A combined approach of teaching strategies may be employed to comply with health protocols and deal with internet issues in time for the school opening in Aug. 24, 2020, school officials said.
“It could be basically modular with internet use in connected areas, and where there will be minimal physical interaction among those involved,” announced Senior High School (SHS) principal Melina G. Bartolay, who has lately became a trustee of the foundation.
“This is the best way forward, as there far too many negative factors that make 100% virtual learning difficult to implement, but then DepEd allowed us to explore blended learning and others, which would even include chat sessions on the phone,” added Bartolay.
The blended approach to be used in the secondary department may well find itself employed in college given that the situation is the same, offered school insiders.
The decision to adopt the blended tack followed a series of brainstorming sessions, formation of focus groups, and meetings attended by school officials, department heads, and long-time faculty. A high school student mapping survey that accounted for smart phones and laptops, wi-fi availability, home to school distance, and other key factors were part of the extensive effort to determine capability.
“Our approach was practical, and realistic given the constraints posed by physical distancing, and the spotty internet connectivity in the entire island of Ticao which had to be translated in terms of scheduling, class capacity, and session frequency,” said school president Dr. Penelope B. Bagobe.
For high school and college enrolees, the approach could mean a once-a-week attendance, take-home assignments and weekly checking of output, and class sizes of 16-20, depending on room dimensions. A mobile phone load is also a given if meetings were weekly.
As of press time, school registrar Michelle Ternal is carefully preparing a schedule that will take into account all the known variables, and flesh out a schedule that would parse old class sizes into smaller ones to comply with health protocols despite the fact that Ticao has remained Covid-free.
For rooming houses, eateries, restaurants, motorcycle drivers, and computer shops who rely on Liceo’s growing enrolees, the coming months could prove very difficult for them.
“Nonetheless, things may still change given that Ticao is now only on general quarantine,” opined school chief-of-staff Noe Esparrago, who came on board for streamlining of Liceo.
“ By midnight of May 15, 2020 the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) under which Masbate, Ticao, and Burias islands have been placed, would have expired, and if the situation remains Covid-free, life could possibly return to normal,” school officials believe.
— Joaquin O. Arevalo Jr.