Success Stories

TSCES Beginning Reading Program: Building Passionate and Digital-Ready Readers

June 18, 2024

ABC+

Welcome to Progress & Beyond, a monthly good practice digest of ABC+. It highlights educators and communities pushing early grade learning progress beyond expectations.

This June 2024, our spotlight is on Tabaco South Central Elementary School (TSCES) in Tabaco City, Albay, Bicol. Discover how TSCES has embraced the ABC+ Beginning Reading Program, a technology-based reading instruction for Grade 1 to 3 learners, enhancing reading proficiency and preparing their learners to thrive in the digital age.

Let's explore their inspiring journey of empowering young learners to become not only better readers but also digitally ready ones! 🌟


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TSCES Beginning Reading Program: Building Passionate and Digital-Ready Readers

Nestled in Brgy. Divino Rostro, Tabaco South Central Elementary School (TSCES) stands as a cornerstone of education in the coastal town of Tabaco City, Albay Province. TSCES, like many other schools, has struggled with critical challenges that affect its young learners. One of these challenges is the large number of emerging (non-readers and struggling) readers, a repercussion of the learning setbacks engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic. 


To identify which learners needed the most support, TSCES used the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA) tool developed by the Department of Education in partnership with USAID through the ABC+: Advancing Basic Education in the Philippines project. CRLA is a multi-modal reading test for early grade learners to quickly classify the learners based on their reading ability in Mother Tongue, English, and Filipino. In the beginning of the school year 2022-2023, 1,221 Grade 1-3 learners were assessed, with 382 identified as emerging readers. By the end of the school year 2022-2023, post-assessments showed significant progress, with the number of emerging readers decreasing from 382 to 39 among the 1,191 learners assessed. 


Administering CRLA also enabled TSCES to identify emerging readers who can benefit from ABC+, Beginning Reading Program (BRP). This technology-based reading intervention program aids Grade 1 to 3 learners in progressing from emerging to proficient readers. Employing interactive and engaging video lessons, BRP provides structured and systematic reading instructions via video devices such as TVs, tablets, and Learn Kernels. The BRP videos lessons are produced in Central Bikol, the mother language spoken in Tabaco City. Lessons cover phonological awareness to alphabet knowledge and integrate various activities along with music, movement, and games for engaging learning. BRP was piloted in December 2022 for emerging readers for Grade 1 and 2 learners in Tabaco City, including TSCES.


Adopting BRP

TSCES CRLA coordinator and Grade 3 teacher Rina Trinidad shared that BRP has been instrumental in assisting the emerging readers at their school. Teacher Rina admitted that she was not completely familiar with teaching beginning reading, as she had expectations that incoming Grade 3 learners would be ready, especially in reading. But as one of the trained teachers on BRP implementation from USAID ABC+, she became digitally ready and more confident in utilizing technology in her teaching. 


She uses the BRP video lessons not only for remediation, but also incorporates some of the videos into her regular lessons, especially on beginning reading instruction. She also added that having such resources facilitates easier teaching, as these engaging video lessons only require guided viewing. Importantly, she and her co-teachers can save time and effort in preparing teaching materials since the BRP resources are readily available via a link provided by the SDO Tabaco City.  


In assessing the learners' readiness for the next set of video lessons, Teacher Rina, along with other primary teachers, uses print ready Gibuhon (activity sheets) provided with each video lesson. They also have a monitoring sheet, indicating the learners' progress from alphabet knowledge to story reading comprehension.


"As a teacher, it's crucial that we integrate technology into our teaching methods so that students can have "Wow" experiences. Even if they don't have gadgets, teachers can expose them to technology. Providing students with resources [Learn Kernels] can really help those who can't afford it. Technology is a significant aid, especially when learning continues at home, as it further motivates students to learn.-Rina Trinidad, CRLA Coordinator, and Grade 3 Teacher, TSCES

Teacher Rina guiding a learner while watching a BRP video lesson on a Learn Kernel.
According to Principal Josefa Clariño, BRP is also given to developing readers in grades 4 through 6 at TSCES "so that no one will be left behind." Additionally, through the Tabaco City Community Learning Hub, 20 emerging readers from higher grade levels of the school receive one-on-one reading tutorials from teacher-volunteers who have also received training in BRP. She shared that TSCES adopted BRP in most of their remediation interventions for their identified emerging readers, especially in their implementation of the 8-week learning recovery curriculum as part of DepEd Bicol’s learning recovery plan. The school also utilized BRP to conduct the EoSY Reading Program in July 2023, and other DepEd-initiated reading projects such as Brigada Pagbasa, National Learning Camp, and DepEd Bicol’s Project 6Bs: Bawat Batang Bicolano Bihasang Bumasa at Bumilang (Every Bicolano child is proficient in reading and numeracy) as well as the School Division Office (SDO) Tabaco City’s BASE (Basic Academic Skills Enhancement).


For Principal Josefa, using BRP materials facilitates rapid information absorption among young learners. She said, "The children, they [now] learn fast since they are not only using one sense, but it’s now multi-sensory. They are not only seeing [the lessons], but they are also hearing them; they are singing and moving along with them.”

The school’s adoption of the BRP has not only enabled learners to become better readers but has also cultivated a genuine love for reading. Cristine Escober, the parent of a Grade 3 learner, observed this positive behavior in her son. She shared that whenever she visited her son during lunch time, he would choose to read a book inside the classroom instead of playing outside. “Not only my son, but I also observed his classmates are also taking books and reading individually in the classroom. You know, the classroom is noisy, but it’s good to hear because the noise comes from them reading.” she shared.


Mobilizing support from LGU

The Tabaco City Government gave TSCES nine smart televisions in July 2023 and 70 Learn Kernels in February 2024, to boost the SDO's reading programs and BRP. The purchase and distribution of the gadgets is part of the Tabaco City government’s recognition of the importance of advancing early-grade learning in their locality. Tabaco City is among the pilot cities that participated in the USAID ABC+ Education Sector Mechanism (ESM), a multi-sectoral approach aimed at mobilizing stakeholders and taking actions to strengthen support for early grade education at the local level.

As TSCES embraces technology and sustains proactive, multi-stakeholder collaborations with the support from DepEd, the LGU, and USAID ABC+, the school not only empowers its learners to become proficient, passionate readers but also digital-ready ones.

BRP video lesson on a Learn Kernel