Who & Why We Are Releasing possibility, changing lives In 1999, we set out to answer a call.

It was a call voiced by a growing number of parents whose children's needs were not being met by traditional education models. Their children were bored by the pace of the traditional classroom, left behind by the pace of the classroom, or just getting lost in the shuffle. While traditional brick and mortar schools work for many children, they restrict many others for a variety of reasons. At K, our mission has remained steadfast: To provide any child access to exceptional curriculum and tools that enable him or her to maximize his or her success in life, regardless of geographic, financial, or demographic circumstance. We have become a leader in providing individualized, one-to-one learning solutions to students from kindergarten through high school across the country. These solutions have literally changed lives and opened up possibility for many children. Our biggest fans continue to be parents who are seeking to tap into their children's unique potential and who have seen what can happen when children can work at the right pace and with the tools, approaches, and content that make learning come alive. How we do it K offers outstanding, highly effective curriculum that enables mastery of core concepts and skills for all kinds of minds. The minds that are superbly gifted--or that are gifted in some areas and struggling in others. The minds that need to use hands to learn on some days, and eyes or ears on others. The minds that move faster or slower than average. The minds that are connected to bodies that need to run off steam periodically, or that are medically unable to attend a physical school. All kinds of minds, not just the best and brightestnot just the ones that are easy to teach in a classroom. We enable a diverse group of children to achieve mastery through a combination of individualized learning approaches, passionate teacher engagement, adherence to the best educational research that has been conducted over the past several decades about how young minds really work, and rich, engaging content.

It's all about removing the barriers that keep children from reaching their true, individual potentialit's what gets us jumping out of bed in the morning to come to work. Each year, we help tens of thousands of students reach out toward their true personal possibility. We reach these students through a number of channels including:

full-time online public schools in many states across the country

individual course and product sales directly to families

in a growing number of public schools across the country which are engaged in bringing individualized learning approaches into the traditional classroom. We are focused on being available to any child, anywhere, who can benefit from an

individualized approach, whether it's full-time schooling outside of the traditional brick-andmortar school, or through part-time or supplemental options available both inside and outside of the traditional classroom. Working with teachers We are proud to work with amazing teachers in a variety of capacities. We have many on staff who work alongside our subject matter experts in developing our curriculum. We also work directly with those who teach our curriculum through a distance learning model. These teachers tell us about the freedom they feel from managing the dynamics of a classroom, and how much they enjoy being able to focus on teaching many children, one at a time. We also support teachers who use our curriculum in the traditional classroom setting. The structure of our curriculum and our professional support make them feel like subject matter heroes, even in the most difficult subjects. They love watching the light bulbs turn on as kids engage with the rich content and interactive tools. Unleash the xPotential Our logo and tagline say it allwe are focused on exponentially improving the educational prospects of children by helping them reach toward their true, innate and very individualized potentialtheir"xPotential." The "x" is both a symbol of variability (each child's potential is a unique variable) as well as a short-hand for "extreme." It means as much about the path we

have chosen as it does about the determination of our families, teachers, and educational partners in removing barriers to learning and future accomplishment. We believe... ...in individualized learning through mass customization instead of mass production of education. ...in decades of scientific research regarding how brains really work and how learning happens. ...that Big Ideas + Consecutive Down Payments + Practice = Mastery. ...that mastery of concepts and skills should be for all kinds of childrennot just the "best and brightest." ...in giving parents meaningful ways to be involved in their children's education if they choose. ...in being directly accountable and responsive to all of our customers. ...in outstanding teacher engagement. ...in rich, engaging content that gets kids into learning so learning gets into them. ...that profitability yields invention, responsiveness, and responsibility. ...in using 21st-century tools to prepare 21st-century students. ...in books, digital media, and dirtbecause a mix of teaching tools maximizes learning. ...that children should be introduced to humankind's legacies which create our common culture as humans. ... that raw, unyielding passion is our most important quality. http://www.k12.com/about-k12 Public elementary schools would have closed down their classrooms by this time and released for the summer break the roughly 13.2 million pupils who had enrolled for the 2011-2012 school year. About 1.86 million of these pupils obtained their elementary school diplomas.

