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📘Access Here the Local Literacy Councils (LCC) Manual for Creation, Reconstitution, and Strengthening at the Local Level

📍 From Top-Down to Ground-Up: A Fresh Take on Local Literacy Governance

In a country where education is often centralized, a major shift is happening — and it’s happening from the ground up. The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) have issued Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1, s. 2024, officially pushing for the creation, reconstitution, and strengthening of Local Literacy Councils (LLCs) at the city and municipal levels.

This directive breathes new life into Republic Act No. 10122 by giving communities the power to drive literacy efforts, based on local context, grassroots needs, and real data — not just centralized mandates.

🔗 Access here the official LCC manual and toolkit: https://lcc.deped.gov.ph/lcc-manuals/

📣 Beyond Compliance: Local Literacy Councils as Community Anchors

Local Literacy Councils are no longer just advisory bodies. Under this revised framework, they are functional entities responsible for implementing literacy localization — adapting national goals into community-specific actions. This means crafting relevant programs for out-of-school youth, adults without basic education, and marginalized learners.

Too often, LGU initiatives stall because there's no functional structure to carry the vision forward. This JMC changes that. It calls on every city and municipality to organize, activate, and empower their LLCs to plan and implement community-based literacy programs that actually respond to the needs of their people.

🧠 Grounding Literacy in Real Community Data

According to RA No. 10122, the LCC was formed as a national coordinating body. But that mission only works when local arms of the council reflect the same commitment — through actual performance, not paper presence.

The JMC pushes for the use of community-based literacy mapping, monitoring systems, and analytic tools to determine where interventions are needed most. These aren't just optional steps — they are now part of the mandate.

Functional LLCs are expected to:

  • Identify gaps using accurate literacy statistics

  • Prioritize learners based on local socio-economic indicators

  • Create literacy programs with community engagement

  • Integrate with existing ALS (Alternative Learning System) modules

🛠️ What DepEd and DILG Must Do Differently Now

In this updated partnership, DepEd is tasked with providing the educational tools, modules, and training, while the DILG ensures that LGUs commit resources, policy, and logistics to support the literacy mission.

The DILG will:

  • Formulate localized literacy policies

  • Monitor LGU compliance

  • Guide the establishment and operationalization of LLCs

  • Recognize best practices across LGUs

Meanwhile, DepEd will assist in curriculum alignment, data collection, and literacy program design tailored to non-formal and lifelong learning goals.

Together, they create the mechanism for sustainable, community-rooted literacy development.

🏆 Making Room for Recognition: The National Literacy Awards

The National Literacy Awards (NLA) continues to serve as a platform to highlight outstanding community-based literacy efforts. As of 2024, over 400 individuals, LGUs, and organizations have been honored. The common thread? Functioning, engaged LLCs.

These awards are a validation of effective localization. More than recognition, they serve as inspiration and blueprint for other LGUs still catching up.

📊 Why This JMC Is a Game-Changer

This isn’t just a recycling of old mandates. The manual now available at https://lcc.deped.gov.ph/lcc-manuals/ includes:

  • Clear step-by-step guides for creating or reconstituting LLCs

  • Templates for organizational structure

  • Best practices from award-winning LGUs

  • Checklists and tracking tools for monitoring literacy efforts

With this manual, LGUs now have the tools they need to translate policy into results — literacy that is seen, felt, and lived.

💬 Final Thought: Building Literacy From the Barangay Up

The drive toward universal literacy in the Philippines isn't about one-size-fits-all programs anymore. It's about equipping LGUs to create solutions that fit their own people, languages, cultures, and challenges.

This JMC, with its comprehensive manual and operational guidance, is more than a policy — it’s an invitation. An invitation to every LGU to become a catalyst for lasting literacy.

Because literacy isn’t just taught — it’s built, by the people who know their communities best.

🔗 Access here the LCC manual to get started: https://lcc.deped.gov.ph/lcc-manuals/

Exploring a New Perspective on ARAL‑Reading Tutor Recruitment & Capacity‑Building

🧠 A Fresh Look at ARAL‑Reading tutors and Training Approaches

The ARAL‑Reading tutors initiative under DepEd Order No. 18, s. 2025 introduces not only remedial support for struggling learners but also a shift toward community and pre‑service empowerment. Rather than simply filling tutor roles, the program now embraces a broader capacity‑building approach grounded in collaboration between DepEd, NEAP, CHED, LGUs, and other stakeholders.

This multi‑agency collaboration ensures that trainings address not just reading remediation techniques, but also interpersonal skills, social‑emotional learning, and cultural competency—critical in diverse Filipino classrooms.

🏫 Recruitment Standards for ARAL‑Reading tutors – Who Can Help?

