total of 500 teachers participated in Valenzuela City's third Education Summit held at the Wellness Entertainment Sports (WES) Arena, Barangay Punturin, in the city on Saturday, Sept. 24.
In line with Valenzuela's Education 360 Degrees Investment Program, Valenzuela City Mayor Weslie "Wes" Gatchalian led the Education Summit to discuss the steps the city will do to recover from the two-year suspension of the physical school system due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Mayor Gatchalian, education summits were conducted to get opinions and recommendations from the participants regarding the needed actions in innovating different programs in the city's education system.
"Alam niyo po very important and very timely po ang ating education summit. Hindi lang po dahil bago ang administrasyon, kung hindi para po tayong nagstart from scratch. Dalawang taon po tayong natengga, dalawang taon nating hinarap ang pandemya at based on po sa ating mga survey, nakita po natin na dahil sa pandemya, lumabas po ang iba't ibang problema natin (Education summit is very important and timely. It's not just because the administration is new, but because it's like we went back from scratch. We have faced the pandemic for two years. Based on our surveys, we have seen various problems that have emerged due to the pandemic)," the mayor said.
The event participants were public elementary school teachers, special education (SPED) educators, student leaders, parent-teacher associations, and senior citizens.
Some recommendations the participants raised concerning the current education system were additional effort in the consistency of the city's educational programs and suitable work schemes that will let the locals spend more time with their families.
The local chief executive concluded the summit by pledging to add educational programs such as “Big Brother and Big Sister Teaching Camp,” “Lolo Lola Teaching Camp,” “Solo Parent Teaching Camp,” and other developmental programs.
Present during the event were Education 360 Degrees Investment Program Action Officer Rovin Feliciano, Councilor Cris Feliciano, Councilor Niña Lopez, and Barangay President Councilor Jonjon Bartolome.
Former Valenzuela City Mayor and now Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian, through the Synergeia Foundation, pioneered the Valenzuela Education Summit in 2008 to improve the public education system in the city.
In 2014, Senator Sherwin’s successor and now 1st District Representative Rexlon “Rex” Gatchalian, held the second education summit to continue the educational programs which gave birth to the Education 360 Degrees Investment.
The Education 360 Degrees Investment program aims for a holistic and systemic approach to boosting the quality of local basic education that invests in every vital aspect of basic education, including school supplies, curriculum, nutrition, teacher competency, parental involvement, and infrastructure.
The program already won multiple local and international awards such as the most-coveted Galing Pook Awards in 2015 and Synergeia Foundation's Seal of Good Education in 2021.
Synergia Foundation assists local governments in providing children with equal access to good education and promotes good governance, transparency, accountability, and efficiency.
Meanwhile, the city government also recognized and rewarded the representatives from Parada Elementary School for topping the Valenzuela Reading Camp.
Valenzuela Reading Camp 2022 was the ten-day half-day session held last Aug. 8 to 19 for non-readers and frustrated level readers to address the reading comprehension issue of grade school students.