Perhaps, 1.25 million, or about two-thirds of this cohort, will proceed to high school in June. Following the Department of Educations plan, these pupils will be the first to have the opportunity to complete the K-12 Basic Education System. Some quarters still oppose K-12, the flagship education program of the Aquino administration. The objections vary. There are those who want a miracle cure that will by itself instantly heal all of the ailments afflicting basic education. They demand proof that K-12 will reduce the classroom shortage, improve teacher quality and raise learning outcome among students. This, despite the repeated assurance of the education secretary, Br. Armin Luistro FSC, that K-12 is only one in the DepEds 10-point basic education reform agenda. Others criticize the governments haste in implementing the program. Many have forgotten that the Philippines already had an 11-year basic education cycle during the American colonial period. But the Commonwealth government, believing 11 years of pre-university studies inadequate, decided to reduce elementary education to six years, which was done, and to add two years to high school, which was not. We have been waiting over 75 years to extend the basic education cycle beyond what we had in the 1930s. In the meantime, the rest of the world has implemented the K-12 system. Do we need to do more research to follow suit? The entire world, of course, can be completely wrong about K-12. But we are not determining the truth of K-12 as a physical law or philosophical principle that must have universal application. We are considering the advantages and efficacy of a practical system that involves trade-offs and will be better managed by some groups rather than others. A number of our ambassadors have expressed concern that our 10-year basic education cycle will work against the interests of Filipino workers seeking employment abroad. Perhaps, these countries are building non-tariff barriers against our export of labor. But when all the vehicles in the road are moving in one direction, prudence would seem to dictate that we do not insist on driving against the traffic. What is also difficult to comprehend is the complaint that K-12 is an elitist measure to align our system to those of developed countries and make it easier for wealthy students to gain admission to their schools. These students will indeed benefit from the program. But even developing countries have invested in additional years of basic education. In the Philippines, the best private schools require 11 years of basic education, against the 10 years in public schools. K-12 will help level the playing field for those who cannot afford the elite schools. With two additional years at Senior High School (SHS) or Grades 11 and 12, students going to Philippine schools will begin college better prepared to handle tertiary-level materials. If colleges and universities do the right thing, they may be able to complete most college courses in a shorter period of time and, therefore, at a lower cost. According to DepEd data from 2001 to 2010, only 68 percent of the pupils who enroll in a Grade 1 public primary school continue on to high school and only 51 percent receive their secondary school diploma. A 2005 DepEd survey indicated that only 56 percent of graduating high school students were planning on pursuing a college education. Only about 29 percent, therefore, would benefit from the SHS pre-college courses.

Fortunately, the DepEd plans for the SHS program include more than just the preparatory academic courses for college-bound students. It will also offer options for those with the talent for sports and the arts, as well as a technical-vocational track for those who want to compete in the labor market after K-12. The government-funded SHS will help the 22 percent of high school graduates who lack the financial means, or the ability or the interest in academic subjects to acquire additional skills for the world of work. The SHS Program may also help keep in school the 17 percent of the Grade 1 cohort who drop out or fail the high school academic requirements. Between 2008 and 2009, according to the USAID Philippine Education Sector Assessment Project, secondary school enrollment dropped by only 5.7 percent, but this still numbered nearly 315,000 students. About 66 percent of the dropouts were among the male students who may be disposed to trade off pre-college physics and algebra for the technical-vocational track. Those concerned with the competitiveness of the countrys human resources, with the effectiveness of its higher education system, and with issues of equity and inclusive development should support the K-12 program. http://opinion.inquirer.net/26715/pioneering-k-12 Allan Leynes says: I read your article (Straight Talk on K to 12, March 19). Are private schools included in the implementation? My child is supposed to be a first year high school student this June. Will she be included in the six years of high school? Elvin Uy, the Department of Educations (DepEd) coordinator for K to 12, says: The transition plan for each private school is based on their resources and curriculum content. For your particular school (name withheld), there may be an additional one or two grade levels. (To get) a clearer answer, please ask (the school) administration to call DepEd. Your school needs to undergo a curriculum review before we can decide the best way for it to adapt to K to 12. I have received messages from parents and students, inquiring about how their schools will respond to K to 12. Some complain about the way their institutions are handling the transition and ask me to intervene. For the record, I do not have the authority, the know-how, or the inclination to insert myself in what should be a private matter among parents, students, teachers and school administrators. The most that I can do is to pass along these messages to DepEd. You may also e-mail DepEd directly at kto12.secretariat@gmail.com or Uy at elvin.uy@gmail.com. Call DepEd at 6337203. Creative ways Education Secretary Armin Luistro has said Grade 1 is reduced to half a day so as not to tire out Filipino schoolchildren who have to travel far to and from school (Straight Talk on K to 12). Scientist Angel de Dios, who is based in the United States, suggests creative ways of addressing the problem. In Paete, there are sitios situated in the mountains, De Dios says. Children from these villages spend a long time going down and up the mountain to reach the elementary schools in the poblacion. The people of Paete decided to build a school inside the sitio. This way, only the teachers need to make the daily travel to and from the school. Go to http://paete.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11037.

