OIC-SDS Al turns-over San Juan City with Laudable Accomplishments

Outgoing OIC-Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) Dr. Alejandro G. Ibañez delivered the State of the Division Address on 1 October 2019 at the Division Conference Hall highlighting the achievements done in a span of eleven months of his leadership. He made this status report in the presence of the incoming superintendent OIC-SDS Dr. Cecille G. Carandang, along with the key education leaders from her previous station, Schools Division Office of Caloocan City, and their counterparts in DepEd San Juan. The officers of San Juan Private Schools Association or SAPRISA, and the representatives from the Federated General Parents-Teachers Association were also in attendance to witness the said event.

Some of the notable accomplishments included the following:

Strategic directions of SDO San Juan developed and implemented;
Financial reform initiatives compliant to DepEd Order No. 67, s. 2016 even if this made him unpopular to the school heads;
Efficient hiring process in conformity with Civil Service Commission and DepEd guidelines;
Integrated and comprehensive Basic Education Research Program with Local School Board Resolution No. 6, s. 2019;
Systems and processes in all management areas enhanced and compliant with the quality management system, which makes the ISO certification more than just documentary requirements but as a living practice among SDO San Juan personnel;
Instructional LeaderSHIFT thru the Division STAR Patrol Project implemented which anchored on the core mandate of the Curriculum Implementation Division;
Division Testing Program intensified, which would redound to the quality of education;
Maximization of the utilization of supplementary materials from DepEd, the Local Government Unit (LGU), and private organizations;
Conferment of the Seal of Effective School Governance where indicators of effective school-based management were developed and set to be validated thru internal and external stakeholders;
Special Education Fund (SEF) Rationalization compliant with the joint circular memoranda;
Distribution of 150 pieces of laptop to select teachers;
Legal concerns settled formally and amicably;
Comprehensive repair/improvement of SDO San Juan building and office markers;
Project O-Eskwela Plus implemented that resulted in effective intervention for drop out students using modular and online learning resources;
Competency Enhancement Program for SDO Personnel carried out which helped the organization reached its targets;
HRTD Funds utilized and implementation rationalized as reflected in the priority development areas of the division;
West Crame Elementary School established and opened;
Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) roles and obligations clarified through the First-ever General PTA Assembly;
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for SDO San Juan personnel ensured;
Private School Partnership intensified with periodic engagements with key education leaders held;
LGU enabling legislative support to basic education some of which included the provision of incentives to academic achievers, the prioritization of Senior High School students to immersion program, additional research funding for San Juan City Science High School students and Php 1.000 monthly allocation for research work to all teachers; and
Being number 1 in the National Achievement Test, Accreditation and Equivalency Test, and Philippine Education Placement Test for the Alternative Learning System learners.

After the speech, Dr. Ibañez turned over the division flag along with the strategic and operational plans of the division as well as the school improvement plans of the twelve public schools.

For her acceptance speech, Dr. Carandang welcomed the warm accolades with grace and gratitude as she commended the outstanding performance narrated by Dr. Ibañez. She reiterated her support to the ongoing programs, projects, and activities of the previous administration as she would soon look at the data and information on hand to study where she could come in and address the gaps for the continuous organization improvement.

The Turn-Over activity was made even more prestigious with the Regional Director Dr. Malcolm S. Garma in attendance. He emphasized the need to stay professional with the demands of the transition period so as to remain focused on the deliverables despite of the changes in the leaders especially in a Department as big as the education sector where everybody is relational and termed family despite geographic differences. Likewise, the President of Philippine Association of School Superintendents (PASS) National Capital Region, Dr. Rita E. Riddle, graced the affair in support to the two superintendents.

In closing, the attendees gave a surprise production dance number in grateful appreciation of the new leadership that will take DepEd San Juan City to new heights.