BAHAY PAG-ASA MISSION STATEMENT

The University of St. La Salle (USLS), inspired by the work of it’s Founder, St. John Baptiste de la Salle,
commits to respond to the growing needs of a special group of children and youth, the Children-In-
Contact with the Law (CICL), in the Provinces of Negros Occidental and Guimaras, through the
establishment the USLS - Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center (USLS-BPYC).

“In collaboration and partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),
Department of Justice (DOJ), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the Local Government
Units (LGUs), the Provincial Government and other government organization (GO), non-government
organizations (NGOs), volunteer individuals and groups, the USLS- Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center (USLS-
BPYC) aimed to promote quality education through intervention, diversion and rehabilitation programs
and services that seeks to address the best interest, welfare and development of the children and youth
at risks, forming them into becoming a self-reliant, productive and God-fearing individuals, upon
reintegration with their families and in the community.”

Inspired by the Charism of the Founder, St. John Baptiste de la Salle, and animated by Christian values,
the University seeks to help our people, especially the poor, live a life of dignity to the fullest of their
capabilities. As a catalyst for change, it commits itself to install concern for the environment, community
and country.
All these, in the Lasallian spirit of faith and zeal: to do everything for God and to attribute all to God.

INSTITUTIONAL MISSION STATEMENT

The University of St. La Salle is a Catholic institution committed to the holistic formation of the youth.

It promotes quality of education responsive to the global realities and to the call of the Church for
evangelization. It aims to foster a culture of openness and dialogue in all sectors of the Lasallian Family.
Inspired by the Charism of the Founder, St. John Baptiste de la Salle, and animated by Christian values,
the University seeks to help our people, especially the poor, live a life of dignity to the fullest of their
capabilities. As a catalyst for change, it commits itself to install concern for the environment, community
and country.

All these, in the Lasallian spirit of faith and zeal: to do everything for God and to attribute all to God.

ALS

The type and breadth of partnerships implementing schools are able to forge

with different stakeholders contribute to the success of the ALS-EST program.

According to the Australian Council for Educational Research (2013), “When

partnerships are well-planned, sustainable, collaborative, and based on a mutual

sharing of expertise, knowledge, resources and skills, they are effective and are

able to make an impact.” When different stakeholders recognize each other’s

contributions and learnings and are able to collaborate to create quality and
relevant programs, partnership outcomes improve.

Schools and business and industry groups derive mutual benefits by strengthening

links with each other. Partnerships pave the way for industry-linked training and

genuine employment options for Learners, additional training resources for

teachers, and a pool of well-trained workers for industry.

Through these partnerships, businesses and industry groups are able to:

• Share knowledge and expertise with schools

• Offer apprenticeships and traineeships to Learners

• Provide industry and career mentoring to completers

• Deliver skills-specific training and hands-on industry experience to both

teachers and Learners

In turn, schools can contextualize and better match their programs and skill

trainings to industry needs. They help support adolescent and adult learners to

become more productive and more involved in their communities which overall

creates a positive impact on industry and the society at large.

Aside from business and industry groups, local Chambers of Commerce, LGUs,

and NGAs also play a big role as partners and can help advocate for and mobilize

other types of support (EDC, 2017). Among others, they can arrange and manage

job fairs and create on-the-job training and employment opportunities for ALSEST Learners and
completers.

The Benefits of School-Community Partnerships

When schools and community organizations work together to support learning, everyone benefits.
Partnerships can serve to strengthen, support, and even transform individual partners, resulting in
improved program quality, more efficient use of resources, and better alignment of goals and curricula
(Harvard Family Research Project, 2010).