In Layag-layag, children used to swim their way to and from the school, De Dios says. But now, boats have been donated to help these children reach their destination quickly and without getting wet. (See Student Heroes, Nov. 28.) Private seminars Personnel of several private schools, who declined to be identified, say that since last year, they have been attending seminars and fora on K to 12, given by different groups. The sessions reportedly vary in quality and accuracy of content. Moreover, people pay to attend the sessions. Our school is already stretching its resources for K to 12, says a coordinator. Because we dont know what is happening, we had no choice but to attend the seminars, but I wish we did not have to pay for them. Not all private schools are rich. Luistro says sessions on K to 12 given by DepEd are free. Uy says several private groups organize their own fora and invite DepEd officials as speakers or resource persons. Some are able to secure sponsorships to cover their costs, such as venue, food, handouts, Uy says. He cites the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines, which has received funding from the Fund for Assistance to Private Education and book publishers, though participants still have to pay a minimal fee. He admits that DepEd does not have a policy on groups doing seminars. Some dont have our imprimatur, but we are still in the process of deciding what to do about them, he says. We hope that the groups invite the right resource people, he says. For those fora wherein the groups approach us, we try our best to give them experts. Uy says, We are organizing to disseminate K to 12 information ourselves to our stakeholder schools. In this way, we can cut out the middleman. Training Some public schools claim they have not received concrete details on how to do K to 12. Grade 7 starts this June, and they say they do not know how to start. Uy admits that in the past month, we have focused on private schools with Grade 7 in order to help them with the transition plan. But, basically, the problem is one of scale. There are several thousands more public schools than private ones, and admittedly, K to 12 planning may not have reached some of them, Uy says. But he says division offices will be instructed to provide the information to the schools in their area. From April 23 to 29, Grade 1 national trainers will be trained at the Development Academy of the Philippines. Grade 7 trainers will be trained from April 17 to 29 at the Philippine Normal University, National Institute for Mathematics and Science Education at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Arellano University, Centro Escolar University, University of the East, Technological University

of the Philippines, Philippine Science High School, University of Santo Tomas and Rizal Technological University. Mass teacher training will be done the entire month of May for more than 130,000 Grades 1 and 7 teachers. Uy says, after training, the teachers are expected to serve as point persons for their respective schools, apart from school heads who will also be trained. For more information, e-mail DepEd at kto12.secretariat@gmail.com or call DepEd at 6337203. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/173539/readers-speak-out-on-k-12 K+12 POLICY FRAMEWORK: Pessimistic, Optimistic or Realistic? Published March 26, 2011 | By Junifen F. Gauuan COCOPEA North Luzon Consultation November 27, 2010 at the University of Baguio, Baguio City I. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY IMPACT ANALYSIS The formulation of Policy for the K+12 Education System requires rigorous systems analysis. Many patchwork of issues, opinions and statistical analysis have already been presented by so many sectors in so many meetings and consultations. But what is more important to see now is the entire picture, the whole tapestry of Cause-Effects and Costs-Benefits that the policy, if adopted, will create. Actually we did this partially today. But it seems we also need the help of Education Economists to prepare a comprehensive policy impact analysis and simulate varying policy options under different policy assumptions and conditions. II. DIFFERENT CONDITIONS, DIFFERENT ASSUMPTIONS, DIFFERENT POLICIES Different conditions generate different assumptions, which in turn create different policies. The success of any policy depends on the correctness of its policy assumptions. Taking this fact into consideration, should we make policy assumptions based on current realities? Or should policy be based on policy conditions we would want to happen, but which may not exist by the time we start implementing the policy? The proposed K+12 Education System poses a very challenging case, in as far as selecting the most realistic policy assumptions is concerned. These policy assumptions and the appertaining conditions affecting them are as follows: 1. Increasing Basic Education from 10-12 years automatically expands the educational financing requirements for infrastructure, personnel, learning resources, training and development. These requirements can only be achieved if the following conditions are met: 1.1. Enough National Government and Local Government Budget (LGU) Budgets are made available.

Currently, national and local government budgets are already strained to the limit and are averting deficit spending. 1.2. Families can meet the financial burden for the additional 2 years of study to (a) Pay for Daily Allowance of Students and

Currently, families are reeling in financial difficulties. And adding 2 additional years could even increase drop-out rates because school-age members of poor families usually sacrifice their studies to economize on daily school allowances so that their siblings can continue their studies. (b) Contribute to under-funded School programs, services and expenditure items (e.g., laboratories for information technology, sciences, vocational arts; multimedia resources; maintenance and operating expenses for repairs and utilities, etc.) Currently, the government policy on universal access to basic education disallows contributions by parents and students to complement under-funded public school budgets. Even students from families who can afford to pay contributions are thus exempted from giving their share. 1.3.

Operational efficiencies and synergies are created within the public school system to create savings which can be re-allocated to more essential programs. Currently, administrative wastes and leakages permeate the public school bureaucracy.

1.4. The educational policy must not destroy the financial viability of private Schools. Otherwise, students which may be orphaned by Private School closures and program terminations will simply create new financial and logistical burdens for the public schools.

In this connection, expanding the coverage of the governments educational subsidy to elementary, secondary and tertiary students in private schools is still one of the best ways for reducing educational costs, since most private schools, colleges and universities have lower per capita educational costs compared to public schools, colleges and universities.

