To: Undersecretaries
Assistant Secretaries
Bureau Directors
Regional Directors
Schools Division/City Superintendents
Heads, Public Elementary and Secondary Schools

1. The Department of Education (DepED) has been pursuing a package of policy reforms called the Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) to build upon the efforts of the Schools First Initiative (SFI) and to create a basic education sector that is capable of achieving the Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) objectives by 2015.
2. Referred to as KRT 1 in BESRA, the School-Based Management (SBM) is being promoted and institutionalized as one of the key strategies for achieving the desired learning outcomes. It is premised on the principle that in order to deliver better outcomes in a sustainable manner, schools must be enabled and empowered to manage their own affairs.
3. The Technical-Working Group on School-Based Management (TWG-SBM) has developed Primers as advocacy materials. These are:
   1. Primer on School-Based Management. Introduces the concepts of School-Based Management and describes the different features and dimensions of SBM. It offers an easy explanation of operationalizing SBM to make schools effective.
   2. Primer on School Leadership. Describes the roles, functions and competencies of the School Head as well as the levels of leadership that will propel the school to fulfill its mandate to serve the youth and the nation.
   3. Primer on School-Community Partnership. Discusses the process of establishing a strong partnership between the school and the community as well as the areas of participation. It introduces the expansion of community partnership to school governance.
   4. Primer on School Performance Accountability. Features the key principles of accountability, the accountability mechanism and accountability framework in the school system. Schools are urged to establish an accountability mechanism based on the Primer.
4. These Primers will primarily provide school officials with working knowledge on SBM goals and objectives as well as its components necessary to put in place an effective delivery system in basic education along with the stakeholders. These will be distributed to DepED offices and schools starting May 2009.
5. DepED officials and staff from the Central, Regional and Division Offices, school heads and teachers are expected to utilize these Primers in their local trainings and in their SBM advocacy activities with stakeholders.
6. Immediate dissemination of and compliance with this Order is directed.

Reference:
None
Allotment: 1 – (D.O. 50-97)

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:
OFFICIALS
SCHOOLS
TEACHERS

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