Goodbye, makeshift classrooms

Like many other schools in the country, the But tong Integrated School (BuIS) in Laoag City faced overcrowding challenges due to a growing student population.

Originally built to serve elementary students, the BuIS started struggling with space and facility limitations in 2022 when it converted into an integrated school to accommodate learners up to Grade 10.

Enrollment rose from 700 to nearly 1,000 with many of the new learners transferees or returning students.

“When I was installed here as principal in January, my biggest challenge was that we had incoming Grade 10 students but no classrooms for them. The existing classrooms were designed for elementary pupils, not for JHS (junior high school) students,” BuIS principal Arnel Sabuco said.

Known for its excellence in campus journalism, drum and lyre competitions, sports meets, and cleanliness, BuIS continued to thrive despite its constraints. The school resorted to makeshift solutions. Some classes were held in the covered court and others in the conference hall. BuIS even had to borrow tables and chairs from other schools.

The two JHS sections holding classes in non-classroom spaces had to learn amid noise, heat, and poor ventilation. Teachers and students alike struggled in the said temporary setup.

“Learning was difficult under those conditions. The spaces weren’t conducive. It wasn’t ideal, but we always open our school to everyone. We did what we could to keep them in school,” Sabuco said.

The SM Foundation Inc., the corporate social responsibility arm of the SM Group, then entered the picture and came up with a solution. In partnership with SM Prime and in support of the Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School program, the foundation constructed fully furnished classrooms with key features designed for comfort, functionality and safety.

On 30 July 2025, SM Foundation turned over to BuIS a two-story, fourclassroom school building which eases the school’s overcrowding challenge and gives it breathing room for future growth.

“This building came at the right time. It will allow us to give students and teachers a better environment for teaching and learning. Now, we can focus on improving quality, not just making space,” the principal said.

Aside from meeting the required larger spaces for JHS students, each of the new classrooms is equipped with panoramic whiteboards, wall-mounted fans, clocks and armchairs, including lefthanded chairs.

Every room has its own comfort room, an upgrade from shared restrooms in older buildings.

The structure also includes a person with disabilitya c c e s s i b l e r e s t r o o m , emergency lighting, fire alarm bells, and ramps for accessibility.

With the new facilities, Sabuco said the faculty and students can now do their best to make BuIS a school that they can all be proud of.

“With the new school building, we will keep our goal of ensuring a more seamless and high-quality transfer of learning, now that we have more conducive classrooms for effective teaching and learning,” the principal said.