Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION III
SCHOOLS DIVISION OFFICE OF BATAAN

POLICIES ON SCHOOL OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT OF

PRIVATE SCHOOLS DURING GENERAL COMMUNITY
QUARANTINE (GCQ)

I. RATIONALE

The Department of Education (DepEd) regards the Covid-19 as a matter

of global health crisis and serious concern. It is not only a health crisis as it
affects the whole human environment – institutions and people’s physical,
mental, socio-economic and other aspects of being human it also creates a
devastating social economic and political crisis.
This SDO Bataan COVID-19 Response Plan supports the overall efforts
of the Philippine government in responding to the global pandemic. It
contributes and is aligned to Republic Act (RA) No. 11469, otherwise known
as the “Bayanihan To Heal as One Act” and the National Action Plan to
Prevent, Contain the Spread, Eliminate the COVID19 and Mitigate its
Impact.
Further, Province of Bataan is considered as one of the “high risk” areas
with high cases of Covid-19 that might increase the statistics of Covid-19
patients if the ECQ will be lifted and placed the province under General
Community Quarantine (GCQ).
Private Schools in the Province of Bataan as providers of quality and
accessible education put premium on the welfare of their learners, staff,
and stakeholders and ensure that education should not be dampened by
the threats of this pandemic rather it should be continued and sustained
through a continuous learning plan.
Hence, it is most necessary to have policies which will be used as a guide
by the private schools in their operations. Though localized, it does not, in
any way, contradict to any national Agency guideline, rather, it enhances
the existing policies to cater to the intricacies of operating private schools
in the province of Bataan.

II. OBJECTIVES

a. Protect the well-being of learners and teaching and non-teaching

personnel, and prevent further transmission of COVID-19;
b. Ensure education continuity through K-12 aligned learning materials,
various modalities of delivery, corresponding to teachers and
parents/guardians training; and
 c. Facilitate the safe return of teaching and nonteaching personnel in school,
whether physical or virtual. (considering cyber bullying, online materials that
are not suited to learners, etc.)

III. OWNERSHIP

School Governance and Operations Division (SGOD) - Private School Unit

IV. SCOPE OF PRACTICE

Private School Administrators/Heads/Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff who

are employed to any private school within the Province of Bataan.

Learners who are enrolled at any private school within the Province of
Bataan under Basic Education.

Parents/Guardians who take custody of their children.

V. TERMS/DEFINITIONS/ABBREVIATIONS

CROSS-SKILLING: It is the process of learning how to do more than one

specific job thus, improving the proficiency levels of teachers so that they
can carry out roles outside their existing responsibilities in order to become
professionally well-rounded.

IATF: Inter-Agency Task Force

PRIVATE SCHOOLS: Any privately owned and managed institution for

teaching and learning, established and authorized by the Department to
operate basic and special educational programs in accordance with the law
and the prescribed policies and rules in the Department. (DO No 88. S.
2010)

SCHOOL OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT: It refers to the

administration of a school to provide the condition for staff, teachers and
students to work in the most efficient way possible, maximizing the
utilization of available resources.

UPSKILLING: It is the process of learning new skills or teaching

workers/teachers new skills.

VI. SPECIFIC POLICIES

A. Upskilling and Cross Skilling/Training of Teaching and Non-

Teaching Staff in light of COVID-19 Situation
 1. Selection of Trainings/Competencies

The topics/competencies to be prioritized for the upskilling and cross

skilling of teaching and non-teaching staff will focus greatly on catering
to the clientele’s needs, that is providing basic and special curricular
programs, with consideration of the guidelines implemented by IATF,
DOH, and Local Government Units. It will center on how the faculty and
staff can continue to provide the service through various means and by
leading them to a shift in paradigm, moving into the new normal.