First and foremost, learning partnerships can support student outcomes (see, for example, Little, Wimer,
& Weiss, 2008). For example, the Massachusetts Afterschool Research Study found that afterschool
programs with stronger relationships with school teachers and principals were more successful at
improving students’ homework completion, homework effort, positive behavior, and initiative. This may
be because positive relationships with schools can foster high quality, engaging, and challenging
activities, along with promoting staff engagement (Miller, 2005).
In addition to supporting student learning directly, partnerships can have additional benefits to students
and their families. They can

 provide continuity of services across the day and year, easing school transitions and promoting
improved attendance in after school programs;

 facilitate access to a range of learning opportunities and developmental supports, providing

opportunities for students and teachers alike to experiment with new approaches to teaching
and learning;

 facilitate information sharing about specific students to best support individual learning; and

 provide family members with alternative entry points into the school day to support their
student’s learning.

Learning partnerships can also greatly benefit schools. They can

 complement the academic curriculum with a wider range of services and activities, particularly
enrichment and arts activities that may not available during the school day;

 support transitions across the school years, particularly the critical middle to high school
transition, which research indicates is a key predictor of high school graduation (Neild, Balfanz,
& Herzog, 2007);

 reinforce concepts taught in school without replicating the school day, often exposing classroom
teachers working in the after school program to new pedagogies;

 improve school culture and community image through exhibitions and performances that help
“shine the light” on students whose talents may not be apparent in the classroom; and

 gain access to mentors, afterschool staff, and other resources to support in‐school learning and
improve the teaching and learning in the classroom itself.

Finally, learning partnerships with schools can strengthen and support community partners. They can

 help gain access to and recruit groups of students most in need of support services;

 improve program quality and staff engagement, particularly when there is crossover between
school and community organization staff;

 foster better alignment of programming to support a shared vision for learning, one which aligns
curriculum to support state and local standards; and

 maximize resource use such as facilities, staff, data, and curriculum

The Education for All and inclusive education

debate: conflict, contradiction or opportunity?
Susie Miles
This study aimed to determine the practices and challenges in managing school-community
partnerships in East Butuan District II elementary schools. The participants of the study were the
Elementary School Teachers and School heads of East Butuan District II. Complete Enumer-ation is
used in the study. The tested variables were practices of elementary schools, challenges in forging a
school-community partnership, and the extent of school-community partnership. The findings reveal
that the practices of elementary schools in the district showed a moderate level of manifestation
except for participation in the athletic meet and preparation for the national achievement test (3.80),
indicating a high level of manifestation. Similarly, the challenges forging school-community
partnerships have moderate manifestation. On the other hand, the majority revealed either a
moderate or low extent of school-community partnerships. This suggests that elementary schools in
the East Butuan District II still want to manage school-community partnerships. It is interesting to
note that practices and challenges significantly influence the extent of school-community
partnership; a higher manifestation of practices but a lower manifestation of challenges implies a
greater extent of school-community partnership.

Ever-growing social inequities confront most low- and middleincome countries as many people still have
insufficient access to

proper education and training. This problem results in citizens who

lack the necessary skills for employment or are disempowered to

engage in entrepreneurial pursuits. As higher education institutions

(HEIs) are concerned with delivering extension programs to reach

development goals, it is paramount that academic institutions should

also monitor and evaluate the outcomes of their community programs

at the grassroots level.

In the Philippines, universities and colleges have been mandated

by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to extend their

educational and civic services to the community. An example of such

policies is the Republic Act 9163, otherwise known as the “National

Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001”, which highlights

the commitment of HEIs to provide, promote and sustain community

service. It is noteworthy to understand that is similar to the United

States’ community service-learning programs under the US National

and Community Service Act of 1990 (Markus, Howard, & King,

1993). Recently, the Commission has initiated efforts to re-direct

Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction: Vol. 15 (No. 1) June 2018: 35-55 37
extension programs under the CHED Memorandum Order 52, series

of 2016. The policy provides some guidelines on HEI community

extension programs for the “provision of space to discover practical,

evidence- and science-based answers that can address real-world

social, economic, and environmental challenges of partner citizens

and communities.” As producers of knowledge or hubs of innovations,

the new extension policy posits that HEIs are in a strategic position

to work in partnership with communities, business, and industry

in facilitating the transfer of knowledge or technology on specific

developmental areas. University extensions “or the “extensions of

the universities” are ‘any educational innovations done outside the

university” (Mounders, 1972). These innovations mainly focus on

literary, agricultural and social topics.