2. Increasing Basic Education from 10-12 years requires a higher level of organizational core competence which can only be achieved if the following conditions are met: 2.1 If the core competencies of secondary schools administrators and teachers can be upgraded to the level of Technical-Vocational and College administrators and faculty. The Senior High School Curriculum requires the core competencies of Technical-Vocational and Tertiary Schools (Junior College). As they are now, our secondary schools cannot manage the senior High School Curriculum.

And this has brought a counter-proposal for the offering of two (2) additional pre-collegiate years (i.e., a Junior or Community College/Tech-Voc option) instead of the (2) additional Senior High School years. From the point-of-view of many educators, the Junior or Community

College/Tech-Voc option is less disruptive, more manageable and financially viable. This is because existing high schools need not invest in additional expertise, buildings, facilities and equipment. And existing Colleges and Technical-Vocational Schools already have the educational resources and faculty to absorb students for the two (2) additional years of study. 2.2.

If Teacher Competence can be enhanced to use cost-effective tools and methods, such as information and communications technologies and multimedia.

However, currently, it is estimated that in the public schools, 70% of students are tech-savvy, while only 30% of Teachers are. 3. Increasing Basic Education from 10-12 years requires a re-programming of the curricula and re-engineering of the entire educational system. This re-programming and reengineering starts from the pre-school, elementary, secondary, through the technicalvocational, and tertiary education levels; aligning them in a step-ladder progression to achieve international professional standards mandated for various industries and socioeconomic sectors. More specifically, 3.1 We need to re-program curricula in the different educational levels by streamlining them to remove obsolete and redundant courses/subjects/contents. We also need to continually benchmark and update curricula based on global standards.

Current educational policies and standards are so rigid they prevent the swift and continuous updating of curricula, course contents and syllabi which is necessary in coping-up with the rapidly changing expertise benchmarks created by global competition. We cannot even invent our own new and cutting-edge courses because our government educational agencies will recognize only those already offered and recognized abroad. So we are always at the tail-end of educational innovation. Furthermore, our government educational agencies are splintered into different kingdoms. There is a need for a Supreme Authority in the Education Sector to orchestrate the synchronization and integration of desired policies, curricula, programs among DEPED, TESDA, and CHED. And this requires organizational re-structuring. Table 1, Curricular Synchronization, shows that it is difficult to formulate policy just based on general principles and statements. The formulation of educational policy (what to do?) that is feasible and acceptable to stakeholders rests on the viability and suitability of the educational programs (how to do it?) designed to operationalize it. We must therefore deal with specifics at the same time that we are evolving a general education policy. Table 1 Curricular Synchronization PRE-SCHOOL & ELEMENTARY 1. Define the SECONDARY 1. Define the 1. TEC-VOC Define the UNDERGRADUATE & GRADUATE 1. Define the

International Competency Standards required for each Grade Level. 2. Define a streamlined curriculum for each Grade Level. 3. Define the core knowledge and skills that each Subject of the curriculum must develop 4. Define the upward Learning Continuum required to achieve the entrylevel Secondary learning competencies. 5. Define different curricular streams of Elementary School preparation (i.e., regular, accelerated)

International ladderized Competency Standards International required for each Year Competency Standards Level. required for each Skills Competency Cluster. 2. Define a streamlined curriculum for each Year 2. Define a Level. streamlined curriculum for each 3. Define the core Skills Competency knowledge and skills that Program. each Subject of the curriculum must develop 3. Define the learning competencies 4. Define the required required to achieve entry-level Secondary industry acceptance in learning competencies. each Skills And define the upward Competency Course Learning Continuum required to achieve 4. Define the entry-level Tec-Voc and required entry-level Undergraduate learning Tec-Voc learning competencies competencies. And define the upward 5. Define different Learning Continuum curricular streams of required to achieve Secondary School entry-level preparation (i.e., General Undergraduate comprehensive, Physical learning competencies Sciences, ICT Sciences, or industry Arts & Music, Business & employment Entrepreneurship, Technical & Engineering)

ladderized International Competency Standards required for each professional cluster. 2. Define a streamlined curriculum for each Professional Degree Program. 3. Define the learning competencies required to achieve industry acceptance in each Professional Degree Program. 4. Define the required entry-level Undergraduate learning competencies. And define the upward Learning Continuum required to achieve entry-level Graduate learning competencies or industry employment

3.2 After synchronizing curricula we need to re-engineer the educational machinery so it will be capable of implementing the educational programs effectively and efficiently. I am using the word re-engineer because aside from re-structuring educational agencies and organizations we need to overhaul educational management and teaching-learning processes to facilitate faster, more economical, and higher quality learning. The implications of faster, more economical and higher quality learning are:

We must allow parts of the whole to become creative and move rapidly rather than moving the immovable whole, itself. In this connection, we must

