QuestionsQuestions (DECS ORDER NO. 91, S. 1999)
It cites Article XIV, Section 2, paragraph 1 of the 1987 Constitution, requiring the State to “establish, maintain and support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society.”
DECS encourages and supports the establishment of at least one Integrated School in every region to promote access to basic education.
An IS may be established when any of these exist: (1) no schools offer basic education; (2) the only elementary school offers a multi-grade program; (3) elementary graduates do not warrant a separate secondary school; (4) not enough items/equipment/teachers to justify separate elementary and secondary schools; (5) difficulty acquiring a secondary school site; or (6) inadequate equipment/resources to support separate elementary and secondary schools.
An integrated school provides basic education from grade one to fourth year (elementary up to Grade IV as reflected in the Order).
It is managed by one (1) principal. It has one (1) set of administrative staff, faculty club, and PTCA composed of representatives from both levels; instructional supervision is subject-area-based and cuts across the 10-year instructional program.
The Schools Division Superintendent must adopt either: (1) transfer one principal to the nearest school with vacancy, with secured consent/waiver and consistent with Civil Service and the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers; or (2) if consent/waiver cannot be secured, retain both positions temporarily, but once an item becomes vacant it may be transferred to another school within the division.
The principal should have a Bachelor of Education (BEEd) or Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd), and teacher eligibility in accordance with the Qualification Standards Manual; the Order also indicates that the principal may have a Master of Arts in Education (M.A. in Education) with the relevant requirements as shown in the table.
Elementary-level teachers: BEEd degree with teacher eligibility per the Qualification Standards Manual. Secondary-level teachers: BSEd with teacher eligibility. The Order also states that teachers with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Secondary Education (BS-ESE) may handle both levels.
Teachers with a BS-ESE degree may handle both levels. The Order also generally requires teachers with BEEd for elementary and BSEd for secondary, while allowing BS-ESE as an exception to teach both.
Preferably, high school enrollment should come from those who finished six years of education from the same school. Graduates from other schools may be admitted if they undergo a transition program based on diagnostic assessment.
Students may be grouped heterogeneously or homogeneously depending on the policy of the Schools Division supervising the school.
There is a unified instructional program for elementary and secondary levels, following a continuum of competencies from simpler to more complex across the elementary to secondary level; grade/year level categories may be marked to indicate placement for transfers.
The IS must follow the DECS rating system in relevant DECS issuances, and the policies on promotion and selection of honor students used by other regular national schools also apply to the IS.
Resources are shared across all grade/year levels (rooms, materials, equipment, teacher expertise, etc.). For rural areas, the school site should be at least one (1) hectare; it may be less in rurban/urban areas.
They continue to be provided out of the budget allocation for the DECS Division Office where the IS is located until the IS’s budgetary requirements are fully incorporated in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The principal must indicate intention and secure: (1) parent indorsements; (2) indorsements/support of local government officials; (3) certification from the Schools Division Superintendent to include the IS in the Division budget and financial plan; (4) recommendation and commitment of the Regional Director for inclusion in the regional budget; and (5) approval of the DECS Secretary.
It must be drawn to cover four years and include prospective enrollees, teachers, rooms, facilities, budgetary requirements, and alternative sources of funding.
The school enrolls elementary graduates and implements the first curriculum year of secondary education. As the first year students are promoted to the second year, the school enrolls the next batch in the first year and continues until the first batch finishes fourth year or graduates.
Partial integration: common site but either one or two sets of administrative staff/teachers and separate curricula for elementary and secondary. Full integration: common site, only one principal, and a unified elementary and secondary curricula.
Regional Offices must initiate summer training programs for IS teachers, covering new teaching techniques/strategies in subject areas. Regional/division supervisors provide technical assistance, and a strong link-up with Teacher Training Institutions (TTIs) is recommended.