Partnerships between HEIs and the community should be mutually

beneficial. Research and technology-transfer activities by the

academe should have the potential to improve curriculum and

pedagogy. For students, extension programs help to instill the

value of citizenship in a manner that traditional classroom teaching

is unable to provide. Such engagements can also add new ideas

and insights to the intellectual process and give broader meaning

to the work and world of academics (Soska & Butterfield, 2013).

Concomitantly, community stakeholders gain more understanding

of relevant issues and are empowered to make decisions to alleviate

their present conditions.

The modalities of extension program delivery by HEIs vary. There

are delivery methods that focus on involving students to assist

local organizations and other methods that involve faculty and

staff programs to address community development in the form of

educational cohorts, social service, public health, and livelihood

and technical training, consultations and direct application of R&D

output. The more common examples of extension activities are

livelihood (Daquis, Flores, & Plandez, 2016; Felicen, Mendoza, &

Buted, 2014; Peprah et al., 2017), health promotion (Daquis et al.,

2016; O’loughlin et al., 1999; Rocha & Soares, 2010) and computer

literacy programs (Daquis et al., 2016).

Despite the availability of higher education community extension

practice, there is inadequate literature on the evaluation of its impact

38 Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction: Vol. 15 (No. 1) June 2018: 35-55

or outcome. While there is no single assessment that gauges social

impact of community programs (Felicen et al., 2014; O’loughlin et

al., 1999; Peprah et al., 2017; Rocha & Soares, 2010), most published

studies focus on measuring impact on student development (Astin

& Sax, 1998; Astin et al., 2006; Lambright & Lu, 2000; Llenares

& Deocaris, 2015; Llenares & Espanola, 2015; Rhoads, 1998;

Wang & Rodgers, 2006). Moreover there are limited publications

that investigate the long-term gains and social impact of extension

programs (Felicen et al., 2014; Soska & Butterfield, 2013). With

the dearth of information on the broader social impact of higher

education extension on communities and residents served, monitoring

behavioural data can provide a useful guide for extension workers

in preparing cost-effective programs that would have the highest

societal value. Hence, this study aims to present an approach in

evaluating community outreach efforts that focus on the perceived

changes in attitude, behaviour, and lifestyle of local community

residents who have attended the community outreach program

during the 6-year period, from extension program development to

outcomes, to the assessment of the outcomes.

Lyceum of the Philippines University-Batangas, an institution which has an integrated educational
institution namely: instruction, research and community extensions are interwoven harmoniously to
produce meaningful learning. The institutions together with the different academic departments,
students, faculty and staff organizations have been involved in providing community extension to the
community. Developing a community with utmost necessity to get some assistance from different
agencies like academic institutions is an act of fulfilling the mission of helping people to uplift not only
the standards of living of those underprivileged but it would also provide greater impact to the character
and values of the students and employees who take part on this worthy undertaking (Laguador &
Chavez, 2013). To institutionalize all the community extension activities of the school, community
extension office was created where the students, faculty members and administrative staff could share
their resources and their expertise and be part of the school social involvement program. Thus
community extension service operates through self-support, self-reliance, self-sustaining, and self-
propelling principles. Through people’s participation, well-planned programs should be consciously
taking into consideration. Lyceum International Maritime Academy (LIMA) is never behind when it
comes to its Community extension programs. Through the collaborative efforts of faculty, staff and
students, LIMA continues to provide its beneficiaries programs and activities that help improve their way
of life as well as their economic condition (Cortiñas, Dalwampo, De Guzman, Galomo, Untalan, 2011).
The Lyceum of the Philippines University – Batangas has an adopted community for five years, the
Barangay Wawa in Batangas City which is geographically located near the Lyceum International
Maritime Academy Campus (LIMA). The Academy has been an active partner of Barangay Wawa in
cleaning its shoreline whose partnership has established camaraderie and unity among the people in the
vicinity (Laguador, Mandigma&Agena, 2013). LIMA conducts different kind of activities in barangay
Wawa like coastal clean-up, environmental clean-up and community clean-up by these activities it help
to maintain the cleanliness of the community. With its community extension, LIMA plays an important
role in helping communities in need to become more productive and capable of making intelligent
decisions for the improvement and development of their socio economic well-being. This research study
was undertaken to determine the level of implementation of the ComEx programs undertaken by LIMA.
Through this, beneficiaries will be more aware of the different programs prepared for them and will also
identify the barriers in the course of the programs’ implementation. The researchers believe that the
result of the study will create a more responsible and improved ComEx community to where the
benefactors and the beneficiaries will realize the value of their works.

