The Why and How of School

and Community Partnership

R. Learnlnl! Outcome:

At the end of this Chapter, you should be able to:

• explain what school and .community partnership means;
• explain the legal and sociological bases of school and;
community partnership; and
• cite examples of school-community partnerships.

1. Bas ed on you r school experiences, list down way

s by whic h a
com mun ity help s a school and ways by which a scho
ol help s
a com mun ity. Come up with an exhaustive list.
2. Gro up your selv es by 6. Compare your lists. Com
e up with
a final list in whic h com mun ities help schools and in
whi ch
scho ols help com mun ities .

..... ~ ~
■lii;Mi'-~Wil--~--......iltjii. .
Based on you r grou p list, is there real part ners hip
betw een
school and com mun ity? Or do you find one part y (like
the school)
more favored beca u se it gets more help th an the othe
r? Defend you r
answer.
 a-"
~.,i ' Cromi=m1:s'B D@ltG ·iMiffl
0 ortunlt\es for School-Co ·ty Partnership
PP mmuni
. . lie
Partne~ship unp ,.,s two p art·e
l
s he lping each ot ht r. Br
,th r,• r 1
b fit This means th at if choo l _ comm u nity pa
rtn e;nh ip
,. " II':~
ene . . b a s . t½ t'!t ·
both parties ene fit from the relatio ns hi p. Thus m . h ~.
t . t follrlW Jnu
paragraphs we s hall pr t w hat co m m ur ut· te
· s ca n d f
es en . . o or '11,h rifil·"'
and what schools can do .
for commurut1e s.
\ What can the community do
\ for schools?
Here are examp les Of Wha t a community ca n do fo r c,c
- hool s:
l. Brigada Eskweln
- This pro_g r~
stakeholders to contrib engaff.ge s alld education
ute th ei r tu ne , e or
in ensuring th at public t an resouret \
school facilities ar e se
forthcoming school open t in time for tht
ing. It ta ke s pl ac e m
weeks before classes begi or e or less two
n in Ju ne . This is a sc
program th at ha s been hool maintenan ct
institutionalized sin ce
issued DepEd Order # 10 20 09 when DtpEd
0.
2. Curriculum developm
ent - This ca n m ea n
resources for learning. e.g us e of community
. m us eu m , el de rs of th
key informants in re se ar e community as
ch or re so ur ce pe rs on
s in th e study of

I
local history
3. Work experience prog
rams - Bu si ne ss es ta bl
in the community ca11 is hm en ts an d offices
serve as tra in in g gr ou
concrete example is the nd for learner s. A
Work Immersion re qu ire
School stu de nt s . In th d of Senior High
is Work Immersion, st
the opportunity to work ud en ts are given
in relevant es ta bl is hm
the community to help en ts or offices in
develop in th em "th e co
ethics, an d values releva mpetencies , work
nt to pu rs ui ng fu rth er
\ joining the world of wo education and /or
rk .... Pa rtn er offices for
Senior High School st ud immersion provide
en ts with op po rtu ni tie
familiar with the work s: « 1) to becom~
\ 3) t~ appl~ their compe
place; 2) for em pl oy m en
tencies in ar ea s of spec
t simulation ; ~C1
\ subJects m authentic wo ialization / appli ed
rk environments tEnclos
I Order No . 30 .3 .2 01 7). ure to DepEd
In this school-commun
ity pa rtn er sh ip th e
what curriculum require school can fulfill
s an d may impr~ve on
based on community their curricultHil
feedback, en ab le s th e
hand~-on work expe st ud en ts to u nd ergo
rience, while co m m
co nt nb ut e to th e formati un ity establishrne~i~:
on of gr ad ua te s who ar
an d more equipped for e more ready for
the world of work. Bu
or any world of work ln si ne ss establish1'.1e~::
the community are th e
ultimate benefic 1afl
 Chapter 6 - The Why and How of School and Community t' di"'" ' "·

of these graduates who have been more prepared through work

irnrnersion.
Some schools call this service learning since it actively involves
students in a wide range of experiences which benefits students
and the community at the same time fulfilling the requirement of a
curriculum .
4. Remediation and enrichment classes - Parents and retired
teachers may be involved in the School Reading remediation and
Learning Enrichment Programs.
5. Youth Development Programs _ The young may involve
themselves in youth development programs and develop their
skills and talents, learn how to deal positively with peers and
adults and serve as resources in their communities.
6. Community Service - Examples of community service are
students participating in tutorial programs, community
reforestation programs, clean up drive for a river, assisting
in medical mission; school head involved in planning local
celebrations, teachers managing programs, projects, activities;
school band playing in fiesta parade

What can schools do for communities in return?

