Ever wonder what going back to school is like for Visions of Hope Christian School (VOHCS) community-based preschools? Beginning school year 2014-2015 was a fruit of hard work, commitment, and collaboration among VOHCS teachers, parents, Center for Community Transformation (CCT) staff, and leaders in the local community.
Community surveys were conducted to invite pupils to VOHCS. Reading readiness tests followed to assess the students’ learning levels. The students are a mix of sponsored and paying children. The sponsored children belong to poorest of the poor and are unable to afford their education, while the paying students, albeit given substantial subsidy, are children of CCT micro-entrepreneurs. As of August 2014, a total of 836 children are enrolled in 24 VOHCS community-based preschools nationwide.
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A VOHCS Irawan teacher conducts a community survey in
Brgy. Irawan, Puerto Princesa, Palawan. |
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| Reading readiness tests are administered in VOHCS Midsayap. |
Former students and other children in rural and urban poor communities were also encouraged to join the Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade (or Brigada Bata), a character development program carried out once a week with VOHCS students.
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Children from VOHCS Jaro and from the community enlist
in Boys' Brigade. |
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| Boys' Brigade drills start in VOHCS Taguig as the school year opens. |
Help was solicited from the children’s parents to help prepare the classrooms. This is in line with a Department of Education-initiated program called Brigada Eskwela. Parents then attended an orientation meeting where they learned about VOHCS school policies and their role in their children’s education.
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A parent from VOHCS Irawan helps prepare the school grounds
for the opening of classes. |
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Mothers from VOHCS Midsayap help clean the floor of the
school's classroom. |
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| Parents attend a parent orientation day at VOHCS General Santos City. |
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| A VOHCS Midsayap teacher leads the parent orientation. |
Then, it’s all systems go!
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| VOHCS Butuan's new classroom is ready to use. |
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| VOHCS Irawan opens in June with 36 students. |
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| Inside the classroom, VOHCS Oton (Iloilo) children learn to fall in line. |
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VOHCS General Santos children and their parents go out on a parade
of Philippine flags in celebration of the country's independence day. |
