U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava joins Philippine Department of Education Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio, DepEd Bureau of Learning Delivery-Teaching and Learning Division Chief Rosalina Villaneza, and American English language specialists Dr. Elaine Gallagher, Professor Ann Mayeda, and Dr. Constance Dziombak at the closing ceremony of the six-week “Integrated Language Learning in Early Childhood: Focus on Literacy and Numeracy” webinar series.
Manila, April 27, 2022—Today, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines and the Philippine Department of Education (DepEd) culminated the six-week webinar training series on “Integrated Language Learning in Early Childhood: Focus on Literacy and Numeracy” that provided K-3 teachers and school heads with guidance, methodology, new techniques, ideas, instructional materials, and resources to assist them in addressing the needs and concerns of K-3 learners.
Approximately 3,000 K-3 teachers and school heads from Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao participated in the live Zoom sessions, and the series had a Facebook reach of over 700,000 people.
“The success of this webinar is a testament to the importance of early learning and to the great partnership between the U.S. Embassy and DepEd,” U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava said. “One of the most important things we do together as nations is expand opportunities for education, employment, and national development.”
This was the third collaboration between the U.S. Embassy and DepEd since the pandemic.
“With the aggressive capacity building initiatives we have been undertaking—supported by partners like the U.S. Embassy—I am confident that the very elusive quest for high-quality learning outcomes will become a reality, of course, starting with early grades learners fully literate and numerate,” said DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Instruction Diosdado San Antonio.
The U.S. Embassy’s team of three American English language specialists—Dr. Elaine Gallagher, Dr. Constance Dziombak, and Professor Ann Mayeda—worked with the team from DepEd’s Teaching and Learning Division, Bureau of Learning Delivery in developing the course to meet the specific needs of Filipino K-3 teachers and learners.
The virtual series that was launched the week of March 21 was facilitated by the three American English language specialists who also developed an on-demand resource library which will be used by the teachers who participated in the series when they cascade the learnings through the Learning Action Cells to their colleagues in their respective local areas. This collaboration between the U.S. Embassy and DepEd will ultimately benefit millions of K-3 learners in the country.