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IAMRAFI: Pathway To Education Excellence
The Story of Dr. Juliet A. Jeruta, PhD and
on Making SEED a Reality
By Marco Paulo Trajano Deligero & RAFI-EDU | March 6, 2018
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Dr. Juliet Jeruta, Regional Director of DepEd Region 7, has been involved in various RAFI programs like the Kool Adventure Camp and the Education Development Unit particularly on the School Rehabilitation Program and Gabaldon restorations. Recently, she has expanded her involvement to include breast cancer campaign and advocacy of the Eduardo J Aboitiz Cancer Center, and of course, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. – Seal of Excellence in Education Development (RAFI-SEED).
Dr. Jeruta and the RAFI Partnership
DepEd thru Dr. Jeruta and RAFI have been partners for years specifically on the implementation of SEED program. One of her roles is to recommend to RAFI which schools need urgent assistance in terms of classroom rehabilitation due to damage brought about by typhoons and flooding.
“One example was during typhoon Yolanda wherein RAFI, DepEd and the LGU partnered together to aid affected schools in Region 7 for we had the data; RAFI did the validation and then we collaborated with the LGU for the project implementation.” Dr. Jeruta said.
“I was the co-producer on the conceptualization of SEED, which was started by RAFI. I was responsible for identifying the elements of how it will be operationalized by the DepEd Regional Office. RAFI-SEED completes the external evaluation with the help of different stakeholders that have been agreed upon by DepEd and RAFI.”
“In DepEd, we ensure that any activity of any organization it partners with contributes and aligns to a certain goal – access, quality, relevant, and should contribute to liberating education.”
“DepEd utilizes Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as one of its strategies, and this is the anchor of its partnership with RAFI.”
Partnership made even stronger
“Excellence can be determined, fleshing in on different dimensions – school, division, region.” Dr. Jeruta said.
“The value proposition for Region 7 should be determined — what are the schools expected to do and achieve, standards to be achieved, understand the procedure – desirable outcomes.”
“To do and achieve the four (4) qualities, there should be one procedure that is participated in by all sectors – the community, the school itself, stakeholders, community leaders and non-government organizations. And that is what we are doing in RAFI-SEED.”
“The evaluation before was limited to itself, but now – schools and constituents should partner and participate for the holistic development of the child.” Dr. Jeruta added.
On her continuous support to RAFI
“One of the difficulties we have in DepEd is really to have an objective, progressive, evaluation of our schools from its initial status to how it is able to address the situational gaps and to come out victorious in overcoming the bottlenecks of the gaps between the ideal and actual.” Dr. Jeruta said.
“With the RAFI-SEED, the school’s performance is evaluated on all dimensions, not only on the physical aspect but also on how it is able to nurture both planners and implementers, and how they work together for the production of the desirable outcomes.”
“With RAFI as a non-government organization, and with the process of assessment from the school to the community to the division to the region, the results of the filtering process is more objective.”
“This partnership is a great help on the financial, material and technical resources of DepEd. Usually, the funds are more utilized on the inputs like provision of crucial teaching and learning resources rather than finding out the results or outcome.”
“Rewards and incentives that the school receives in their participation in RAFI-SEED thoroughly boosts their infrastructure, physical facilities need and capabilities of teachers.”
On her influence and making a difference
When asked on her influence and what difference could she make, Dr. Jeruta said that showing the world the different schools’ best practices basically prove that success could be achieved.
“The public will be able to know the stories behind the success of the schools, their best practices and how other schools can use them for their own purposes, like how they can improve their service delivery, or how they can engage their stakeholders to come up with solution/idea generation activities.”
“This can be a source of inspiration to students who have not yet decided on their career path and might want to consider teaching as one of their choices. Surely, participating in activities like the RAFI-SEED is already considered one step in nation building.” Dr. Jeruta said.
On her biggest motivation
On continuing her legacy of commitment to education and being a role-model, Dr. Jeruta has this to say:
“My biggest motivation is to fuel passion and commitment to the teaching force and non-teaching personnel that works collaboratively with barangay leaders and non-government organizations.”
“It is possible to make true that statement ‘it takes a whole village to educate a child.’” Dr. Jeruta said.
Dr. Jeruta and her four decades of service in the government
Spending her career in the government for almost 43 years, Dr. Jeruta says that she finally feels fulfilled.
“I’ve been with the government for 43 years. I started at 20 and now I am 63 years old. I can say that I am now fulfilled and that the best years of my life have been spent on teaching, leading, inspiring everyone in my sphere of influence to really make a difference.” Dr. Jeruta said.
On the challenges ahead
With every partnership comes difficulties, but the best way to strengthen it is through solving problems and coming up with solutions together.
When asked on what challenges the partnership is facing, Dr. Jeruta said that support has always been a challenge.
“First, how to generate one hundred percent support and cooperation from the different schools and divisions in Cebu is a challenge. Sometimes, the word evaluation has a negative connotation to some, therefore they may not give you the cooperation you need.” Dr. Jeruta said.
She said that this mindset could be changed and they are doing everything to make a difference.
“We change that through advocacy and telling them what can they get in case they emerge as winners of this competition. Likewise, to non-winners, they should exert more effort in the prioritization and synchronization of all the dimensions in making basic education service delivery efficient, effective and collaborative.”
“Second, there are time constraints as activities overlap. Time should be synergistically arranged to cope with the needs of both the schools and RAFI” Dr. Jeruta said.
Finding meaning
The partnership with RAFI is a great test for Dr. Jeruta, for she believes that the partnership challenges her knowledge and her capacity to share her expertise on the field.
“Working with RAFI is also a test on my capacity to be a team player, how to subordinate my personal goals with the organizational goals and to maintain a sustainable relationship with partners.”
“Accomplishing a task individually can only reach so much but together I found that this gargantuan task has reached beyond limits.” Dr. Jeruta added.
On leaving a mark
One memorable experience Dr. Jeruta shared was during the planning of the assessment and tools to determine literacy and numeracy levels of the learners as an offshoot of the services tendered to them. This was the beginning of something bigger — which is the RAFI-SEED.
“I want to be remembered as a partner who gives all my best to all the plans and all activities that go with it, to reach the desired goal that we collaboratively agreed and set upon.”
“Second, the extent of partnership and alliance building, network that was established due to various meetings and focus group discussions and the happy faces and the seal of fulfillment that you see in the winners during the awarding ceremony and the after scenario that the school undertakes as part of the learnings and insights they get from the experience.” Dr. Jeruta said.
On her greatest lesson that could serve as an inspiration, and people that matter
Being a partner of RAFI is a great opportunity for Dr. Jeruta to share her knowledge to those in need for development especially in the education sector.
“To work with RAFI is like a race where a goal is set that are perceived to be beneficial to all. Therefore, everybody is compelled to do their best to cope with the challenge.”
“The experience is good for the heart, a balm to the soul, a tickle to the mind and a challenge to the physical body – it is exhilarating and exciting that upon completion you are pushed for more.” Dr. Jeruta said.
When asked who she personally wants to thank, Dr. Jeruta said she is thankful to RAFI as an organization, most especially the Education Development Unit (EDU).
“I would like to thank the EDU team led by Ernie Alix, and the school governance team of Ma. Rizza Labao, who patiently lend ready ears and helping hands.”
“To the members of the Aboitiz family who have been there in making SEED a possibility. And to the RAFI President & COO, Domica B. Chua, thank you very much. Through RAFI, we help Cebu through SEED. Thank you very much.” #IAMRAFI
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