DepEd allows three categories of tutors under ARAL‑Reading:

  • DepEd teachers not assigned to their own learners

  • Pre‑service teachers enrolled in recognized teacher education programs

  • Other qualified individuals with relevant experience, competence, and good character

What’s new here is the emphasis—according to DO 18, s. 2025 Item 50—on prior foundation in literacy strategies or remediation as a plus, raising the bar for tutor quality.

📚 Capacity‑Building via NEAP and Partner Institutions

The National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) leads professional development for tutors, field implementers, school heads, master teachers, and supervisors entering the ARAL ecosystem. Training modules focus on effective pedagogy, learner profiling, progress tracking, and inclusive learning environments.

NEAP coordinates with CHED, TEIs, LGUs, and DSWD to enrich these sessions, aligning with broader educational goals and leveraging wider stakeholder engagement.

🤝 Field Implementers & School Leaders: Training That Strengthens Implementation

Not only tutors benefit: school heads, master teachers, technical staff, and supervisors also undergo capacity‑building activities to guide and support tutors in the field. This layered training model ensures tutoring quality is sustained through oversight and mentorship.

Such comprehensive training supports the program’s emphasis on well‑systematized tutorial sessions, learner‑centered approaches, and alignment with holistic support services like nutrition and mental health.

📅 How This Enhances ARAL Implementation in School Year 2025–2026

Starting in the second quarter of SY 2025–2026, ARAL‑Reading sessions will ramp up across schools beginning to organize personnel and resources, backed by the capacity‑building components of training, coordination, and data‑driven assessment.

Embedding professional development into annual school improvement and implementation plans ensures the ARAL program becomes sustainable, not a one‑off intervention. These sessions are designed to be integrated, data‑informed, and aligned to national standards.

📌 Why This New Angle Matters

By focusing on the ecosystem of capacity-building around ARAL‑Reading tutors, this post goes beyond tutor selection. It uncovers the program’s transformation into a holistic system of professionalization, support, and sustainability, built on partnerships and aligned with national policy.

This perspective shows that ARAL‑Reading tutors aren’t just temporary helpers—they’re part of a national strategy to build literacy capacity across educational communities.

✏️ New Perspectives on ARAL Program Implementation for SY 2025‑2026

When the Department of Education (DepEd) issued DepEd Order No. 018, s. 2025, it launched the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program—not as a repeat of past initiatives, but as a recalibrated, data-driven response to the Philippines’ persistent learning gaps.

This post explores ARAL from a new perspective: not as a remedial add-on, but as an integrated, equity-focused strategy embedded in both policy and practice.

📊 Targeted Interventions Based on Data

ARAL begins where every strong intervention should: with diagnostics. Every participating learner undergoes Beginning of School Year (BOSY) assessments, including:

  • The Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA) for Grades 1–3

  • The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) for Grades 4–10

  • The Multi-Factored Assessment Tool (MFAT) for developmental screening

According to DepEd, these tools help schools identify students who are farthest from grade-level proficiency in reading and mathematics. Rather than waiting for summative test results, formative assessments and classroom data also guide tutor assignments and student grouping.

💡 A Tiered Support Model—Priorities and Progression

One of ARAL’s strengths lies in its tiered intervention model. For SY 2025–2026, DepEd prioritizes:

  • Low and High Emerging learners in Key Stage 1

  • Learners at the Frustration level in Key Stages 2 and 3

Schools with the resources may expand to include Developing, Transitioning, and Instructional level learners.

Placement is not fixed. Learners move in or out of the program based on midline and End of School Year (EOSY) assessments. Those who achieve grade-level competencies may exit, while those still in need continue and may join ARAL Summer Programs for extended remediation.

This framework prevents the overgeneralization of student needs and maintains a sharp focus on learning recovery that scales with need.

👩‍🏫 Tutors and Training—Building Capacity, Not Just Numbers

Tutors are not just extra manpower—they are the core of the ARAL strategy. DepEd encourages schools to recruit from multiple sources:

  • Teachers (excluding those assigned to the same learners)

  • Retired educators

  • Trained community volunteers

Tutors are trained in child development, reading intervention strategies, and psychological first aid. This ensures that every learner receives quality, compassionate instruction that recognizes their specific needs.

The Technical Working Groups (TWGs) at national, regional, and division levels oversee this process—providing coordination, monitoring, and training to sustain implementation integrity.

🧠 ARAL as Part of Broader Education Reform

ARAL is not an isolated project. It is aligned with Republic Act No. 12028, which institutionalizes learning recovery following disruptions caused by the pandemic and systemic weaknesses.

