Professional Learning Community
Schools Division Office - San Juan City prides itself with its commitment to invest in its people through continuous education in various platforms. Not only does the leadership encourage teachers to pursue graduate studies but DepEd San Juan officials conduct regular trainings and seminars to capacitate the employees, both teaching and non-teaching personnel, to sustain their peak performance.
Some of the more recent ones include the following topics: Glickmann’s Quadrant of Employees’ Development Level, Thinking Win-Win in Pursuit of Excellent Relationships, Capacity-Building for Success, Course on Office Communication Protocols for the Administrative Aides, Literature Circles, Enabling Teachers to Handle Struggling Readers, to name a few. Focus Group Discussions have also become a norm in the public schools where a small gathering of teachers over a cup of coffee or flashy dinners outside school serve as bonding moments that promote a culture of a very engaged group of professionals with that insatiable hunger for meaningful knowledge as they discuss relevant talks such as sexual harassment, personality development or even current news such as salary increase, PBB updates, and the like. Even programs and policies have been cascaded rather efficiently in the field. These include the RPMS, Assessment in the K-to-12 Curriculum, the RAT Program, GAD, TAYO Para sa Edukasyon Campaign, the mass trainings for teachers, and the recently concluded Comprehensive School Safety for Teachers, the first SDO to do it in the region.
SDS Dr. Jenilyn Rose B. Corpuz, CESO VI, conceptualized the launch of SJC Learning Academy where systems like Professional-connects put a structure to the continuous improvement of DepEd personnel. Its flagship programs are anchored upon the issue of accessibility and efficiency of resources. Training needs are also data-driven as reflected by the surveys done during planning sessions. Online portals like wiki-space, webinars, GoToMeetings, and such are maximized, and face-to-face sessions are scheduled as the need arises. Research-based methods are used so decisions made are deemed sound. The learning platforms are also made accessible to students especially to the out-of-school youth through the SJC-ALSconnect Program to complete the picture of a community of learners. It is true, indeed, that learning is fun in the City of San Juan. As the battle cry says, “We go beyond, we never stop … for success is always under construction!” Real education is a way of life and SDO San Juan bravely takes on this challenge that the PLC dictates.