Give real academic freedom and autonomy to responsible and qualified educational institutions. o Decentralize and devolve relevant basic education functions of National Agencies to Local Government Units. This includes co-management of public schools and direct budgetary allocation from local government funds. This may include abolition of Regional Offices and the creation of Regional Desks to coordinate programs and budgets. Full adoption of information and communications technology and use of multimedia resources in both educational administration and teaching-learning processes. Creation of a National Multi-Media Resources Center where all modularized course syllabi, ebooks, e-journals, presentations, films and learning materials needed by teachers can be downloaded through the internet. And learning resource creators from among teachers, authors, and scientists from around the world can also contribute learning materials.
o

4. Increasing Basic Education from 10-12 years requires that proper consideration of student needs, interests, capabilities and differences be made in the formulation of policy. For example, if the achievement standard upon which the two (2) additional high school years is calibrated, is based on the expected academic performance of AVERAGE STUDENTS, what options are there for RETAINED STUDENTS, LOW ACHIEVERS and HIGH ACHIEVERS? Do we need to impose year-level achievement tests as a requirement for determining student retention, promotion and acceleration? Will there be a program for specialized instruction of RETAINED STUDENTS? Will there be a program for specialized remediation of LOW ACHIEVERS? Should HIGH ACHIEVERS be given the option for academic acceleration so they can finish basic education earlier than K+12 years? Should we therefore allow many roads to climb the mountain of basic education? Or should we just permit one (1) superhighway? It is the belief of some educators that the K+10 Education System failed because it lacked 2 more years of study. Of course this is one reason. But the bigger reason why K+10 Education System failed is because of poor educational inputs and processes which surely would not yield positive outcomes. So the biggest issue the K+12 Education System must address are its pre-requisite educational inputs and processes. If these are not given solution, the K+12 Education System policy is already doomed from the very start. Proposed K 12 Basic Education System in the Philippines Is the K-12 model good for the Philippine education system? by Sarah Katrina Maramag ViaPhilippine Online Chronicles

The enhanced K-12 program, or the Department of Educations (DepEd) proposal to overhaul the basic and secondary education curriculum by adding two more years to the system is arguably one of the most drastic and controversial programs of the Aquino administration. The program is proposed to start in school year 2012-2013 for Grade 1 and first year high school students with the target of full implementation by SY 2018-2019. K-12 has been met with criticism from youth and student groups, teachers, parents and the academic community. The DepEd, for its part, appears determined to enact the program with its proposed budget catering mostly to preparing the grounds for its eventual implementation. The DepEd argues that the K-12 program will be the solution to yearly basic education woes and the deteriorating quality of education. Critics, however, counteract that the education crisis needs to be addressed more fundamentally and adding more school years would only exacerbate the situation. Dissecting K-12 The K-12 model is an educational system for basic and secondary education patterned after the United States, Canada, and some parts of Australia. The current basic education system is also an archetype of American schooling but with a 10-year cycle. DepEd reasons that it is high time to adopt a K-12 system, attributing the low achievement scores and poor quality of basic education to the present school setup. Following wide protests over the proposal, the department released its official position defending K-12. Below are the main arguments and corresponding counter-arguments from critics. 1. The K-12 will solve the annual growing number of out-of-school youth. Students and parents, however complain that it would be an added burden to poor families. While public education is free, a political youth group estimates that a student would still need an average of P20,000 per school year to cover transportation, food, school supplies and other schooling expenses. Also, based on the latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey, families prioritize spending for food and other basic needs over their childrens school needs. Two more years for basic education would inevitably translate to higher dropout rate. 2. The K-12 will address low achievement scores and poor academic performance of elementary and high school students. DepEd says that the poor quality of basic education is reflected in the low achievement scores of students. Results of the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), however, negate the connection of the number of years to the performance of students.

According to results of the TIMSS, the length of schooling does not necessarily mean better scores. In fact, some countries with the same or shorter school cycle garnered the highest scores while those implementing the K-12 model or more years of schooling got lower scores. According to a study released by former Deputy Education Minister Abraham I. Felipe and Fund for Assistance to Private Education (FAPE) Executive Director Carolina C. Porio, the DepEds arguments are impressionistic and erroneous because there is no clear correlation between the length of schooling and students performance. The said study shows that fourth graders from Australia had respectable TIMSS scores despite having only one year of pre-schooling, while Morocco (two years of pre-school), Norway (three years) and Armenia and Slovenia (both four years) had lower scores than Australia. South Korea, which has the same length of basic education cycle as the Philippines, was among the top performers in the TIMSS, while those with longer pre-schooling (Ghana, Morocco, Botswana andSaudi Arabia, three years) had lower test scores. Test scores of Filipino students, meanwhile, were lower than those garnered by all 13 countries with shorter elementary cycles, namely, Russia, Armenia,Latvia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania,Moldova, Italy, Egypt and Iran. In the high school level, Singapore that also has a four-year high school cycle, got the highest score. Ironically, the Philippines got a lower score together with countries that have longer high school cycles like South Africa, Chile, Palestine, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. For the pre-college level, the Philippines also got a low score, but so did theUnited States, which has a 15-year basic and secondary education cycle. Students from Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong, all with shorter education cycles, got higher scores than America students. 3. The DepEd has enough resources to implement the K-12.Interestingly, countries whose students got high scores in the TIMSS were the ones whose governments allotted high public spending for education. Despite nominal increases in the total education budget, the government has been spending less per capita on education. The real spending per capita per daydropped to P6.85 in 2009. From 2001 to 2009, educations portion in the national budget has steadily decreased. This pales in comparison to neighboring countries Malaysia, 7.4 percent and Thailand, 4 percent. It is also lower than the four percent average for all countries that were included in the World Education Indicators in 2006. The country is also lagging behind its Asian counterparts in public expenditure on education as a percentage of total public spending. In a statement, President Benigno Aquino III said that his administration is prioritizing education and, as proof, the DepEd budget will increase by P32 billion in 2011.

