De-kalidad na SIP, AIP, SOB, atbp…posible!

School heads pooled together their wealth of experiences and brought out nagging issues and concerns in the crafting of their triennial School Improvement Plan (SIP) and its accompanying documents such as the Annual Improvement Plan (AIP) and School Operating Budget (SOB). From the analyses of field data, the development of the plans, the utilization of tools, and the many other processes that came in between, school leaders reviewed the relevant laws and policies of the Department in order to strike relevance in their current practices with OIC-SDS Dr. Alejandro G. Ibañez leading the way.

“This fiscal reform is better appreciated if we are to revisit certain policies in the change management context. This activity will enable us to situate ourselves in the bigger picture as we reflect on our decisions and practices in the education sector and determine how our personal efforts could contribute to the social contract of the president for the Filipino people,” explained the OIC-Superintendent Dr. A. Ibañez in his speech during the integrated and comprehensive planning and budgeting workshop held way back on 20-21 March 2019 at the Linden Suites in Pasig City.

Principals, school-based management (SBM) coordinators, property custodians, and the Bids & Award Committee (BAC) secretariat of each school, participated in this two-day event that highlighted the roles of certain important components such as planning, budget, procurement, even up to the monitoring and evaluation processes, which are all essentially captured in the SOB of a principal. Representatives from the Finance, Supply, and School Governance Unit of the Division were, likewise, present to provide inputs and technical assistance as the participants worked on their respective SOBs.

“The activity was truly enlightening because we got to see the different components involved in school operations and how we figured in the process. It helped that we got to know about the funding sources and the legal bases of legitimate expenses incurred by the school,” commented Mrs. Ma. Cecilia T. Cajayon, the school SBM coordinator of Sta. Lucia ES, in a post-interview done relative to the activity.

Moreover, school heads and their teams presented their SOB on a series of scheduled meetings to a panel consisting of the top executives of the schools division. San Juan National High School principal Mr. Cesar A. Camayra further underscored the importance of this new approach. He stressed, “We became more confident in our fiscal management because everyone in my team contributed to the decisions. When we presented our SOB to the panel, I began to realize that leadership is about empowering others so we can do more. This is shared governance in action. I’m proud of my teachers because they can defend our budget inasmuch as I can justify the priorities we set for the year.”

Meanwhile, the schools reviewed their SIPs previously submitted to the Office integrating the strategic directions and options established early on in consonance with the regional targets and initiatives dubbed as NCR UNO Framework. This is to ensure the alignment of the division’s development plans articulated in the Office Performance and Commitment Review Form (OPCRF) of the Superintendent down to its local counterpart in the implementing units, schools, and learning centers.

OIC-Asst. Schools Division Superintendent Mrs. Flordelisa D. Pereyra reiterated, “While we continually improve the systems and processes of the quality management system we gained from the ISO certification of this division, we also make sure that our schools are able to communicate their respective improvement plans along the same lines. We mobilized our people to render technical assistance where needed so as to direct and harmonize all efforts in the field towards the same targets.” She said during the staff meeting that prompted Planning Officer Demie E. Atienza and Education Program Supervisor Marnelli B. Tolentino to closely monitor the revisions of the said improvement plans in the schools and help their teams to close the gaps.

Consequently, the principals and their respective SBM coordinators, engaged in a number of consultations on the following areas: analyses of yielded data from surveys and related reports, the formulation of valid objectives, refining of details in their target deliverables, the appreciation for performance indicators, and even up to the technical lay-out of their plans in accordance to the template provided in DepEd Order No. 44, series 2015 or the Enhanced School Improvement Plan.

In one of its collaborative sessions, two school heads presented their outputs that served as a model for the others. Kabayanan ES principal Mrs. Hernanda R. Santos and San Juan ES principal Mr. Lloyd T. Tulaylay discussed their SIP and AIP, respectively, highlighting the key insights of their works as guided by the Division Technical Assistance Group (DTAG) under the command leadership of the OIC-SDS himself, Dr. A. Ibañez.

Apart from the usual description of the school’s current situation and the corresponding performance indicators narrated in visual and textual formats, it also integrated the strategic directions and options culled from the Division Education Development Plan (DEDP). It also included two additional chapters namely, the Monitoring and Evaluation which contains details of both physical and financial targets versus actual results, and the Communications Plan that elaborates on the ways by which schools can articulate the contents of SIP to both their internal and external stakeholders with a menu of support packages.

In hindsight, division SIP focal person Mrs. M. Tolentino revealed how school leaders and their focal persons took ownership of their outputs. “I see their proud smiles reflecting the hard work they invested on those plans. I’m glad that the teams persevered and kept up with the deadlines incorporating those revisions along the way. Truly it was an exercise of humility, integrity, and commitment as they resolved to come up with quality SIP,” she disclosed in a meaningful conversation with the DTAG.

In summary, this journey started out on a healthy dose of POSITIVITY in the midst of all the challenges. The teams explored POSSIBILITIES as captured by their quality improvement plans. The day of reckoning shall unfold in their collective PERFORMANCE as schools deliver what it says it will for SDO San Juan to really SHINE.