Schools may allow the community to use school resources. Here
are concrete examples enumerated by the DepEd Primer on School-
Community Partnership:
• Classroom used by community organizations for meetings
• School used as a polling place and venue for medical
mission which it may co-sponsor with the Rural Health Unit
• School used by the Rural Health Unit for mothers' class on
child care
• School used as an evacuation center
• School facilities used for community assemblies
• School basketball court used for local celebrations and
barangay sports league
• Schools conduct livelihood skills-training programs for
parents and out-of-school youths by using school resources
• Livelihood skills-training for parents and out-of-school -
youths by teachers themselves
 . "" , unchor fm(l t· t,o C Sd1ool c ullt11 o '111u
om,111111 It\', ~ , v , ~, ........ ·•·

j
•
Learning th Experiences of Schools and Community Partners
from e
Here are concrete examples:
l. Oumingoga Central School, Oumingag, ~amboanga del Sur
Strong school community partnership - Feeding program
was maintained by community donors - Mother Butler Mission
Guild, barangay councils, office of the mayor, parents who
budgeted, cooked, purchased.
"Kiddie Cop" classes - Cops lectures on good manners
and right conduct, drug addiction, child abuse, child welfare.
Municipal Welfare and Development Office - Municipal Health
Office conducted special classes on health and nutrition, rights
of the child.

2. Angels Magic Spot and Project REACH, etc. - Pembo Elementary

School, Makati
Pembo Angels Magic Spot (PAMS) were the volunteer
environmental steward-students of Pembo Elementary School
while magic spots were the small dumpsites or empty lots in the
barangay which were converted by the students into vegetable
gardens from which members of the barangay could harvest for
home supply, the school for their feeding program or sold them
for cash for the purchase of seedlings and planting of more
vegetables.
: PAMS brought together students, teachers, school head,
parents barangay officials and other members of the community
clean up little nooks for garbage and converted them into green
areas with vegetables shared by all. It also taught gardening
skills and positive attitude toward work to students and
supplemented the feeding program for the underweight and the
malnourished in the school, Project BOWLS (Brain Operates
Well on Loaded Stomachs).
Another effective practice was Project Revitalized
Enthusiasm for Assistance to Children of Humanity (REACH)
where each teacher adopted one student and acted as his/
her 1:1entor for
the entire school year. The teacher gave free
tutonal to the adopted student during his/her free time, visit
the student's family every now and in- some instances gave the
student a daily allowance of ten pesos from the teacher's own
~~cket. This contributed to improved performance of Pernbo
ementary School, 23 rd in rank in the Division Achievement
Test zoomed u P t O rank 9 and six
. years later rank 1. (near-zero
drop out rate), ad Kid
 Chopter 6 - The Why and How of School and Community Partnershi

Urbanidad Kids were ideal students who acted as role mod-

els for the students and the PEMBO community. They were the
deanest, most well-manne red and most diligent in class.
BOWLS means Brain Operates Well on Loaded Stomach.
Every recess, children who were selected by the school as
BOWLS beneficiarie s due to malnutrition were provided a free
bowl of lugaw.
Pera sa Panapon was a weekly trash market where
students, their parents and other members of the community
were invited to bring their recyclable garbage. The project helped
the school purchase the necessary supplies and was able to
support two students to a 2010 math competition in Singapore.

Sociological Basis of School-Community Partnership?

The functionalis t theory states that institutions must perform
their respective functions for the stability of society. Other
institutions must come in if one institution fails to do its part for the
sake of society.
The school cannot do it all. "It takes a village to educate
a child", so goes the African proverb. It has to work in
partnership with other institutions in the community such as the
church,gove rnment organizations and non-government organizations.
With the breakdown of families, schools face greater challenge in
educating the young.
The rearing and education of the child is the primary obligation
of parents. The school, the Church and other social institutions
come in to assist parents and families to fulfill their irreplaceable
obligation. The breakdown of marriages, the demand for both mother
and father to work to meet the demands of a rising cost of living
resulting to less or practically no more time for parents to spend
time with their children have, however, attacked the stability of
families and have adversely affected families in the performance of
their irreplaceabl e duty to educate children: Added to these is the
·mcreasmg · r1 umber of families composed of single mothers struggling
.
to raise a family. With the burden of earn mg lodged solely on the
shoulders of one parent, single parents str~ggle to earn enough to
provide for their families . Conseq~ently, this responsibility leads to
their having 8 limited amount of time to spend for a nd with growing
and developing children who, unfortunately become more likely
•
smg 1e-par
ent familie s themselves. The cycle goes on .
This is not to mention the negative effect of uncontrolled and
 d (;rn 1 r 11-JllvM 1I L1 ,,,J, r t r11,
,.,
Thri TAar,h er and lh<:? CrJmmunilf ::;r;.horA CJIIIJW ~n

