School Community Partnership of DepEd Programs in Castilla Districts

This study aimed to describe the School-Community Partnerships along the DepEd Programs in Castilla Districts SY 2020-2021. The study used the descriptive method of research. It determined the profile of the programs schools and the challenges that may be encountered by the school heads along the identified programs.

The main instruments that were used in the study were the consolidated reports of the School Heads in Castilla to determine the profile of the five programs and the significant contributions. Other instruments are a survey questionnaire and an open-ended questionnaire used to gather responses on the challenges encountered in the five programs. The respondents of the study were the elementary school heads of the three districts in Castilla. The data that were gathered were tabulated, analyzed, and interpreted using the appropriate statistical measures and tools such as frequency, percentage, and ranking.

It was revealed that the completed tangible projects in 2020 and 2021 for Birgada Eskwela were repaired classrooms, constructed and repaired comfort rooms, handwashing facilities, kiosks, spans of perimeter fence, improvements, and beautification. The total amount spent on the projects in two years was 9,779,321.25 and 9,559,604.50.00 respectively. There were 22,973 and 23,826 volunteers for the projects. The total cash donations for the Adopt-a-School Program in terms of Learning Environment, Learning support, Technology Support, Health and Nutrition, Training and Development, and Direct assistance was php6,829,692.50. The total number of kilos harvested with respect to Gulayan sa Paaralan was 6,150. There 115 kilos out of the harvest were sold and the remaining 6,035 kilos were used for feeding. The total funds utilized was php250.00. The 120-day Feeding Program was completed in 2020 with a budget amounting to php7,797,600.00. It was supported by 352 DepEd personnel and 352 parents. On the other hand, there were no more non-readers after the implementation of the Reading Program. Some of the identified significant contributions of the program were the funds donated by the volunteers for the projects and the time for free services rendered by concerned individuals. There were identified challenges that were encountered by the school heads in the implementation of the Deped programs. An Action Plan can be proposed to sustain the effective implementation of the DepEd Programs.

It was concluded that the implementation of the DepEd Programs was found to be successful and beneficial to the learners through the concerted efforts of the parents, community, and other stakeholders. The significant contributions that were identified from the implementation of the DepEd programs with the support of the volunteers helped the learners in terms of food security, physical facilities, learning resources, a conducive learning environment, and reading skills. The identified challenges encountered by the school heads need to be addressed and given consideration for the success of the implementation of the program. The Action Plan Hereby Proposed can be adapted for implementation.

The recommendations were: the School Heads may consider intensifying their initiatives thru Brigada Eskwela, Adopt a School Program, Gulayan sa Paaralan Program, and Feeding and Reading Programs in building strong-community partnerships relative to the implementation of the said DepEd Programs. The DepEd Programs may still be intensified through a strong school community partnership to derive significant benefits that may be given importance to be used as resources to support the school and the community, especially the learners. Support from individual volunteers may be considered and given importance by the school authorities especially the school heads for them to be able to address the challenges they have encountered in the implementation of the programs. The Action Plan hereby proposed is highly recommended to be adapted upon review and approval by the higher authorities. Researchers may utilize the findings of this research as the basis for conducting other studies using other programs of the DepEd in other Districts.