According to education policy experts, the older National Learning Recovery Program (NLRP) suffered from weak diagnostics and generic solutions. ARAL addresses this through:

  • Clearly defined grade-level benchmarks

  • Mandated progress checks

  • Built-in post-program transitions

The program targets functional literacy by the end of Grade 10—positioning itself as a bridge, not a band-aid, to sustained educational improvement.

🌱 Why This Angle Matters for Schools and Communities

Looking at ARAL through a data and equity lens reveals a shift in strategy:

  • It's not “more of the same” tutoring—it’s precision support built on evidence.

  • It doesn’t treat all struggling students alike—it differentiates based on need and progress.

  • It doesn't work in isolation—it is part of a legal and structural framework for long-term impact.

For schools, this means smarter resource use. For communities, this means real hope for learners who were falling behind. For DepEd, this means a chance to make meaningful, measurable progress.

📘 A New Chapter in Literacy: How the ARAL-Reading Program is Shaping the Future of Philippine Education

In an education landscape still reeling from the long-term effects of learning loss brought by the pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) introduces a reinvigorated initiative with far-reaching implications — the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program, specifically its Reading component for Key Stages 1 to 3. But while most discussions highlight its structured remediation efforts, this article offers a different perspective: How ARAL-Reading shifts the focus from grade-level expectations to learner-centered adaptability — a bold and much-needed pivot in the Philippine education system.

📚 What Makes ARAL-Reading Different from Past Interventions?

Unlike older models like the Bawat Bata Makababasa (BBMP) and Literacy Remediation Program (LRP), which often focused on broad group-level interventions, the ARAL-Reading Program zeroes in on a learner’s actual reading ability, regardless of age or grade. This shift from a grade-based to a skills-based framework marks a turning point in the way reading proficiency is addressed.

According to the Department of Education’s official DO 10, s. 2025, the new strategy builds on lessons learned from previous literacy interventions, but introduces targeted, data-driven, and individualized instruction as its core. This personalization allows educators to tailor reading activities and materials based on what a child can actually do, rather than on what they are expected to do based solely on their grade level.

This is not just remediation — this is recovery with precision.

🧭 Phased Implementation Timeline: A Strategic Rollout for SY 2025–2026

The ARAL-Reading Program is not a one-size-fits-all, rush-to-roll-out intervention. Instead, it’s being implemented in phases, starting with the most foundational grades and expanding progressively.

  • For Grade 1 learners, the program begins in the third quarter of SY 2025–2026, giving time to prepare teachers and materials adequately.

  • For Grades 2 and 3, implementation starts earlier — in the second quarter of the same school year.

  • For Grades 4 to 10, schools may begin as early as the second quarter, or as soon as readiness indicators are met, highlighting the emphasis on quality over speed.

This staggered approach aligns with DepEd’s broader push for contextualized implementation, where schools that are prepared may move ahead while others catch up based on their readiness.

🔗 Integration with Existing Programs: A Complement, Not a Replacement

One of the program’s strengths lies in its flexibility and synergy with ongoing efforts. Rather than eliminating existing literacy projects, ARAL-Reading can work alongside them — maximizing impact through shared use of tools, collaborative strategies, and consolidated resources.

Schools, upon SDO approval, may continue with their own intervention programs — provided they are proven effective. This signals an important shift in DepEd's approach: from mandating top-down solutions to recognizing local innovation and contextual success.

According to education reform advocates like the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) and recent findings from UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report, such hybrid strategies that blend national standards with localized adaptations have a significantly higher success rate in improving foundational literacy.

👓 Why This Matters: From Equity to Excellence in Reading

The ARAL-Reading Program is more than just an academic recovery plan. It represents a philosophical shift in how we view learners: not as statistics within a cohort, but as individuals on diverse learning journeys.

By anchoring instruction to actual reading ability rather than age or grade, the program aims to reduce stigmatization, avoid labeling, and empower both students and teachers to focus on mastery, not mere compliance.

Moreover, its focus on inclusivity, with upcoming guidelines for Alternative Learning System (ALS) learners, ensures that no Filipino child is left behind in the mission to become an independent reader.

🛠 What's Next for Educators and Stakeholders?

Educators should begin familiarizing themselves with:

  • Assessment tools that determine reading levels

  • Differentiated instruction strategies

  • Materials aligned with ARAL-Reading’s framework

Meanwhile, parents and communities must advocate for and support the systematic and sustained implementation of ARAL, understanding that recovery takes time — and proper scaffolding.

🎯 Final Thoughts: A Literacy Reform Rooted in Hope and Realism

The ARAL-Reading Program is not just a temporary fix — it is DepEd's long-term strategy to restore, elevate, and personalize reading education for a generation that deserves nothing less. With its learner-centric, scalable, and research-informed structure, ARAL-Reading stands as a model of responsive education reform.