Herein are some of the Proposed Training/Competency Topic:

Paradigm Shift on Education: From School Based to New Normal
Embracing the New Normal through Blended Learning
Ready or Not? The New Landscape in Philippine Education
Digital Learning Management Systems
Mental Health Awareness
Issues and Challenges on the New Normal
(From first week of June to August 21, 2020)

Participants: (Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff, School Heads, and

School Administrators)

Mode of Delivery: (webinar, face to face, teleconference)

B. Conduct of Enrolment

1. Private Schools are advised to conduct mapping of learners thru short

message service (text), email, viber, messenger or any platform to
ensure that enrolment rate will be sustained. School
Administrators/Heads should capacitate their teachers in reaching
the parents of their prospective pupils/learners so that accessibility
of education must be achieved.

2. Teachers who will act as mappers must be given Personal Protective

Equipment (PPE’s) and travel passes and/or any needed documents
for their safety and security. Supplementary benefit such as Hazard
pay must be given to the teachers to compensate for their work.
Service vehicle must be provided for the teachers.

3. Private Schools may opt to choose from Face to Face Enrolment or

Online Enrolment from June 1-30, 2020.

If the school selects FACE TO FACE ENROLMENT, preventive

measures must be followed as per advised by IATF and this should
be done by batches/per grade level with maximum of 20 pax per
batch with 30 minutes of time interval before proceeding to the next
batch.
Non-teaching personnel who will serve as front liners during the
conduct of face to face enrolment should observe social distancing
and must wear protective gears such as mask or face shield and
counters should be covered with protective plastic. The same
protocol should be followed by the parent/guardian who will enrol
their children/wards in the school. This must be coordinated properly
to the public thru ads or posts from school’s social media accounts
(FB, Twitter, Instagram) and/or posting of tarpaulins in conspicuous
places.

If the school selects ONLINE ENROLMENT, it should ensure that a

system is readily available and it has undergone dry run testing to
avoid inconvenience on the part of the parents/guardians. A step by
step procedure must be readily available and accessible to serve as
a guide. More so, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) must be clearly
explained which will serve as additional guidelines for the
parents/guardians of the pupils/learners. This should be checked and
validated with the help of IT personnel in the school in coordination
with the School Administrators/Heads and/or Board of Trustees.

Mode of Payments for Online Enrolment can be done through

debit/credit banking (in coordination with the allied local bank
companies), PayPal, Pay Maya, G Cash (depending on the school’s
option) or direct payment at any bank affiliated with the school.

On Tuition Fees, School Administrators/Heads may reconstruct

their Breakdown of Expenses for the Schedule of Tuition Fees,
Miscellaneous and Other Fees provided that the total amount
approved by the Regional Office will not be altered.

On Payment for School Uniforms, PE Uniforms, School Handbook,

and School Paper, Audio Visual Fee, Sports Development, Clinic,
Dental, Medical, Library Fee, Guidance Fee, Laboratory Fees (Science
and TLE) and Testing Materials these shall be removed from the
actual expenses, instead, the amount allotted from these can be re-
aligned from the salary of teachers and/or payment of ONLINE
portals (such as SCHOOLOGY, GENYO for e-Learning, etc.) IF THE
SCHOOL WILL ADAPT AN ONLINE-HOME BASED LEARNING ONLY,
SCHOOL ID will still be part of expenses and will still be
MANDATORY for the pupils/students be identified as bona fide
enrollee of a certain Private School.

If the school will adapt both School-Based and Home-Based

Schooling, payments on Audio Visual Fee, School Paper, and Sports
Development/Play and Learning Facilities , it is suggested that it shall
be diverted and added to upgrade Internet services, while payment
for Dental and Medical, Laboratory Fees, Testing Materials shall be
lessened and re-aligned to the actual budget for the salary of
 teachers or cash allowance for the preparations of Self-Learning Kits,
Contextualized Learning Materials, and or Module.

Whether the Private School chooses to start an ONLINE BASED

Education and will resume on June or July or follow the directives of
the DepEd on school opening on August 24, school administrators
may reconstruct their APPROVED Tuition Fees in such a way that it
will cover all the expenses needed for the operations of the school.

