22 July 2015 – Philippine Consul General to San Francisco Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. and Mrs. Mariza Bensurto held a reception in celebration of the partnership between Teach for the Philippines (TFP) and the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles at the Social Hall of the Philippine Center on June 23.
During the reception, Consul General Bensurto congratulated both Teach for the Philippines, headed by Chairman Elizabeth Zobel de Ayala and Vice Chairman Margarita Liboro Delgado, and the Loyola Marymount University, represented by Dean Shane P. Martin and Prof. Edmundo Litton for seeking out the Consulate to launch the collaboration.
In his remarks, Consular General Bensurto said that, “In this world that has grown smaller through the wonders of technology and the internet, our neighbors have also become our responsibility. The Philippines has just recently adopted the K-12 system, and the Philippine Government needs the cooperation of private institutions and organizations to make sure that every Filipino child has the right to quality education.”
Elizabeth Zobel de Ayala explained that TFP is an offshoot of Sa Aklat Sisikat, and is a non-profit social enterprise that seeks to enlist promising young leaders to teach for two years in public schools throughout the Philippines. At the moment, there are 86 Teacher Fellows employed with TFP in 23 placement schools across eight Local Government Units, i.e. Quezon City, Marikina City, Mandaluyong City, Navotas City, Binan and Sta. Rosa in Laguna, Cagayan de Oro City in Misamis Oriental and Del Carmen in Siargao, Surigao del Norte.
TFP is the 25th partner of the Teach for All Network, a global network of social enterprises working to expand educational opportunity. It has been in partnership with the Department of Education for 15 years.
Dean and Professor of the LMU School of Education Shane P. Martin had the opportunity to visit the public schools in the Philippines and commended the teachers who are able to handle classrooms with 50-60 students. He said that through the program, he hopes to instill in children “the sense of possibility” that teachers from a different background are able to impart to students.
Prof. Litton, in turn, thanked the Philippine Consulate General for supporting TFP and LMU’s collaboration, and said that both TFP and LMU are working hard to expand its capacity to train more teachers to provide young students the best education possible.
Through the collaboration, around 15 LMU corps members have begun their two-year program and will be teaching English and mentoring their Filipino counterparts. Part of the peer mentorship program includes a visit to the Los Angeles campus of LMU to study US best practices in education and explore different systems that may be implemented in the Philippine methodology. Online educational activities and virtual collaborations will also be conducted throughout the year. END