ISUFST STEP UP completes visits to 25 San Enrique schools

SAN ENRIQUE, Iloilo — Project STEP UP completed its school visitation, consultation and monitoring rounds across all 25 participating basic education schools in San Enrique on Sept. 18, marking a milestone in its continuing effort to strengthen learner guidance, psychosocial support and school-community collaboration.

San Antonio Elementary School, Catan-agan Elementary School and Braulan Elementary School became the 23rd, 24th and 25th schools reached by the project.

The final three visits completed a listening journey that began in July and brought the STEP UP team into primary, elementary, secondary and private school communities throughout the municipality.

STEP UP, or San Enrique Training for Educators and Professionals in Uplifting Psychosocial Support, is a two-year extension project of the Iloilo State University of Fisheries Science and Technology in partnership with the San Enrique municipal government, Department of Education-Schools Division of Iloilo and West Visayas State University.

The project was formally launched in October 2025 and is designed as a six-phase program aimed at strengthening the capacity of teachers, guidance advocates and community partners to respond to learners’ mental health and psychosocial needs.

At its core is a practical goal: helping schools build stronger guidance and psychosocial support systems while recognizing that families and communities are also part of that support network.

Project leader Dr. Herman M. Lagon of ISUFST facilitated the concluding school visits through focus group discussions and Kumustahan sessions.

School heads, guidance designates, teachers, class advisers, discipline officers, Parent-Teacher Association representatives, barangay leaders, learners and other stakeholders were given space to speak.

Instead of simply reviewing accomplishments, the team listened to what participants were seeing and experiencing in their schools.

They shared lessons applied from earlier STEP UP activities, practices that worked and concerns that remained.

The conversations helped identify what was already making a difference and what STEP UP could strengthen in its next phase.

Completing the 25 visits meant more than reaching a numerical target.

Behind every school number was a community with its own learners, working conditions, resources, concerns and strengths.

A small primary school did not necessarily face the same realities as a large national high school.

Some schools needed stronger referral systems, while others raised concerns involving career guidance, bullying prevention, child protection, case documentation, family engagement or psychosocial response.

Rather than stopping with post-training evaluation forms, the STEP UP team returned to the schools and listened to the people handling learner concerns in actual situations, where cases do not always fit neatly into a presentation slide or checklist.

Together, participants revisited psychological first aid, stress management, career development, bullying prevention, child protection, case handling, documentation, referral, and family and community participation.

The conversations also helped identify concerns that schools could address by improving existing practices and those requiring outside support.

This highlighted the need for stronger coordination among families, barangays, local officials, registered guidance counselors, health and mental health professionals, social workers, child protection authorities and other service providers.

The visitation series began July 31 at Abaca Elementary School, Vicente Aguilar National High School and Imbaquiran Elementary School.

On Aug. 6, the team proceeded to Madarag Elementary School, San Enrique Manuel Paluay Memorial High School and Iprog Elementary School.

Visits continued Aug. 7 at Paga Elementary School, Gines-Quinolpan Elementary School, Dacal Primary School and Dumiles Elementary School.

On Aug. 13, the team reached Imbang Pequeño Elementary School, Lip-ac Palje Elementary School and Bantayan Elementary School.

Garita Elementary School, Dominador Abang Memorial National High School and Cubay Elementary School were visited Aug. 14.

The Aug. 20 round covered San Enrique Central School, San Enrique National Comprehensive High School and Rumagayray Elementary School.

ISUFST guidance counselor Keziah Lagarto joined the Aug. 20 visits and discussions.

The 20th, 21st and 22nd visits were completed Sept. 4 at Mapili Elementary School, Tambunac Primary School and St. Therese Learning Center.

Public Schools District Supervisor Dr. Julio D. Villanueva joined the consultation at Tambunac Primary School, identified by the project as the oldest school in San Enrique.

Villanueva also participated in several other visitation rounds, bringing the district’s perspective to discussions with school leaders, teachers and guidance designates.

The Sept. 18 visits to San Antonio Elementary School, Catan-agan Elementary School and Braulan Elementary School completed the project’s rounds across all 25 participating schools.

The school visits reflected a central feature of STEP UP: training does not end when participants leave the venue.

The project returns to the schools, listens to those doing the work, checks how plans are being translated into practice and adjusts succeeding interventions according to what communities actually experience.

That approach builds on STEP UP’s earlier phases, including its June 25-26 Phase 3 training on career guidance, bullying prevention, child protection and safer school environments.

The visits showed why follow-through matters.

Sometimes the first sign is small.

A learner who usually joins discussions may suddenly keep to the back of the room.

Another may begin missing classes.

Someone’s grades may drop, while another quietly stops spending time with friends.

Teachers and guidance designates, because they see learners regularly, may notice these changes before anyone else does.

The signs can mean many things, but they are worth noticing rather than dismissing.

The discussions also emphasized that teachers and guidance designates do not have to solve every learner concern themselves.

Good support includes knowing one’s limits, listening well and referring a learner to the appropriate professional when needed.

The visits also showed that many concerns have roots outside school.

Learners bring their lives outside school into the classroom.

Home concerns, friendships, social media, finances, health and community experiences can affect how they learn and cope.

Supporting learners therefore requires more than schools acting alone.

Lessons from all 25 schools will help guide Phase 4 of STEP UP, particularly its work on quality improvement and stronger family and community engagement.

Originally scheduled for Aug. 27-28, the activity was moved to Oct. 1-2, 2026, because of other school and DepEd activities.

Phase 4 will help the partners identify concerns shared across schools, practices that are working and areas where additional support is needed.

It will also help keep future activities grounded in what learners, educators, families and communities have experienced.

With all 25 schools visited, the question is no longer simply whether training took place.

The better questions are: Did it help? What changed? What remains difficult? What can we improve together?

The visits have ended, but the partnership has not.

Twenty-five schools were reached.

More importantly, 25 school communities were heard.

For STEP UP, the work follows a simple rhythm: train, visit, listen, learn, improve and return.

The final visits completed the list, but not the work. Stronger guidance and psychosocial support cannot be built from a distance.

Sometimes meaningful change starts by showing up, sitting down and listening. (Charmagne Panisa | Project STEP UP | ISUFST Extension | PAMMCO)