SDO Bataan understands that the school operations of the Private

Schools largely depend on Tuition Fees but, it is advised that the
schools shall be lenient and humane on the mode of payment in such
a way that it will cater convenience on the part of the
parents/guardians in this time of Pandemic

C. Policies on Reporting to School of Teaching and Non-Teaching

Personnel

Private Schools may opt to choose among various modes of reporting to

school beginning June 1:

1. Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff may be required to report in the

school provided that all safety measures and protocols are followed
and Local Government Policies on Curfew are properly observed; OR

2. Applying various Work Modes (Work from Home, Four-Day

Workweek, Staggered Working Hours, Shifting, Other Alternative
Work Arrangement). It is suggested to the School Heads that their
Tactical Plan (Short Term Plan) may adapt or pattern to the Civil
Service Commission (CSC) Memorandum Circular 10, s. 2020.
(See Enclosure 1)

3. Schools are advised to conduct INSET/School Based training on the

preparation of Self-Learning Kit (SLK), Contextualized Modules,
Instructional Materials, Activity/Laboratory Sheets and other online
mode of teaching from June 1 to August 21, 2020 aside from the
proposed topics mentioned in the upskilling of teachers. Thus,
teaching and non-teaching staff from this period will receive their
regular monthly salary.

4. School Heads are advised to convene with its Board of Trustees as

regards on how to compensate its teaching and non-teaching staff
from June 1 to August 21, 2020. A tactical plan on this concern must
be well coordinated and agreed between and among its Board of
Trustees and teaching and non-teaching staff. (School Administrators
may refer to the existing policy of the Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) on this specific guideline.)
D. On School Opening

Private Schools are advised to follow the directive of Secretary Briones

on the Opening of Classes on August 24, 2020 with the end of the
School Year to be observed on April 30, 2021 for the School Year 2020-
2021 during the Laging Handa Press Briefing held last May 5, 2020.

However, for those private schools choose to open anytime in June/July,

there should be NO FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTIONS as per advised
by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging
Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) last May 9, 2020 and should coordinate
with their Local Government Unit (LGU) adhering to the policies of DOH.

The Schools are directed to submit their School Calendar for approval
on or before June 15, 2020.

They are also enjoined to utilize the newly-developed learning platform

of the Department of Education, which is the DepEd Commons as
reference and practice exercises.

Modular/Self Learning Kit (Localized and Contextualized by the teacher

with approval of the School Head.)

E. On Classroom Instructions

Schools which will adapt School-Based Learning options shall adhere to

the guidelines set by DepEd approved by IATF with minimum of 15
students per class and maximum of 20 students per class for classroom
with 7x9 size. For classrooms with smaller size, a minimum of 10
students per class and maximum of 15 students per class. Should be
observed.

Further, School heads are directed to design their own class/session

schedule with interval of 10 minutes per class/session during and after
classes following the guidelines on social distancing.

Private Schools are advised to adapt the Curriculum Implementation and

Learning Management Matrix (Grade 1 to Grade 10) focusing on the
Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) under K-12 Curriculum.
(See Enclosure 2)

Conduct of any curricular and co-curricular activities that will require

mass gatherings are prohibited.

As regards to K-12 Curriculum Adjustments; alignment of learning

materials; various modalities of delivery; and corresponding teacher and
parent/guardian training for homeschooling, the Department of
 Education is continuously consulting and collaborating with its partner
institutions and organizations in crafting the Learning Continuity Plan
which will be released in a separate Memorandum once finalized.

Schools which will adapt Online Based learning should submit the
Monthly School Activities with Accomplishment Report per class in order
to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of such at SDO Bataan (Attn:
Private Schools Unit).

