Every time the rain starts to pour, teachers at West Central Elementary School 1 in Dagupan City rush to lift their teaching materials off the floor, knowing the classroom will soon be flooded again.

This constant struggle has pushed the school to begin raising the floor of one of its classrooms.

Grade 1 teacher Lovely Quitlong said flooding disrupts learning and puts their students at risk.

“Kaunting ulan lang, sobrang baha na rito. Kawawa kami lalo na ‘yung mga bata. Tapos after ulan, maglinis kami, mag-floor wax ulit, so ang hirap,” she said.

The classroom elevation project began over the weekend, with students moved temporarily to another room to avoid interruptions. The school aims to complete the work within a week.

Principal Renato Santillan said the selected room floods the worst, with water reaching knee level during heavy rain.

“Binabaha kasi ‘di yan hanggang tuhod talaga ang baha, kaya ‘yan ang inuna namin na pataasan,” he said.

The funding came from the disaster-related budget provided by the Department of Education (DepEd) for schools affected by calamities. Santillan said the budget is limited, allowing them to elevate only one classroom for now.

“Hindi kakayanin na sabay-sabay ang pagsasaayos, one at a time talaga,” he said.

He added that 11 more classrooms still need elevation in the school.

Teachers and students said the ongoing project is a welcome relief, hoping it will finally reduce the disruption caused by frequent flooding.