The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the education sector and prevented students from coming to school for face-to-face classes. To address this, the city government launched the Valenzuela LIVE Streaming School (ValLIVE) after weeks of live simulations in different public elementary and high school institutions. ValLIVE taps into the practical, existing social media platforms for the “online delivery” of learning materials. For students who have questions and queries about a certain lesson, virtual communities for follow-up discussions were set up and can be accessed using social media accounts.

The program assured the safety of students because there was no face-to-face in-school contact while learning, and there was standardized administration of modules and workbooks, utilizing only the best lecturers in the entire division. Peer-to-peer digital learning community fostered stronger parent-student relationships, as well as camaraderie between parents and teachers, something that will, otherwise, be severed by the current pandemic. This approach also further strengthened the notion that the parents are the first teachers.

ValLIVE’s innovation focused on live-streamed videos and virtual communities for students, converting 18 classrooms of the Valenzuela School of Mathematics and Science (ValMaSci) into an offsite classroom or a technical studio with a teacher, a technician, and a moderator. It is conducted three times a week and broadcasted on Facebook Live. A teacher discusses a subject in front of a camera for 30 minutes, followed by a 15-minute open discussion session. With the help of the Information and Communications Technology Office of the city government, the website of the Department of Education was able to integrate ValLIVE for easy navigation and updated database of all video lessons.

As a result, learners did better compared to distance learners of other cities, as materials and instructors are familiar and suited to the local context. ValLIVE has its own built in assessment tool to determine the success rate of learners using the platform. The assessment of learning competencies measured the understanding, application, interpretation, and analysis of the learners. The assessment was administered to a total of 1,849 learners and results showed students’ mastery of the competencies is relatively high. On the average, learners could answer 8 out of 10 questions correctly with some students scoring 100%.

ValLIVE is cost-efficient, where cost per student is only PhP457 per annum. It is sustainable as well as could be scaled up and adopted by many LGUs across the country. It is a working model which emphasizes LGUs taking the driver’s seat in education during the pandemic as part of its COVID-19 response. It demonstrates that LGUs can create free content from its local talent pool of teachers and could build studios in any limited space and cost. Educational materials can be streamed using free tools, such as Facebook Live and YouTube.

The program is owned and powered by the local government through the Local School Board which allows education stakeholders to sustain the program beyond changes in leadership. Targeted remediation for learners is incorporated in the Special Education Fund (SEF) budget. Community engagement through school governing councils (SGCs) further ensures program sustainability and replicability. In post-COVID-19 learning environment, ValLIVE can still be utilized as a means to decongest our classrooms, thereby, cutting cost in gravel and sand solutions.

ValLIVE is an answer to the challenges of the “new normal” in the delivery of education services, and ensured that no one is left behind. The program is currently benefiting 172,975 learners in the city and more in other LGUs. At present, Valenzuela City is generously sharing the content with the Municipality of Del Carmen in Siargao, Vigan City in Ilocos Sur, and Panay Island. These LGUs deploy the materials through local television broadcasting, and/or online streaming.