Mayor Raymund Tongson has approved April 4 the annual implementation of the School Heads Advancement Program for Excellence (SHAPE), which will encourage more aspiring education leaders in the Schools Division of Himamaylan City to step up.
Initiated by the Schools’ Division, through superintendent Gladys Amylaine Sales, Tongson gave the program the greenlight Thursday, ahead of the DepEd Day celebration in the afternoon as part of the city’s ongoing Himaya Festival.
“Locally-initiated programs, such as SHAPE, show how our teachers in the DepEd Schools Division of Himamaylan City are very eager to take on the mantle of leading,” the mayor said. “I am elated by their enthusiasm and drive to deliver quality education to our students.”
Tongson targets to make SHAPE one of the Himamaylan City Local School Board’s programs, centered on the development of teachers.
The program prioritizes and emphasizes the need for completing a comprehensive review series for all aspiring school heads within the division.
It offers professional development exercises to aspiring schools to update them on their tasks and responsibilities, as outlined in the Philippine Professional Standards for School heads.
“As part of our initiative, we have identified the need for technical assistance in implementing various ICT systems, particularly during the conduct of the pre-test and post- test for school heads aspirants,” Sales said in press release.
The Schools Division of Himamaylan City earlier proposed a partnership with the Schools Division of Sagay City to utilize the latter’s localized online system for the National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH) mock test.
“Through this partnership, we aim to further prepare our principal aspirants for the upcoming NQESH,” Sales said.
The Schools Division of Himamaylan City has jurisdiction over 38 complete elementary schools, 10 secondary schools, six integrated schools, and eight private schools.
The city government, meanwhile, released P726,000 to 726 public school teachers in Himamaylan since January, as add-on to the bonuses they received during the yearend, and as promised by Tongson last year.
A total of P1,208,000 will be given as additional bonuses to 1,208 public school teachers in the city, each of them receiving P1,000. ||
