SBFI trains school leaders on community partnerships

Security Bank Foundation Inc. (SBFI) and the Ateneo Center for Educational Development (ACED) have trained 22 public school principals to strengthen community partnerships and improve support for learners.

The five-day, in-person training was held in Iloilo under the third year of the Mentoring Future Leaders for Nation-Building program, an educator development initiative of SBFI and ACED.

Participants took part in stakeholder mapping, case studies, workshops and peer learning sessions to explore how parents, local leaders, businesses, religious groups, volunteers and alumni can help schools address challenges beyond academics.

Melissa Aquino, SBFI trustee and corporate secretary, said effective community engagement requires schools to treat communities as partners rather than merely sources of financial or volunteer support.

“The community is not just an ATM or a source of support. It is a partner. The child belongs not only to the school, but to all of us,” Aquino said.

The program encouraged school leaders to build long-term relationships with community stakeholders instead of limiting engagement to fundraising and volunteer activities.

Guided by Joseph dela Cruz, director IV of the National Educators Academy of the Philippines, the principals developed Community Engagement Plans tailored to their schools’ needs.

Among the participants was Rona May Esperanzate Cruz of Ricardo Viola Adriano Elementary School, who plans to mobilize Sangguniang Kabataan officials, alumni, parents, religious groups and private partners as reading volunteers and mentors through the KABSAT Learning Teams initiative.

Hanena Epino of Datu Andiam National High School, meanwhile, aims to address absenteeism by building a support network involving school personnel, peer mentors, barangays and local government partners.

SBFI and ACED said the program seeks to help school leaders mobilize communities and build support systems that contribute to students’ long-term success.