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Project PACE to provide Sorsogon youths homeschool activities during COVID-19 quarantine
By MICHAEL LOGARTABeing on quarantine shouldn't mean the end of education. As a lot of schools are going by way of distanced learning, there are non-profit organizations like Pilar Reading Center (PRC) offering initiatives so youths from vulnerable sectors (in their case, youths from vulnerable sectors in Pilar, Sorsogon) can sharpen their reading skills without having to leave home.
Since 2015, PRC has been hosting annual Summer Reading Camps that provide literacy activities for youths in the Tulay community at Barangay Banuyo in Pilar, Sorsogon.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, students haven't been able to gather at the PRC grounds to attend this year’s classes. As a solution to this issue, PRC established Project PACE, a program aiming to give children from vulnerable families a homeschool learning experience from May 11 to 27, 2020.
“Project PACE encourages learners to stay at home while spending time reading and doing learning activities with their parents,” said PRC.
Learning at home
Project PACE, or “Personalized Activities with Contextualized Experiences,” is a collaboration among the PRC core team, volunteer teachers, and the students’ parents.
It entails the use of modular reading activities and worksheets prepared by PRC volunteers to give regular PRC learners aged 6 to 12 years old (Grade 1 to 6) a variety of educational exercises in a two-week period.
These modules feature themes and content reflecting real-life situations, and activities designed to educate youths about the COVID-19 outbreak and the consequent lockdown.
The theme of Project Pace Week 1 (May 11 to 15) is “COVID-19 and Impacts on Health and Sanitation.”
As such, Week 1’s module tackles the importance of good hygiene and clean surroundings, and teaches students about frontliners. It also “includes a mask-making activity” and “info material about recent COVID-19 confirmed cases. Infographics based on press releases from DOH are also used.”
The theme of Week 2 (May 18 to 22) is “COVID-19 and Impacts on Agriculture, Finances, and Economy.” Its module writers, who work full-time in the Department of Education (DepEd) Albay and Ligao City Divisions, created age-appropriate stories relating to the outbreak.
“Relief goods, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP), and urban gardening are a few of the topics” discussed in the modules.
Every Saturday of Project PACE, PRC volunteers will visit the house of every participating family to collect the accomplished modules.
Then, after two weeks, the PRC volunteers will award the students and their parents/guardians food packs and hygiene kits as recognition for completing Project PACE.
Parents as teachers
PRC volunteers trained the learners’ parents/guardians to serve as their teachers and facilitators during Project PACE.
“From the beginning of the project we consulted with the parents whose support was tremendous,” said PRC.
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PRC also held dry runs of the program, during which the organization showed the actual modules to the parents/guardians, and solicited ideas from them on how to improve said modules.
Additionally, parents were informed that “Project PACE modules are designed for 5 day-activities (Monday to Friday), and the parents and their children are free to choose the time of the day to answer the modules.”
Fast-paced learners can even complete activities ahead of schedule if they wish.
“We reminded the parents that the modules are self-paced and personalized. As much as possible they must monitor and facilitate their use. If the learner raises a question, they should be able to assist him/her,” said PRC.
“PRC volunteers will conduct daily home visits to the learners while observing general community quarantine (GCQ) protocols. This is to monitor their learning engagement. We have also requested the parents to take pictures or video clips with consent as part of the documentation,” PRC added.
Undeterred
Despite the unfavorable effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on education, PRC was hopeful from the beginning that it could provide its students a quality learning experience.
“We wanted everyone to be safe while following ECQ protocols. And at the same time, we wanted to help the learners through literacy activities and their families in their pressing needs brought about by the pandemic,” said PRC Founder Lowel Andrian M. Solayao.
“If we can’t mass gather, let us engage the parents so the children can stay at home and still learn,” said PRC volunteer teacher Ruth Arias.
PRC is grateful to the Bicolano teachers who assisted in the development and improvement of Project PACE’s modules.
“The diversity of the authors proves that learning is a community activity,” said PRC.
Project PACE is accepting donations until May 27. These will be used to award the young students and their families food packs and hygiene kits. Click on this link for more details on how to donate. — LA, GMA News