my RexJournal

COUNTDOWN TO SY 2016-2017 :
Gearing up for
a successful
implementation of
Senior High School

ARE YOU ON TRACK WITH YOUR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL PREPARATION?

As early as the first quarter of 2016, schools will already be announcing and opening the enrollment for their In this issue :
Senior High School program. In the My Rex Journal issue released last February 2014, we talked about the planning
and decision-making process regarding the tracks you could offer for your Senior High School program. What Every Teacher
Should Know :
In the article, there was a mention of an April 15, 2014 deadline to DepEd for the submission of Letter of Intent to
Offer Senior School in School Year 2016-17. By now, most schools would have already complied with this
How to Motivate
requirement; however, in addition to the Letter of Intent, schools were also asked to submit a complete set of Your Students
supporting documents that would allow DepEd to properly determine the capability and capacity of the school to
offer Senior High School in SY16-17. Are you one of those schools who were able to submit a complete set of
documents together with your Letter of Intent?
Whats in a Word:
When you were preparing the documents, did you follow a checklist of identified requirements? You may refer to Good Health
the Implementing Rules and Guidelines (download the Guidelines on the Preparation for the National
Implementation of the Senior High School (SHS) Program in Non-DepEd Schools for the School Year (SY) 2016-2017
and Onwards at http://deped.gov.ph/index.php/issuances/deped-memos/ 2014?start=20&limit=10&limitstart=70,
filename DM_s2014_004.pdf) in your preparation of the requirements. This checklist will guide you on all the
things you need to accomplish within the preparation period. The list of projects, initiatives, and tasks is best
transferred to a GANTT chart (http://docs.google.com/templates?q=gantt&start=21&sort=hottest&view=public) or Share your
Project Management tool (http://opensource.com/business/14/1/top-project-management-tools-2014) to enable thoughts and
you to have a clear roadmap of your Senior High School implementation plan. A Gantt chart or project get a gift!
management tool would be most helpful in monitoring timeliness and completeness of deliverables per assigned
individuals or team.

In setting up the roadmap, begin with the end in mind: the graduation of your first batch of Grade 12 students.
However, an earlier milestone would be the opening of Grade 11 classes in SY2016-17. Subsequently, determine the
deadlines and lead times per initiative that will make the opening of Senior High School classes a successful
reality.

DepEd follows a 5-year Senior High School preparation roadmap, where their timeline of major initiatives have
been plotted as early as 2013 and they are supposedly on track. Similarly, it is highly recommended that a
school follow a roadmap as well, to ensure that critical initiatives or milestones are met on time and in full (OTIF).
Are you done setting up your roadmap? What monitoring or project management tool are you using? Are you on
track?

DOUBLE-CHECKING YOUR ROADMAP

Here are major initiatives that should be part of your roadmap:

1) Enrollment Projections & Absorptive Capacity

Have you estimated how many students will enroll in your Senior High School Program, and how many will take
each track that you will be offering? The enrollment projection will tell you the capacity you need to prepare for.

2) School Leadership and Management

Who have you identified to head your Senior High School program? Are the position qualifications fully met?
Is there a professional development plan needed for the individual to be prepared for the role, given the demands
of the new Senior High School program?

3) Setting up the Faculty Pool

Where will you get your teachers for Senior High School? Will they come from your existing pool?
Are you considering hiring from Higher Education Institutions? Will you be needing TESDA certified trainers?
How will these additional new hires affect your current compensation and benefit structure?
How are you ensuring that the academic team you are setting up meets the recommended qualifications per
track? Have you identified these faculty qualifications per track?

e.g. Teacher qualifications for Academic Track (Math in STEM) should have:
1. MA or MS in Mathematics or Statistics
2. Minimum of 5 years experience in teaching Calculus or Statistics
3. Knowledgeable in using mathematical/ statistical software

How and when will they pursue the necessary trainings and additional academic credits or certification
(e.g. TESDA National Certification, LET, MA)?

4) Benchmarking with Pilot Schools

There is much to be gained in asking pilot schools about their experiences in setting up the Senior High School
program. Resource persons from these schools have the benefit of first hand learnings and insights from the
challenges and milestones they have encountered along the way, and continue to face as they carry out their
implementation plan.

5) Materials, Equipment, Facilities

For each Track that you will offer, have you thoroughly identified the materials, equipment and facilities you
would be needing for your students and teachers?

1. Computers
2. Computer Laboratory
3. Library with updated reference materials

For some Tech-Voc Tracks that are capital-intensive in terms of equipment and space, partnerships with nearby
schools who are able to provide these may perhaps be a more practical option and could be explored.

6) Community-Industry Relevance and Partnership

The Kto12 program emphasizes the importance of real-life application a feature highlighted in Senior High
School tracks, as can be seen by the required research and on-the-job training (OJT). For the OJT program, early
identification of and negotiations with the appropriate partners will be beneficial. Have you already signed a
Memorandum of Agreement with your preferred community or industry partner? What stage are you on this
major initiative?

Strong partnerships will mean more possibilities and will open doors for your students whether they pursue
higher learning, entrepreneurship or immediate employment as they will have the benefit of deeper
understanding of lessons from field experience.

Linkages and collaboration, therefore, cannot be overemphasized. This is vital not only in the successful
implementation of your Senior High School program, but will also be beneficial to the future of both your students
and the community you are all part of.

7) Contextualized ICT and Entrepreneurship

What are the necessary initiatives to allow the successful implementation of ICT and Entrepreneurship, for each
Track that you will offer?

8) Assessment

Will you need additional assessment tools for Senior High School? How will you measure the Senior High School
learning outcomes and exits? What modifications do you need to do to your current assessment system?

How will supervision and instruction be modified to ensure the seamless implementation of Senior High School
at the classroom level, so that student learning competencies are achieved?

COUNTDOWN TO SY 2016-2017
We definitely live in exciting times, with so much to look forward to. But before we dream of the commencement
exercise for our first batch of Kto12 graduates, let us first meticulously and with urgency prepare and take the
critical steps leading to its initial implementation in June 2016.

Its true that there are a lot of unknowns, and we need to figure out our responses with speed. But with open
collaborations with DepEd, our fellow educators, heads of industries, and your trusted partner in education, Rex

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