j unre gulat ed use of technology <Jn th c

r: un u Wh1lc th,. u,,,- ,,I
Y'J ,.,.
}J, <I :,,,,J
technology has brought a lo t ci convenien'-e Jf '~ unr rmtrrJ
11
unregulated use by the tech -savvy kids expo &c th~r.<· kJcfo to all
r> J1 ·.

of infor matio n not nece ssa rily favur able for their deve)
(Jpm r nt ·J'J
1'JV,,:lf, ,,
famil ies schooJs and other social insti tutio ns need to work
'
to save the youth .

Legal Bases for Parents and Community Involvement

m,un,JJ
It is no wond er why even our laws supp ort ~chooJ-com
SectJon £
partn ershi p. RA 9155, Gove rnance of Basic ~ d~~~t1on Act,
(10) explicitly state s that one of th e respo ns1b1J1t1es
of school hc~.d ,
enc,ourngrng
is "esta blish ing school and comm unity networks and
onacademic
the active participat ion of teach ers organ izatio ns , n
mmunity
perso nnel of publi c schools, and paren ts-te ache n,-co
assoc iatio ns ."
es for
Section 3 (D of the same Act enco urage s "JocaJ in itiativ
provide the
the impr ovem ent of schools and learn ing cente rs and to
tajned. "
mean s by which .. . impr ovem ents may be achieved and s us
ation Act
Bata s Pamb ansa Blg. 232, other wise know n as the Educ
ofl 982, Section 7 state s that:
nt
Every educQ,tional institution shall provide for the es tabli shme
educ ation al
of appropriate bodies through which the mem bers of the
mation
community may discu ss relevant issue s and communicate infor
and for
and suggestions for assis tance and support of the school
from each
the promotion of their common interest. Repr esent ative s
cipate in
subgroup of the educational community shall sit and parti
oved by
these bodies, the rules and procedures of which must be appr
them and duly published.
also
Another law, RA 8525 , Adopt -A-School Prog ram Act,
s "private
provides for scho ol-co mmu nity partn ershi p. It allow
secon dary,
entities to assis t a publi c school, whet her elem entar y,
: staff and
or tertiary,, .. in, but not limited to, the following areas
truct ion
faculty development for train ing and furth er educ ation · cons
of books,
of f~cili~ies; upgr ading of exist ing facilities, provisi~n
tion of
publicat_1ons and other instr uctio nal mate rials; and mode rniza
mstructional technologies."
then a
. . Even the Philippine Educ ation for All (EFA) 2015 Plan '
al"n
v1s10 and h r ·
f a .0 istic progr am of reforms that aime d to improve the
likewise
qu 1~ ?,S basic educ ation for every Filipino by end 2015 d
s shall t'
chool
•uts .t · 1
state con mue to harn ess local resou rces an l
the schoo
fact a e mvo vement of every secto r of the comm unity in
impro vement process."
Thisenda
EFA 2015 Pl
Aan was exten ded in Educ ation fo r All Beyo nd
2030
?0 1S~Ag · ge n cia 2030 has 7 new educ ation al targe ts
 Chapter 6 - The Why and How of School and Community Partnership

from 2015 to 2030 that must involve education stakeholders which

in essence is school - community partnership. UNESCO Assistant
Director Genera l for Educat ion, Dr. Qian Tang, himself admits that
Agenda 2030 cannot be realized withou t schools partner ing with
community. He said: "Our vision must be more aggressive, more
committed not just involving government, non-go vernme nt agencie s
but all stakeholders."
RA 9155, states that partner ship betwee n school and
commu nity also ensure s ... that: 1) educati onal program s, project s
and service s take into accoun t the interes ts of all membe rs of
the commu nity (Sec 3, d); 2) the schools and learnin g centers
reflect the values of the commu nity by allowing teache rs/ learnin g
facilitators and other staff to have the flexibility to serve the needs
of all learner s (Sec 3, e); and 3) local ini_tiatives for the improv ement
of schools and learnin g centers are enco~r aged and the means by
which these improv ements may be achieve d and sustain ed are
provided (Sec 3, fj. So schools and commu nities functio n better when
they work as a team.