SHAPING FUTURE: COORDINATION AND

PARTNERSHIP
WITH STAKEHOLDERS
SAN JOSE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL SUCCESS STORY
Talibon, Bohol

By:ROSA HARAPAN CABOTAJE

DEPED RO 7
Member, QAAD/RMEG

COMBINED efforts of the faculty and staff of San Jose National

High School (SJNHS) in Talibon town, Bohol have paid off, as
they managed to rescue more than 100 students on the brink of
dropping out from school.
Thanks to the Support Options Basic Education (SOBE)
program of the Department of Education (DepEd) that the dropout
rate of SJNHS has substantially been reduced.
Of the 222, who have been categorized as Students-At-Risk
of Dropping Out (SARDO), the SJNHS managed to save 157 of them,
posting nearly 75 percent of recovery rate.
Efforts to reach out again the remaining 65 students will
be done in the next school year.
The school registered the highest dropout rate of 20
percent for male students and 10 percent for females in school
year 2004-2005.
Fortunately, it dropped to 12 percent for males and six
percent for females in the next school year.
The dropout rate was partly attributed to the lack of
family income that some of the young students have preferred to
work full time, making them bread winners of their respective
families.
In its economic profile, most of the families in San Jose,
one of Talibon’s 25 villages, have reportedly been living below
poverty line. Talibon is located 113 kilometers north of
Tagbilaran City, the province’s capital
These families depend more on farming and fishing as their
main sources of livelihood.
Other factors include unresolved domestic problems,
personality and health problems, peer influences resulting in
computer game addiction and vices, alienation from their
immediate families and non-conducive atmosphere to learning.
With the SOBE implementation, the school’s dropout rate and
incidence of absenteeism and cutting classes have been minimized.
Most of the students do not have to go home during
lunchtime or buy food outside, as they now prefer to eat their
lunch at the school-run cafeteria, also a Sobe-assisted project.
 Apart from reducing the dropout rate, cases of underfed
children have also dropped.
The school, through its home economic teachers, has
initiated a feeding program for malnourished students based on
their nutritional status.
Of the 2,271 students, SNHS’ records showed a total of 380
whose body mass index (BMI) has been classified as below normal
– 237 of them are males and 143 are females
Also, the students’ performance in Mean Percentage Score
( MPS ) has significantly increased while parents and community
stakeholders have become active and participative in various in
school activities.
It holds remedial classes for students who are considered
slow learners or poor in reading skills and comprehension.
The school also gives modules to students who are on
occasional jobs like palay harvesting, fishing and construction,
adopts working students and encourages them to work in the
school cafeteria to have an allowance.
Out of school youths have been encouraged to go back to
school through the alternative learning system (ALS) and open
high school program.
The SJNH also conducted trainings for the parents about
responsible parenthood.
Other SOBE-funded projects include the implementation of
Alternative Delivery Modes (ADM), provision of learning
materials, basic literacy and A & E classes, school demo farm,
TLE food laboratory shop and school income-generating projects
for learners’ livelihood.
Complementing the SOBE program is the school’s intervention
efforts such as home visitations, interviews, observations and
meetings with the parents.
Students lauded the SOBE program because the SJNHS has
greatly improved, making its campus conducive to learning with
minimal dropouts and increasing academic performance among the
students
Support of stakeholders, income of the school cafeteria,
proper program implementation plus commitment and
resourcefulness of the school faculty have made the SOBE-
assisted programs at SJNHS successful.
“Through the SOBE-funded projects, I realized the
importance of education to us. It is a treasure that we should
give importance to it. Not all children can go to school and yet
we are given a chance to finish our studies. We should be
thankful to them for they are implementing so many programs for
us,” said fourth year student leader Richelle Amor C. Credo.
(RHC)