FMA Schools Commit to Rise Up Despite the Pandemic On September 14, 2020, Philstar.com reported that 865 out of 14,435 private educational institutions suspended operations this school year 2020-2021 as our country is reeling with the Covid-19 pandemic. A major factor: low enrollment turnout. But for our four FMA basic education schools, we have committed to continue to offer quality Salesian education, despite the downturn. The government-imposed lockdown of Luzon and most cities in the Philippines, effective March 14, 2020, caught everybody by surprise. But the move was essential to fight the unprecedented health crisis. Like most schools, our FMA basic education schools were finishing the last two weeks of the 4th quarter, except for Mary Help of Christians College (Canlubang, Laguna) that had just completed the students’ final exams. As law-abiding citizens, we dutifully followed all protocols and requirements set forth by government agencies responsible for our health and safety. But the situation called for courage, creativity, and much faith as we ventured on new paths to cope with the sudden “darkness” and, at the same time, to “let our light shine” for the educating community. Connection, communication, strategic planning, and a whole lot of courage pushed our administrators, faculty, staff, support personnel, and parents to face the future with hope. It seems that our school principals and faculty, accustomed to the grueling tasks of planning, articulation, and documentation, have quickly completed the prerequisites of the Department
of Education to operate for SY 2020-2021. Each school articulated its Learning Continuity Plan (LCP), redesigned its curriculum, structures, goals, and budget according to new learning modalities available: online distance learning and homeschooling, to name a few. Finance and Work Arrangements Financial constraints have taken their toll on most families due to the pandemic, which is why enrollment in private schools has dramatically declined for SY 2020-2021. DepEd reports only 2 million students enrolled in private schools as of September 13, 2020, a stark decline from 4.3 million enrollees last school year. Only with faith, courage, and deep trust in Divine Providence did our FMA schools commit to continue operations despite the decrease in enrollees. With lesser revenue for salaries of teachers, support personnel, and downsized operation costs, our schools had to resort to retrenchment or employment modification strategies e.g. personnel took turns working in biweekly or monthly shifts. Flexible work arrangements, onsite or off-site, were set up to revitalize and maintain school operations even if community restrictions on mobility and accessibility unpredictably varied.
FMA Lifeline May 2020 - February 2021
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