THREE things to remember in this year’s opening of classes in public schools: The start of classes will be on August 22; if it is not viable yet to have 5-day in-person classes then schools can still adopt the blended learning modality and full distance learning but until October 31 only; and the five days in-person classes will be fully implemented starting November 2.
This means all public and private schools shall have transitioned to five days of in-person classes by November 2, 2022. No school shall be allowed to implement purely distance learning or blended learning except for those implementing Alternative Delivery Modes (ADMs).
The ADMs are instructional or learning modalities that do not strictly follow the typical set-up for regular classroom instruction but follow the formal K to 12 curriculum in content. The flexibility is in terms of the time and duration, the place, and the method of instruction.
Thus, for ADMs only, instructions may be face-to-face learning where the teacher and learners are physically in one venue during lessons, distance learning where a learner is given materials and undertakes self-directed study at home, or blended learning where it is a combination of face-to-face and distance modalities.
The learning intervention for Alternative Learning System (ALS) will also start on August 22, but the program duration will depend on the learner’s educational background or existing knowledge level before enrolment in the ALS program.
These are all discussed in detail in DepEd Order (DO) 21, s. of 2019 (Policy Guidelines on the K to 12 Basic Education Program) and DO 01, s. 2022 (Revised Policy Guidelines on Homeschooling Program).
As signed by Vice President and Secretary Sara Z. Duterte, the issuance of DO 034, s. 2022 provides direction and guidance in the re-opening of classes and the gradual introduction of five days of in-person learning modality classes.
No inspections, tools, or any additional requirements to re-open schools and implement five days of in-person classes will be required, except for the compliance with the usual pre-pandemic regulatory permits and licenses, as required by law or ordinances.
The school calendar and activities for the school year 2022-2023 will apply to public and private elementary and secondary schools, including Community Learning Centers nationwide. Private schools, state and local universities, and colleges may implement the calendar. They may also start classes not earlier than the first Monday of June and not later than the last day of August.
The enrollment period will be from July 25 to August 22. The Brigada Eskwela or the National School Maintenance Week, where everyone in the school community works together to prepare schools for the opening of the classes, will start from August 1 to 26.
The first academic quarter will be until November 5, the second academic quarter will be until February 3, 2023, the third academic quarter will be until April 28, 2023, and the fourth academic quarter and end of the school year will be on July 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, the end-of-school-year (EOSY) classes for the school year 2021-2022 will start from July 24 to August 12, 2022. EOSY classes refer to both remedial and enrichment classes offered within a prescribed number of days during the school break of each school year.
Enrichment classes refer to any form of organized instructional interventions given to learners from Grade 1 to Grade 11 who received a grade ranging from 75 to 79 in any learning area to improve their level of attainment of the prescribed learning competencies and fully prepare them for transition to their next grade level.
They will be provided with additional learning opportunities through tutorials, mentoring, coaching, or other ways of delivering organized learning experiences. This is one of the strategies in the Learning Recovery Plan of the Department.
Remedial classes are given to Grades 1 to 10 learners who failed in not more than two learning areas at the end of the school year despite the educational interventions given.