HP rolls out programs to help bridge education gaps in the Philippines

In partnership with local NGOs, HP Philippines aims to accelerate digital equity and enable better learning outcomes.

HP Philippines partners with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Atayde Foundation and Teach for the Philippines (TFP) to help address the gaps in basic education and reach learners in remote communities. The effort is part of HP’s Sustainable Impact commitment to breaking down the digital divide that prevents many from accessing opportunities, such as in education.

“These local partnerships are instrumental in bringing HP closer to our goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable and just technology company. By combining our technology with local insights and reach, we strive to deliver holistic solutions that can create a positive impact on the communities where we live, work, and do business,” says Christian Edmond Reyes, Managing Director at HP Philippines.

Improving student literacy and learning outcomes with Atayde Foundation

Atayde Foundation’s RecoveREADS program is focused on helping children process their quarantine experience. The program fosters a love for reading and learning, and helps children build attitudes and skills that empower them to overcome challenges. 

RecoveREADS kits are designed to be accessible to children, even in remote areas without digital access. Each kit contains three modules and some art materials. First is a collection of worksheets from HP’s repository of free printable materials — HP Printables. The other two modules are a 21-day journal called Kwentong Quarantine (Quarantine Story), a psychosocial tool that helps children understand their thoughts and feelings during their lockdown experience; and Kwentong Kalikasan (Nature Story) which instills the value of environmental and cultural appreciation. 

HP provided 150 learning kits for kindergarten and Grade 1 learners. The kits are being used as supplemental materials in their classes. Spillway Elementary School in Isabela City, Basilan; Tanggew Community Library in Northern Sagada, Mountain Province, Guiwanon Elementary School in Nueva Valencia, Guimaras received 50 kits each.

“The materials provided by the RecoveREADS program are helping our teachers in their instruction delivery. More importantly, they serve as a tool to mitigate learning loss for students as a result of the pandemic, delivering more personalized resources to each individual student to best meet their needs,” says Nurhada Laja, Principal of Spillway Elementary School. 

In 2022, World Bank estimated that learning poverty in the Philippines was at 90.9 percent. This means 9 out of 10 Filipino children, aged 10 years old, cannot read or understand a simple story. As such, supporting literacy activities is also crucial for improving performance in school. HP Philippines and Atayde Foundation are also working together to provide literacy support for students in Guimaras and Sagada: 

• Guiwanon Elementary School in Guiwanon, Guimaras, continues to use the materials for their Project Marie (Meet, Agree to Read Intensively and Enjoy). Project Marie is a remediation class where learners gather for supplemental literacy activities.
• Youth volunteers from Tanggew Community Library in northern Sagada are using the kits to conduct their Read Aloud sessions every Saturday. The HP Printables have made it easier for them to facilitate their sessions. The center has three Read Aloud Sites located in barangays Bangaan, Fidelisan, and Madongo.

“Together with HP, we are enabling better learning outcomes for Filipino children, many of whom experienced setbacks in their education due to the pandemic. We thank HP for their commitment to bridging the gap; bringing equal access to much-needed tools and resources to children in remote communities,” says Margarita Atayde, Executive Director of Atayde Foundation. 

Empowering educators to cultivate young leaders with Teach for the Philippines

HP’s Sustainable Impact goals include enabling better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025, and accelerating digital equity for 150 million by 2030. 

Working toward these goals, HP is working in partnership with Teach for the Philippines (TFP) to facilitate training and support for public school students and teachers in building their resilience as well as their holistic development as individuals and current/future professionals.

To date, HP has supported 68 new and tenured teachers that have been deployed and are undergoing continuous professional development through TFP’s leadership development programs, and is aiming to reach another 500 public school teachers through their Well-being Workshops. The workshops help educators understand how stressors impact their well-being, and how they can practice stress reduction strategies to aid in creating a positive environment for their students. 

Similarly, HP is also supporting TFP’s Batang Bayani Life Skills Development Program (BBP), which aims to increase the knowledge and capability of parents to help their child learn at home and to equip students with life skills that help them transition to new and different ways of learning amid the new normal. As of May 2023, the BBP has reached 1,446 public school students and 768 parents and guardians this School Year.

Since 2015, more than 74.3 million students and adult learners have benefited from HP’s education programs and solutions. Twenty-four million have reaped the benefits in 2021 alone. HP has also accelerated digital equity for 4.3 million people since 2021.