Rex Education Holds First BPE Congress Promoting The Whole School Approach Nationwide

Challenges to welfare and academic performance continue to impact the development of Filipino learners nationwide.

According to the results of the Program for International Student Assessment or PISA 2018 Report, 65% of the 15-year-old Filipino students who were surveyed reported being bullied at least a few times a month. Some 26% expressed they feel lonely at school, while 29% skipped a day of school.

On top of the challenges in student welfare, the academic performance of Filipino students is just as alarming. In the same study, 81% of the students scored below minimum proficiency levels in reading, mathematics, and science compared to most countries that participated.

Rex Education, a champion of education and the lifelong learning partner of every Filipino learner, believes that every learner’s overall wellbeing impacts their academic performance. Schools and other education duty-bearers are expected to continue investing in the learners’ holistic development.

“What we should focus on is the learners’ long-term success and not just immediate academic performance. It is no longer enough that our children are in school; they should also be healthy and safe. It is no longer enough that they are taught; they should be engaged, supported, and challenged. It is no longer enough that they become responsible adults; they should be values-oriented. It is no longer enough that we go about our traditional fair share of work; we need to consciously champion education,” said Don Timothy Buhain, chief executive officer of Rex Education.

Bawat Paaralan, Edukampyon

In response to the challenges in Philippine education, Rex Education launched the ‘Bawat Paaralan, Edukampyon’ (BPE) continuum in 2021. Born under REX’s Edukampyon advocacy that rallies all Filipinos to champion education, the BPE continuum is a whole school approach that hopes to become a new standard of best practices in learning institutions across the country, so that every school maximizes their capacities to ensure that all learners are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged, and values-oriented—that they become ‘Filipino Whole Learners’.

The whole school approach has been defined by the UNESCO International Bureau of Education as “addressing the needs of learners, staff and the wider community, not only within the curriculum, but across the whole-school and learning environment. It implies collective and collaborative action in and by a school community to improve student learning, behavior and wellbeing, and the conditions that support these.”

Dr. Alison Atwell, an international consultant on Whole School Improvement, explained how the BPE lines up with the global understanding of the whole school approach: “In line with the breadth of international research and international good practice, the components that are essential to a whole school approach are very strongly correlated to the elements of the Bawat Paaralan, Edukampyon continuum. This framework aptly provides us the groundwork as we move forward.”

The BPE program covers the six facets of development—healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged, and values-oriented—and how the seven domains of learning support and influence (Professional Development; School Culture and Climate; Leadership and Responsibility; School, Family, and Community; Teaching and Learning; Learning Environment; and Curriculum and Assessment) contribute to learners becoming whole.

Since its conception in 2015 and its launch in 2021, the BPE continuum has been successfully integrated into private schools nationwide. A number of schools have been identified to work with Rex Education, guided by the BPE Implementation Kit developed in consultation with experts from the academe and DepEd. The schools are: Cabulay Elementary School, Divisoria High School, Sagana National High School, and San Andres Elementary School in Isabela; Rosario National High School and St. Edward Integrated School in Cavite. Canossa Academy in Laguna; Cherished Moments School in Pangasinan; Colegio de Santa Rita de San Carlos, Inc. in Negros Occidental; Ednas School in Alaminos and Dagupan; and the Maranatha Christian Academy of Manila.

Celebrating evidence-based and best practices in a 2-day BPE Congress

To inspire more schools to follow suit and implement the BPE continuum, Rex Education conducted a 2-day online BPE Congress attended by educators and education stakeholders across the country.

Held on May 13 and 20, 2022, the congress celebrated the journey of creating and implementing the BPE program and featured experts to help attendees understand how this framework can also provide ways to build and observe evidence-based practices and processes within educational institutions.

Dr. Jerome Buenviaje, dean of the College of Education at the University of the Philippines and one of the REX’s partners in developing the BPE continuum, talked about the journey of BPE in institutionalizing evidence-based practices in schools. Ms. Rita Atienza, director of the Ateneo Teacher Center, gave a recap on Edukampyon as an advocacy and how it is implemented in the BPE continuum. Dr. Alison Atwell, an international consultant on Whole School Improvement, delved into understanding the potential of the whole school approach.

On the second day of the BPE Congress, the pioneering schools also shared how they were able to implement the BPE continuum through a strategic phase-by-phase system—and how doing so helped them elevate the developmental goals they had in place for their students.

“As a school, we strive to be relevant amidst the changing educational landscape and be responsive to the community we serve. We believe that using the BPE continuum has enabled our school to maintain quality education and initiative reforms when necessary. The BPE continuum also paved the way for us to organize our actions towards the holistic development of our learners from the bottom up,” said Sr. Luzviminda Mojica, FdCC, school directress of Canossa Academy.

Wrapping up the BPE Congress, Rex Education Chief Marketing Officer Jeanne Marie Tordesillas assured all educators that the BPE Implementation Kit is available for free for all institutions and that Rex Academy is ready to provide support and guidance for its execution.

“The whole school approach works. The BPE as a whole school approach is implementable. There are decades of research and experience backing that. We have the BPE pioneers to attest to that.  The key is to listen to all the heartbeats in the school and to act until you can hear all the hearts beat as one. REX remains committed to being an Edukampyon and supporting fellow Edukampyons,” said Tordesillas.

Rewatch Day 1 and Day 2 of the BPE Congress from the Rex Education Facebook page.

To know more about the Edukampyon advocacy and the BPE continuum, and to become a part of this nationwide initiative for better education, visit rex.com.ph/edukampyon or email Rex Education at [email protected].