DAPDAP HIGH SCHOOL: A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE

Who says quality education could only be found among schools in highly – urbanized cities. The truth is, it can also reach the hills. A premier institution focuses solely in improving learners’potential, enhancing their mind, and bringing out their best for their future.

Dapdap High School, despite all the achievements it received, is still continuing to improve its governance to provide top – notch level of education for the youth. As a matter of fact, several functional Continuous Improvement (CI) projects were implemented to synergize actions of strategic purposes and common success. Included in these projects is the Project Every Drop – outs Count (EDOC). The success of the Project EDOC would benefit not only the learners who are at risk of dropping out but also the learners who are experiencing difficulties in the classroom. More so, it is also useful to include the remaining continuous projects that would contribute to the realization of the school’s delivery of quality education. The continuous projects have given emphasis on the three indicators of learning which are the following: academic performance, environmental awareness, and nutritional status.

Under academic performance, there are four projects which are still in progress, namely: Projects BIRC, ISIPP, MATH and SPEAK. These projects concentrated in improving learners understanding toward the subject areas more particularly in enhancing their skills to reach the desired level fitted to them. Thus, learners’abilities would be improved to at least in the instructional level until such time that they will be at the advanced level.

Environmental awareness was also given importance through projects SAKO, CARE, MAPS, GREEN, MARC, and GEAR – UPS. With these environmental projects, the concept to attain a well structured environment would come into existence. Similarly, the strong support of the learners to the projects is caring not only to their environment but also to their future as a whole.

The projects concerning the nutritional status of the learners are incorporated in projects NASI, SMILE, and Feeding Programs. One of the problems besetting the performance of learners is their nutritional status. Most of the learners were identified as “severely wasted” that’s why they had difficulties learning the subjects. Therefore, the interventions which could address the problem are provided by the projects which support the improvement of learners’performance through regular feeding programs.

Dapdap High School in its effort to attain a sustainable development towards achieving progress and excellence has conducted all these continuous improvement projects. Thus, as soon as the projects had sustained its effectiveness, teachers would no longer have a hard time conducting home visitations but rather focus themselves on how they could encourage and motivate learners to participate on both classroom and school activities which in turn, could increase achievement and promotional rate.

Also, with this, honors had been brought to the school through the awards and recognitions of the learners which they attained from the different competitions they participated in. Among these awards are: overall champion in school press conference, both English and Filipino (2015 & 2016); overall champion in municipal athletic meet (2015); 2nd Placer, division Sudoku contest; 2nd Placer, Electronic Poster Making Contest (2015); 1st Place Dance Kinetics In Provincial Science Fair, 2nd placer, Street Dance Municipal Level; 2nd Place in Wellness Dance Competition, Regional Level and the like.

Further, the school did not only focus on academic but also tried its best to improve the infrastructures and facilities. At this point, the school was able to produce the following facilities. These are eight televisions, two heavy – duty oven, seventy computer sets, three ovens (gas range), one heavy – duty mixers, two stainless working table, four foot SPA machine, six LCD projectors, one Refrigerator, five electric mixers, two electric sewing machines, seven manual sewing machines and other science apparatuses. More so, the construction of the two – storey Senior High Building with six classrooms and the currently constructed building for incoming grade 12 learners are manifestations of how DHS has a gone a long way in championing quality educational experience for the learners.

On the years to come, Dapdap High School envisions to create not only a better school for the learners but also to create individuals who will be raising the torch of hope and excellence higher than anyone could have imagined.

— oOo— The author is Teacher III and Officer In Charge of the Mathematics Department at Dapdap High School, Bamban, Tarlac, Division Of Tarlac Province