It is recommended to utilize the Distance Learning Solutions of UNESCO

on the list of educational applications, platforms, and resources that will
help schools heads, teachers, and parents in the continuity of education
in the school community.
(https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/solutions)

Further, Schools are advised to craft an Infographics on the Frequently

Asked Questions (FAQs) to be disseminated to the parents,
pupils/students and stakeholders or poster to be posted on conspicuous
areas in the school or community. (See Enclosure 3 – Sample of
Infographics from BLCIS)

VII. MONITORING AND EVALUATION

In the advent of “new normal” in education brought by the threat of COVID-

19, continuous improvement and assessment are crucial to the sustainability
of quality education, thus, the abovementioned proposed policies will be
monitored and evaluated based on SDO-Bataan Strategic Framework which
has four facets -Quality, Accessibility, Responsiveness, and Resiliency.
A. Quality (K to 12 Learners affected by COVID-19 Pandemic are
empowered with knowledge, skills and values for lifelong learning)
- If online learning is utilized, the school must ensure that the online
learning platform used is reliable, developed by a well-regarded
group/ company, and user-friendly. However, it is suggested that if
DepEd-CO will recommend a certain online learning platform, schools
must comply. Republic Act 10173 or also known as Data Privacy Act
of 2012 must also be observed.

- Schools must submit a list of their online learning platforms to SDO-

Bataan for reference.

- SDO-Bataan through the School Management, Monitoring and

Evaluation Section must come up with an evaluation form intended
for the students to assess the effectivity of online learning and other
learning modalities that will be utilized. The evaluation form must be
accessible. It is also recommended that SMM&E Unit must give an
evaluation periodically to know if there are any improvements and
how our learners are adjusting to the “new normal”.

B. Accessibility (K to 12 Learners affected by COVID-19 Pandemic have

continuous access to quality learning opportunities)
- In order to ensure that all learners are enrolled and no child is left
behind in this time of pandemic, private schools must submit a report
on enrolment which shows the total number of enrollees for SY 2020-
2021 compared to SY 2019-2020. Included in the aforementioned
report is the reason why their former learner failed or did not enroll
for the current school year.

C. Responsiveness (School Administrators should provide quality

education for better learning outcomes)
- Schools will be given a copy of the result of the evaluation by the
classroom teachers in a weekly or monthly basis for the effectivity of
online learning and other learning modalities and based on the result,
school administrators will come up with a plan for adjustment in order
to improve the learning experience of the learners.

- A copy of the plan will be submitted to SDO-Bataan for reference.

The result of the next evaluation will be the basis for the
effectiveness of the crafted plan for adjustment of the school.

D. Resiliency (SDO-Bataan is responsive and resilient to pandemic/ crisis)

- In addition to providing quality basic education, in this time of
pandemic, the Department of Education’s priority is the welfare and
health of our learners and staff. Aside from the academic lessons,
 schools must provide wellness activities. On a regular basis, before
the start of any online learning session teachers are advised to do
wellness check to the learners (development of the Heart before the
Mind). Further, School administrators must also check the welfare of
their staff.

- SDO-Bataan through the Private School Section must have a file of

all the issues/concerns by private schools in relation to the “new
normal” and the action/s taken by the Department

VIII. REFERENCES

https://www.senate.gov.ph/Bayanihan-to-Heal-as-One-Act-RA-11469.pdf
https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse/solutions
Ensuring Education Continuity, Adapting to the New Normal: The DepEd
Response Plan on COVID-19 (The Administration Strand’s Proposal and
Preparations)
https://journal.com.ph/news/nation/palaceiatf-eid-okays-private-schools-
class-opening-
june?fbclid=IwAR05zi4rCZTds5lCjVX5EHh_pGR4GKzS5Af_DYM0yWvKiaiA09d4
BApHoFs

Prepared by:

ANDRES C. MATAWARAN, EdD

EPS, SGOD
In-Charge in Private Schools

Noted:

RAMON C. PEREZ
Chief, SGOD

Recommending Approval:

ROLAND M. FRONDA, EdD, CESE

Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

Approved:

ROMEO M. ALIP, PhD, CESO V

Schools Division Superintendent