Two public schools in Baguio City were among the five schools in the Cordillera that piloted the implementation of the Department of Education’s Matatag K to 10 revised basic education Curriculum program this school year 2023 to 2024.
Rizal Elementary School and its extension in Liteng, Pacdal barangay; and Doña Aurora National High School are among the five DepEd schools in the region to pilot the program.
Other pilot schools are Kalafug ES in Apayao; and Lam-ayan Integrated School and Bineng NHS, both in Benguet.
The program will be piloted in the kindergarten, grades 1 and 4 in the elementary and grade 7 in the secondary level.
Concerned teachers at Rizal ES and its Liteng extension gathered last Sept. 1 for orientation, planning, and preparation of some initial transitional activities with the close supervision and guidance of the school heads.
There were orientation on expected issues and challenges, such as the negative impacts of some anticipated changes and adjustments during the formal implementation of the program on Sept.18 this school year; and psychological conditioning or debriefing of teachers.
Among the initial changes are the separate day for the morning flag ceremonies for the Matatag K to 10 learners from that of the K to 12 learners; change in the number of minutes per learning and break time; new descriptions of learning contents and activities; the return of Good Manners and Right Conduct or GMRC to replace the Values Education discipline; weekly learning action cell sessions for collaboration and technical supports from the DepEd Curriculum Implementation Division Team; weekly reporting of the learning action cell session activities and results as bases for identifying supports needed; and new learning resources that include supplementary and open educational resources.
A partnership with stakeholders was also sought, specifically the parents to give support in the reproduction of learning activity materials.
“Our teachers will be ready to adjust themselves under the new program and they will be able to manage issues and other challenges during the implementation of the Matatag K to 10 curriculum,” Rizal ES Principal Remedios Quinio said.
An orientation of concerned teachers by cluster of regions on the program is initially set this month to capacitate them and for further clarifications of issues and other concerns as the implementation of the program is in progress.
The pilot implementation of the new curriculum program aims to gain valuable insights for the information of the stakeholders in a larger scale; identify issues, challenges, and gaps for appropriate actions; and determine the supports needed for the effective implementation of the Matatag K to 10 curriculum program. – Ben Bentican
