MINERVA BC NEWMAN
CEBU CITY — City Savings Bank, Inc. (CitySavings), UnionBank’s thrift arm and the Department of Education (DepEd) continuously intensified the call and advocacy for reading proficiency among children especially in those last mile schools in the country with its donation of laptops, TV sets, Ukeleles, sanitation essentials, reading materials, and learning and teaching kits to identified last mile schools in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao that are geographically isolated in support to DepEd’s National Reading Month and Brigada Pagbasa.
“Advocating for quality education has always been a priority of CitySavings, and we are honored to be one of the partners of DepEd. Through this Brigada Pagbasa initiative, we hope to reach more far-flung areas and provide support to address education-related advocacies,” CitySavings Reputation and Brand Management Head Paula Ruelan explained.
Ruelan added that CitySavings partnership with DepEd is in response to the its call to intensify reading proficiency to bridge literacy gaps among learners, especially in geographically isolated schools. The Bank continues its mission to support teachers and help bridge literacy gaps among Filipino learners.
This is still a challenge because past national assessments revealed that learners still need improvement in literacy skills that has prompted the DepEd to prioritize its 3Bs Initiatives advocacy to make every learner a reader at their grade level and equip teachers to become effective reading instructors.
The beneficiaries included Cardenas Elementary School in Nueva Ecija; Division of Camarines Sur in Bicol; inamuk-an Integrated Farm School in Aklan; Cantiguib Elementary School, Canlimpong Primary School, Cambanac Primary School, and Tunga Elementary School in Bohol; Districts of Hindang, Hilongos, and Inopacan in Leyte; Divisions of Dipolog City, Pagadian City, Zamboanga City, and Davao del Norte.
“Catinguib Elementary School is one of the many public schools that lack educational resources. A sad reality is that in order to maintain a fully operating classroom and meet the requirements, teachers frequently make financial sacrifices,” School in Charge Gorgonia Doria said.
Doria added that when they were informed that the school was selected as one of the beneficiaries of the outreach program, they were incredibly beyond grateful as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Seeing how pleased my dear students were as they received their learning kits and reading materials brought me to tears. To our partners, thank you for making that day memorable for our students as well as for us, teachers,” Doria said.
DepEd’s 3Bs Initiatives is based on research that outlined three components of a successful reading instruction program: professional development for educators, effective instructional tools, and school systems that support and nurture implementation.
A subsequent study on the efficacy of the 3Bs Initiatives program showed that its interventions have successfully improved learners’ reading performance.
