The pilot run of the limited face-to-face classes in November 2021 was reported successful prompting the Department of Education to recommend the expansion of limited in-person classes and including all grade levels, both in public and private schools. Education officials meticulously prepared all details to ensure the safety of learners in the progressive expansion of face-to-face classes. The Interim Guidelines on the Expansion of classes was issued and to qualify, schools must pass the School Safety Assessment Tool (SSAT), must be in low-risk areas and must have shared responsibility with the LGU, parents and even transport providers of learners who were given consent to participate in the resumption of classes.

At Sto. Tomas Elementary School, majority of the learners are already back to school and are beginning to internalize the new setting of learning. In the first week of implementation of limited face-to-face, it could be observed and felt that learners, especially those in the primary grades that they are slowly getting into their consciousness that learning experience in school is getting back after twenty (20) months of modular learning delivery modality. It is not totally the usual set -up in the classroom, as compliance to standards limit the number of learners, the number of hours in school and observance of social distancing and frequent handwashing. The temperature station and alcohol dispensers are visible in classrooms, learners or teachers have to accomplish contact-tracing forms, parents have assigned drop off points, entrance and exit signages preventing the intertwined mingling of learners. Canteen operations are not yet resumed so learners have to bring their own provisions-snacks & drinks to prevent sharing and possible infection of one from another. These are among the preparations made for the learners’ safety.

On the other hand, teachers did not only have the classrooms and grounds ready; more than the physical attributes, the school atmosphere was set in a way that learners feel they are very much welcome and the teachers extend their desire to have them back in the classroom. There was even an amusement-themed entrance and costumes to take away fears, worries and have them feel that the school is a place of fun and enjoyment. Kindergarten and Grade I learners became excited to get back to school and to their classrooms. There were flowers, balloons and little presents given to them as token of welcoming them to school. There were also gearing up activities before their teachers proceed to formal teaching. Like machines kept for a long time, learners must be conditioned first and have their minds all set for learning.

Why such preparations when the learners were previously working on their modules, learning activity sheets and performance tasks at home? They were also having online classes, messenger conversations, phone or text messages with teachers. Situation in distant learning has a lot of differences compared to the face-to-face learning. Although distance learning is scheduled through a weekly home-learning plan, learners are facilitated by parents or they study at their own pace. They can be engaging in their modules in an hour or two, and spend the rest in activities they want to do- watch TV, play games or go with their parents somewhere else. With the onset of face-to-face learning, they have to get up early, eat breakfast and dress to school.

Meanwhile, teachers are also adjusting to the arrangement, modules for those learners who are still on modular learning modality and lesson with teaching materials for those learners who opted the face-to-face learning. They diagnose the actual capabilities of learners who perform well in their modules but with oral reading and written activities inside the classroom, the results were not as satisfactory as expected.

Journals and researches affirmed that there are findings to learners’ reading and writing abilities as a result of the modular learning. According to Labastida of Philippine Star (2021), difficulties observed among learners are results of their experience in distant learning. UNICEF (2022) termed the school closures as “learning loss”. Learning motivation is consistently deteriorating and most unfortunate, reading abilities are at risk of continuous decline. It is also studied that there are reading skills which are difficult to teach through the modular approach.

Leadership is a broad term incorporated in various fields. Leadership might start in an individual that extends to a group of people.  Leadership is often tested by numerous challenges. Hence, leadership can be measure not just by the number of achievements you obtain. Instead, it is a matter of endurance, grit, and passion to stand in the mountains of despair.

In an educational venue, one issue might affect millions of lives. It can be the life of the students, teachers, parents and other ,people involved. It will be risky and unjust to let problems cause severe damage to massive people. There must be a solution to resolve issues that arises due to lack of responsibility, uncontrollable scenarios, and insufficient action. With that, to have an effective school building, educational reform, and academic success, there must be a school leader who is dedicated to his duties and responsibilities.

         The educational system in the Philippines is one of the highlights of the country's history. It undergoes a series of hardships, and trials before gaining its independence. As it constantly moves forward, lists of enhancements were integrated to modify its curriculum and attain global standards.

         For instance, the K-12 program was implemented to improve the 10-year Basic Education in the country. It is designed to offer vocational jobs upon graduation of Grade 12 students. Also, it serves as the country's solution to an issue that not all Filipino students are privileged enough to enter the tertiary level. Moreover, a Grade 12 graduate has the opportunity to get a global-based job due to the competencies, core values, and objectives of the K-12 program's Senior High School.

         Further to that, the pandemic causes an instant demand for the transition of all educational institutions from face-to-face setup to flexible learning. From the term itself, the pressure of being flexible in pandemic times results in different positive and negative concerns. The extra push in schools to be adaptive, active, and creative during these times has been viewed as a positive by other people. However, in a marginalized family, the need for additional expenses imposed on flexible learning has been taken as a burden.

         In difficult times like those elaborated above, firm school leaders are required to operate and control strategic plans. Administration and management in the Department of Education (DepEd) is a crucial job that must not be turnover to those people who have no heart, mind, and hands in serving. A set of character qualities, educational attainment, and experiences are considered in selecting a person to take a leadership position in the Department of Education.