However, according to Anakbayan spokesperson Charisse Banez, Even if you combine the DepEd and SUCs (state college and universities) budgets, it will only equal to three percent of the GDP, a far cry from the six percent GDFP-amount advocated by the United Nations. The UN Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) recommend that governments spend at least six percent of their GDP for education. Former Education secretary Mona Valisno stated in a separated study that DepEd needs at least P100 billion to fully address the shortage of 93,599 classrooms and 134,400 seats and P63 million for textbooks and scholarships. Proponents of the program allude to the experience of St. Marys Sagada a school implementing K-12 that has been topping the National Achievement Test in Mountain Province. However, aside from the K-12, the school also has a 1:20 teacher to student ratio and is not suffering any sort of shortage in faculty or facilities. Critics of the K-12 assert that while government resources have been found wanting and insufficient for the present 10-year cycle, how will it be able to afford to fund a K-12 model? 4. The K-12 will open doors for more jobs for the youth, even without a college diploma. DepEd says that a K-12 program will improve the chances for youth employment as it is aimed to improve technical-vocational skills through focusing on arts, aquaculture and agriculture, among others. The K-12, it further states, will ensure that students graduating at the age of 18 will have jobs, thus making them employable even without a college degree. However, critics are quick to note that the Philippines, that has a predominantly young population, also has the highest overall unemployment rate in East Asia and the Pacific Region. According to World Bank study, the country also has the highest youth unemployment rate. Young Filipino workers are twice as likely to be unemployed than those in older age groups as they figure in the annual average of at least 300,000 new graduates that add up to the labor force. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported in 2008 that 50 percent of the unemployed 2.7 million nationwide were aged 15 to 24. Of these, 461,000 or 35 percent had college degrees while about 700,000 unemployed youth either finished high school or at least reached undergraduate levels. Therefore, the persistent high unemployment rates, may not be necessarily linked with the present 10-year cycle but instead with the countrys existing economic system and the governments job generation policies.

5. Filipino graduates will be automatically recognized as professionals abroad. In the present 10-year cycle, the DepEd argues, the quality of education is reflected in the inadequate preparation of high school graduates for the world of work or entrepreneurship or higher education. What the K-12 program aims to achieve, therefore, is to reinforce cheap semi-skilled labor for the global market. With young workers, mostly semi-skilled and unskilled workers now making up an estimated 10.7 percent of the total Filipino labor migrant population, it comes as no surprise then that the government is now programming its youth to servicing needs of the global market. Labor migration, however, has resulted in the brain drain of Filipino skilled workers and professionals. Ironically, while the DepEd and the government mouths a so-called professionalization of the young labor force in foreign markets, their significance to domestic development and nation-building is sadly being undervalued at the expense of providing cheap labor under the guise of providing employment. While proponents and advocates hail the K-12 model as the saving grace of youth unemployment, critics argue that it will only aggravate the countrys dependence on labor export and the inflow of remittances that do not necessarily contribute to substantive and sustainable nation-building. A Filipino education Lastly, the DepEd justifies the K-12 model by saying that the present short basic education program affects the human development of Filipino students. Ultimately, regardless of whichever model, what the youth and country direly needs is for the development and establishment of an education system that caters to the needs of the Filipino youth and the society in general. The crisis of the Philippine education system, in all levels, is stemmed not on the superficial, in this case the number of schooling years, but rather on the conditions and foundation on which it subsists. Unless the government addresses in earnest poor public spending, high costs of schooling, the predominance of a colonial curriculum, lack of transparency and accountability amid widespread corruption within the sector and the development of the countrys science and technology for domestic development, all efforts will remain on the surface. And neither 10 nor 12 years would make much of difference. Photos from POC files. Some rights reserved.

