The Department of Education has institutionalized the conduct of the yearly National Schools

Maintenance Week a.k.a. Brigada Eskwela. Its implementing guidelines is set every year through a
Department Memorandum. The main objective of the program is to call on education stakeholders to
contribute their time, effort and resources to prepare the schools for coming opening of classes in June. In
connection with the program is the Search for the Best Brigada Eskwela implementer where the criteria for
selection varies every year and is set in the Department Memorandum. The management of the Schools
Division of Batanes formed a team of Brigada Evaluators per category composed of different SDO
personnel from the different divisions this year, instead of the usual Brigada Eskwela Coordinators serving
as the evaluators. The Schools Division Superintendent has announced that the same mode of evaluation
will be used next school year.

This new mode of evaluation of the accomplishments of schools during the Brigada Eskwela Week
is worth emulating as there is fairness in judgment. The schools need to be given frank feedback on how
they fare in implementing the program so they will know where they stand and what they need to improve.

Getting non-school-based evaluators like those of the personnel in the Schools Division Office
ensures that there is fairness in the evaluation of the Brigada Eskwela accomplishments of the schools. The
evaluators strictly followed the criteria or checklist set by the Memorandum. No evaluator inhibits from
evaluating a school because he or she is connected with the school. This removes possible doubts on the
impartiality of the results.

Post-conference conducted right after the evaluation are of the benefit to the schools. The findings,
feedbacks, suggestions and recommendations from each of the team are communicated to the people
concerned immediately. What are good ideas for, when they are not communicated to the right person at
the right time?

Since most of the evaluators are members of the technical assistance team of the Division Office,
the evaluation also serves as an avenue to give technical assistance to the schools based on the findings for
them to improve. As they say, two heads are better than one. The evaluators may be able to give inputs to
the schools on how they can further utilize their stakeholders and improve in making their schools a child-
friendly learning environments.

Program evaluation is a must to know how effective its implementation is. Results of evaluation
needs to be communicated to the right person either for commendation or for improvement. Technical
assistance has to be provided if the evaluation results shows that additional inputs has to be made. Division
Office personnel serving as evaluators is rightly so, as one of the main functions of the schools division
office is to provide the necessary technical assistance to schools and learning centers.