As we enter SY 2025–2026, the eyes of the education community are on how this ambitious program will unfold. One thing is clear: ARAL-Reading doesn’t just teach reading — it reads the learner, meets them where they are, and helps them rise.

📘 RA 12027 IRR – General Provisions and Definition of Terms: What They Really Mean for Philippine Classrooms Today

In a major step toward modernizing Philippine basic education, the government has released the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 12027, a law that revisits how language is used as a medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3. But beyond the legal jargon, what do the General Provisions and Definition of Terms really mean for students, teachers, and schools?

In this post, we take a fresh, on-the-ground look at how these technical definitions and policy shifts could reshape the language of learning in Filipino classrooms.

📜 General Provisions: Centering Learners Over Policy

The IRR of RA 12027, signed into effect in 2025, begins with a clear Declaration of Policy: The State commits to supporting an education system that is complete, adequate, and integrated, and—most importantly—relevant to learners’ realities. This means putting a stop to the mandatory use of the Mother Tongue as the medium of instruction in early grades, replacing it with a more flexible and context-sensitive model.

According to the Department of Education (DepEd), this new direction was prompted by numerous challenges in implementing Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) over the past decade. Among these were lack of teacher training, insufficient localized materials, and the impracticality of enforcing mother tongue instruction in highly multilingual or migrant-rich classrooms.

The General Provisions now authorize the optional use of the Mother Tongue—but only in monolingual classes, where all learners share the same native language.

This policy change has the potential to enhance learner inclusion by eliminating a one-size-fits-all mandate, allowing teachers to adapt based on actual classroom needs.

🧠 Defining the Landscape: What the Terms Really Tell Us

Section 5 of the IRR offers key definitions that help us understand how RA 12027 will be implemented in schools. But more than legalese, these terms give us a window into how DepEd wants to localize education without sacrificing accessibility or quality.

Here are some of the most revealing definitions from the law:

  • Mother Tongue is not just the language a child first learned—it is the one they identify with and use most. This shifts the focus from geography to personal and cultural identity, which is more learner-centered.

  • Monolingual Class refers to a group of students sharing the same Mother Tongue. In such classes, schools may choose to continue using the mother tongue as the primary medium of instruction.

  • Medium of Instruction simply means the language used to teach. By allowing more flexibility in choosing this language, RA 12027 recognizes that instruction must meet the learners where they are, linguistically.

  • Auxiliary Media of Instruction refers to local or regional languages that can assist in learning, even if they’re not the main medium. This supports an inclusive and culturally respectful approach.

  • Language Mapping is an evidence-based tool to assess what languages are actually used in the school community. Schools will need to conduct this to decide whether a mother tongue can still be used.

  • Learners with Disabilities (LWDs) are explicitly included in the IRR, with emphasis on adaptive methods that take language needs into account.

These definitions show that the IRR isn’t about rejecting local languages—it’s about recognizing practical realities and building inclusive, learner-friendly classrooms.

🧑‍🏫 Teachers and Parents: What to Expect 🏫

While the law changes what’s required, it also increases the responsibility of schools to make informed choices. For teachers, this means:

  • Conducting or participating in language mapping exercises.

  • Selecting instructional languages that promote comprehension and participation.

  • Using regional or auxiliary languages to supplement Filipino or English when appropriate.

  • Ensuring that children with special language needs are accommodated.

For parents, it may mean your child’s classroom will now use Filipino or English more prominently. But in monolingual communities, you may still see Mother Tongue instruction continued—if that is what the data supports.

📚 Why This Shift Matters More Than You Think

This isn't just about switching languages—it's about shifting power and flexibility back to the classroom. By letting schools decide when and how to use the mother tongue, this policy acknowledges linguistic diversity, teacher realities, and student needs.

As noted by DepEd’s Bureau of Curriculum Development, the revised framework “ensures that language does not become a barrier to learning, but a bridge.”

Crucially, the policy also applies to non-formal education systems, including Alternative Learning Systems (ALS) and Community Learning Centers (CLCs). That means out-of-school youth, adult learners, and children in special cases can also benefit from more flexible, community-based instruction.

🔍 What Needs to Happen Next?

For this reform to succeed, DepEd and school communities must:

  • Conduct accurate language mapping.

  • Provide teacher training on flexible language use.

  • Monitor the effect on reading comprehension and academic performance.

According to UNESCO, language-in-education policies are most effective when paired with teacher support, adequate resources, and community involvement.

In short, this is not the end of mother tongue use—but a call for evidence-based, context-driven education.

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