You may also want to read Dean Jorge Bocobos commentary On Proposed K 12 Basic Education system and Jane Uymatiaos Why we need Dep Eds K 12 program. ````````` DISCUSSION PAPER ONTHE ENHANCED K+12BASIC EDUCATIONPROGRAM DepEd discussion paper 05 October 2010 Discussion Paper As of 05 October 2010 2 DISCUSSION PAPER ONTHE ENHANCED K+12 BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM Table of ContentsRATIONALE...............................................................................................................3 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND............................................................................ ......5 EDUCATION VISION...................................................................................... ...........6 GOALS........................................................................................................ ...............7 BENEFITS OF ENHANCED BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM................................7 ENHANCED K+12 BASIC EDUCATION MODEL.....................................................8 GUIDING PRINCIPLES............................................................................................10 ACTION STEPS..................................................... ......................................... .........11 List of Figures and Tables Table 1 Philippine Average TIMSS Scores ........................................................................................3 Table 2 Unemployment Statistics in the Philippines, 2010 ........................................................4 Table 3 Comparative Data on the Pre-University Education in Asia ....................................4 Figure 1 K-6-4-2 Model...............................................................................................9 Figure 2 Schematic Presentation of the K-6-4-2 Model Implementation....................9

List of Annexes Annex A Budget Forecast for K-6-4-2 Model............................................................12Annex B High School to HEI School Mapping..........................................................13Annex C High and HEI School Capacities.............. ..................................................14Annex D Number of HEIs by Type............................................... .............................15 Discussion Paper As of 05 October 2010 3 THE ENHANCED K+12 BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM RATIONALE 1 Enhancing the quality of basic education in the Philippines is urgent andcritical. Thus, we have to come up with a proposal to enhance our basiceducation program in a manner that is least disruptive to the current curriculum,most affordable to government and families, and aligned with internationalpractice. 2 The poor quality of basic education is reflected in the low achievementscores of Filipino students. Many students who finish basic education do notpossess sufficient mastery of basic competencies. One reason is that students donot get adequate instructional time or time on task. The National AchievementTest (NAT) for grade 6 in SY 2009-2010 passing rate is only 69.21%. Althoughthis is already a 24% improvement over the SY 2005-2006 passing rate, further reforms are needed to achieve substantial improvement. The NAT for high schoolis 46.38% in SY 2009-2010, a slight decrease from 47.40% in SY 20082009.3 International tests results like 2003 TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematicsand Science Study) rank the Philippines 34 th out of 38 countries in HS II Mathand 43 rd out of 46 countries in HS II Science; for grade 4, the Philippines ranked23 rd out of 25 participating countries in both Math and Science. i In 2008, evenwith only the science high schools participating in the Advanced Mathematicscategory, the Philippines was ranked lowest (Table 1) . ii 4 The congested curriculumpartly explains the presentstate of education .

iii Thecurrent basic education isdesigned to teach a 12-year curriculum, yet it is deliveredin just 10 years.5 This quality of education isreflected in the inadequatepreparation of high schoolgraduates for the world of work or entrepreneurship or higher education. High school graduates also do not possess the basiccompetencies or emotional maturity essential for the world of work. About 70.9%of the unemployed are at least high school graduates and 80% of theunemployed are 15-34 years old ( Table 2 ). While the availability of economicopportunities contributes to this, it also illustrates the mismatch in the labor andeducation markets. The World Bank Philippines Skills Report in 2009 reveals, Table 1 Philippine Average TIMSS Scores Scores InternationalAverageRank ParticipatingCountries 2003 ResultsGrade IV Science 332 489 23 25 Mathematics 358 495 23 25 HS II Science 377 473 43 46 Mathematics 378 466 34 38 2008 Results Advanced Mathematics 355 500 10 10 Source: TIMMS, 2003 and 2008

Discussion Paper As of 05 October 2010 4 based on a survey of employers, serious gaps in critical skills of graduates suchas problemsolving, initiative and creativity, and, to a lesser extent, gaps in job-specific technical skills.6 Further, most graduates aretoo young to enter the labor force. This implies that thosewho do not pursue higher education would beunproductive or be vulnerableto exploitative labor practices.Those who may be interestedto set up business cannotlegally enter into contracts.7 The current system alsoreinforces the misperceptionthat basic education is just a preparatory step for higher education . For most parents, basic education is usually seen as a preparation for collegeeducation. Even this misperception falls short of expectations as most studentsusually have to take remedial and high school level classes in colleges

anduniversities.8 The short duration of the basic education programalso puts the millions of overseas Filipino workers(OFWs) 1 , especially the professionals, and thosewho intend to study abroad at a disadvantage( Table 3 ). Our graduates are not automaticallyrecognized as professionals abroad. Filipinosface mutual recognition problem in other countriesthat view the 10-year education program asinsufficient. The Philippines is the only country inAsia and among the three remaining countries inthe world that has a 10-year basic educationprogram. 2 The Washington Accord iv prescribes 12-years basic education as an entry to recognition of engineering professionals. The Bologna Accord v requires 12 years of education for universityadmission and practice of profession in Europeancountries.9 More importantly, the short basic education program affects the humandevelopment of the Filipino children. A Filipino is legally a child before he or she turns 18 years old. Psychologists and educators say that children under 18are generally not emotionally prepared for entrepreneurship or employment or higher education disciplines. vi