RELATED LITERATURE The Development of Com-Ex in the Philippines In the 1990’s the Philippine
government embarked on a grand rehabilitation effort by organizing different agencies to work together
to bring the river back to life. In January 1992, the Philippine business for the environment (PBE) is a
non-stock, non-profit organization composed of businessmen. It is involved in environmental
enhancement projects, education and awareness, promotion of clean technology, sound environmental
management, and intermediation between communities, business and government in environmental
laws. By 1993, 30 NGOs, then headed by First Lady Ming Ramos, took cognizance of the importance of
stakeholder participation and established the Sagip Pasig Movement. It was then led by Green Forum
Phil’s. SPM was formally incorporated in 1997. In August 1994 business plan was prepared included a
review of the various feasibility studies conducted for rehabilitation of the Pasig River and an overall
management task force for its implementation. The review resulted in a new grouping of PRRP projects,
as follows: a study of the absorption capacity of Manila Bay, industrial liquid waste management,
domestic liquid waste management including the diversion of the San Juan River, solid waste
management, and riverside management. Sagip Pasig movement’s task is to mobilize residents,
academe, markets and industries in focused areas along riverbanks into clean, coordinative and capable
communities. This is SPM’s unique strategy of river rehabilitation, establishing Clean River Zones. The
CRZs are envisioned as composed of organized communities that practice sustainable management of
community waste from residential, commercial and industrial sources. The members in the CRZ possess
a high degree of awareness on environmental issues affecting them and are capable of mobilizing the
community to act as one. The CRZ has institutionalized coordinative bodies or core groups that have
clear administrative operational structure. During its inception, SPM identified 407 target barangays
situated in nine cities and municipalities in Metro Manila. Since then, SPM has organized communities in
Manila, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Quezon City and Pasig. Through community-based waste management
projects, SPM has helped reduce solid waste pollution in the river from 10% in 1990 to 5% in 1998. SPM
conducts environmental information and education campaigns as well as capabilitybuilding seminars. It
organizes identified sectors in riverbank communities to establish Clean River Zones. It was also active in
policy advocacy for the passage of the Solid Waste Management Act and the Clean Water Act. SPM
holds for and symposia to inform the public of the salient features of these environmental laws. The
Annual LasonsaIlog Pasig Awards, SPM’s public disclosure program, pressured numerous industries to
install wastewater treatment facilities. Within the ten years of Lason awarding, Pasig River’s industrial
pollution decreased to 35% from 45%. In 2002, SPM expanded its program in the context of Population,
Health and Environment. By 2005, SPM will put up population management and health service
components in its river rehabilitation projects. Entering its 12th year in the first quarter of 2005, SPM
will be launching its first book entitled Unfinished Business, documenting the impact of its public
disclosure program. SPM will be conducting the National Summit on the State of Philippine Rivers on
April during the celebration of the International Earth Day. Targeting critical areas along the Pasig River
system, SPM is mainstreaming the Clean River Zone Program in partnership with local government units.
By convening these communities and integrating the CRZ in barangay development plans, SPM foresees
a more sustainable river rehabilitation program. SPM works with an extensive network of partners from
people’s organizations, schools, civic groups, commercial establishments, government agencies and local
government units, rallying together for the rehabilitation of Pasig River (www.wepa-db.net).