1 POEA estimates just over a million OFWs. However, there is also a large number of unregistered overseas workers. 2 From UNESCOs 155 member countries, Djibouti and Angola are the other two countries that retain a 10-year pre-universityeducation system. 0 Cognizant of this urgent and critical concern and in line with the prioritiesof the Aquino Administration, the Department of Education is taking boldsteps to enhance the basic education curriculum. Hand in hand withvigorous efforts to address the input shortages, DepEd intends to raise the qualityof basic education through the enhancement of the curriculum and the expansionof the basic education cycle.11 The Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program seeks to provide for a quality 12-year basic education program that each Filipino is entitled to. This is consistentwith Article XIV, Section 2(1) of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which states that

The State shall establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society .12 K+12 means Kindergarten and the 12 years of elementary and secondaryeducation. Kindergarten refers to the 5-year old cohort that takes astandardized kinder curriculum. Elementary education refers to primaryschooling that involves six or seven years of education; meanwhile secondaryeducation refers to high school. Under the K+12, the intention is not just to addtwo years of schooling but more importantly to enhance the basic educationcurriculum. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 13 As early as 1925, studies have observed the inadequacy of the basiceducation curriculum . vii As one of the most well studied reforms,recommendations of either adding or restoring 7 th grade or adding an extra year to basic education have been put forward.a) Monroe Survey (1925) : Secondary education did not prepare for life andrecommended training in agriculture, commerce, and industry.b) Prosser Survey (1930) : Recommended to improve phases of vocationaleducation such as 7 th grade shopwork, provincial schools, practical artstraining in the regular high schools, home economics, placement work,gardening, and agricultural education.c) UNESCO Mission Survey (1949) : Recommended the restoration of Grade 7.d) Education Act of 1953 : Under Section 3, mandates that *t+he primary courseshall be composed of four grades (Grades I to IV) and the intermediate courseof three grades (Grade V to VII).e) Swanson Survey (1960) : Recommended the restoration of Grade 7f) Presidential Commission to Survey Philippine Education (PCSPE)(1970) : High priority be given to the implementation of an 11-year program;Recommended program consists of 6 years of compulsory elementaryeducation and 5 years of secondary educationg) Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM) Report (1991) : If oneyear is to be added in the education program, it recommends one of twoalternatives: Seven years of elementary education or Five years of secondaryeducationh) Presidential Commission on Educational Reforms (2000) : Reformproposals include the establishment of a one-year pre-baccalaureate systemthat would also bring the Philippines at par with other countries. i)

Presidential Task Force on Education (2008): In discussions on a 12-year pre-university program, it is important to specify the content of the 11 th and12 th years and benchmark these with programs abroad. EDUCATION VISION 14 Every graduate of the Enhanced K+12 Basic Education Program is anempowered individual who has learned, through a program that is rooted onsound educational principles and geared towards excellence, the foundations for learning throughout life, the competence to engage in work and be productive,the ability to coexist in fruitful harmony with local and global communities, thecapability to engage in autonomous critical thinking, and the capacity to transformothers and ones self.15 A Vision Grounded on Human Development : The complete humandevelopment of every graduate is at the core of the Enhanced K+12 BasicEducation Program. Every graduate holds an understanding of the world aroundand a zest for life-long learning, which addresses every childs basic learningneeds, including learning to learn, the acquisition of numeracy, literacies, andscientific and technological knowledge as applied to daily life.16 The graduate also has the courage, the drive, and the relevant skills to engage inwork and have a productive life. Every graduate will be able to embark in themodern world prepared to meet challenges.17 Every graduate will be able to think for himself/herself and make sound decisionson the best courses of action to take in the different circumstances of his or her life. The graduates autonomous thinking is a product of the capability for comprehension and critical thinking as well as the full development of onesunique personality.18 Every graduate is inculcated with the respect for human rights and values,notably, Maka-Diyos, Maka-tao, Makabansa, and Maka-Kalikasan . This makesevery graduate empowered to effect positive changes in his/her life and that of others.19 A Vision Achieved through an Enhanced Curriculum : Every graduate of theEnhanced K+12 Basic Education Program will benefit from a reformed andupdated curriculum that is focused on enabling every child to achieve mastery of core competencies and skills.20 A Vision that has Socio-Economic Relevance: Every graduate of theEnhanced K+12 Basic Education Program is ready to take his or her place as aproductive member of society. They are equipped to take on every opportunity inlife he or she choosesto find work, to engage in higher studies, or to start anentrepreneurial endeavor.21 This vision is consistent with the definition of an educated Filipino as conceived inthe Philippine Constitution and the World Declaration on Education for All.