Education is either from nature, from man or from things. The developing of our faculties and organs is the education of nature; that of man is the application we learn to make of this very developing; and that of things is the experience we acquire in regard to the different objects by which we are affected. All that we have not at our birth, and that we stand in need of at the years of maturity, is the gift of education. -Jean-Jacques Rousseau

In this statement of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, he emphasized the importance of education in the development of an individual. According to him, our maturity and everything that we acquire after our birth is a gift from education. Furthermore, he had also mentioned that education can be acquired from nature, from man, and from things and that the kind of education that we get from these three varies accordingly.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau is a Genevan philosopher who had also happened to be a writer and composer. He is one of the personalities who had influenced immensely the enlightenment era throughout the continent of Europe. He was famous for his works on philosophy, politics, and education. His notable works include Discourse on Inequality, The Social Contract, Julie, or the New Heloise and Emile, or Education. Among all his works, Jean Jacques Rousseau considered Emile, or Education as his most important one.

In the opening statement of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his work entitled Emile, or Education he said:

"Everything is good as it leaves the hands of the Author of things; everything degenerates in the hands of man".

In this statement, he emphasized that God provided us, people, with good things but people as we are, we tend to destroy these good things. Hence, without education, this would become a reality. In this book, he stressed that education should be carried out in harmony with the advancement of a child's natural faculties through a process of outwardly autonomous discovery, to the extent possible.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s theory of education revolves around the idea of the importance of freedom of expression among students. According to him, if the students are given the freedom to express themselves, then it would be possible to produce well-balanced and free-thinking individuals through education. He further emphasized that an individual can only reach their fullest potential, both educationally and morally if they are allowed to develop without any limitations and restrictions enforced on them by society.

He is also an advocate of a child-centered form of education as opposed to the idea of the teacher being the sole source of knowledge and information. Based on his philosophies on education, it is apparent how he thinks importantly about directing the focus on the learners’ needs. Hence, in his philosophy on education, the teacher should be a facilitator of learning and should always pay attention to the needs, abilities, interests, and learning styles of the learners.

His viewpoints on education have greatly influenced how our educational system works today. In fact, he is one of the reasons why our early childhood education curriculum had emerged as a child-centered one. Because of this, he was considered the Father of Early Childhood Education.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau also emphasized the importance of providing our learners with sensory-focused and practical experience, especially during the early childhood education curriculum. According to him, learners should actively participate in drawing, measuring, speaking, and singing. This idea of Jean-Jacques Rousseau is still applied in today’s educational system, especially in the early childhood education curriculum.

All in all, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s philosophy on education highlighted the importance of giving the learners the freedom to advance their learning. In essence, the child should be allowed to draw his or her conclusion, instead of being told what to think and do. For him, the conclusions should be drawn by the students based on their explorations. It is very apparent how significant for him experience is and to experience the world around us as part of our education as human beings. To quote Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

“To live is not to breathe but to act. It is to make use of our organs, our senses, our faculties, of all the parts of ourselves which give us the sentiment of our existence. The man who has lived the most is not he who has counted the most years but he who has most felt life.”

― Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, or On Education

The wellness status of the teachers can directly affect their level of work engagement. The surrounding environment of the teachers and dealing with the different wellness dimensions can have an impact on their level of work engagement.

In a study made in 2021 on teacher’s wellness status and level of work engagement, they were asked to answer a questionnaire and results revealed that in physical wellness of teachers, they do not maintain an exercise regime for at least 30 minutes daily and does not get enough sleep each night and these should be noted and be given emphasis as they tend to become a problem to their well-being. On mental wellness status of teachers, it is evident in their willingness to cope with the situation. Surprisingly, despite the pandemic, the social and emotional wellness status of the teacher-respondents yielded excellent rating, which manifested the outright resilience of the teachers who deserve to be lauded and admired as they are not affected by challenges during the pandemic.

The teacher-respondents have maintained their high-level of work engagement despite the heavy workload and changes in learning modality. Teachers can also express what they feel and adapt to the situation towards excellent wellness status.

Since the wellness status of the teachers presented an impact on how highly they can be engaged in their work, therefore it is appropriate that programs and activities be proposed to alleviate these stressors to make the teachers life pleasant. Teachers may be encouraged to pursue post graduate education to expose them to a new environment that will challenge their mental aspect as it will provide them a break from their usual work routine that will enhance their level of work engagement. They may also have a regular physical regimen aside from those offered during intramural, and other outdoor team building to engage them in a healthy lifestyle. They may also be provided with health and wellness seminars and training and a variety of activities that will make them understand the significance of wellness to improve the level of their work engagement.

Wellness status and teachers’ work engagement go hand in hand. When teachers feel good about their job, it positively affects their health, which ultimately engage them to work. When they are healthy and at their best in all aspects -mental, physical, emotional, and social, they tend to be engaged in their work. Providing awareness on their wellness status will definitely help them increase the level of their work engagement which can improve the quality of the delivery of lessons. When a teacher felt that they are vital in the system they give a 101% of their ability in the organization reaching a high level of satisfaction means that the teacher achieves their ultimate goal and ready to inspire others to be like them.

One of the most important things that schools must have to ensure is to lay down the foundation of strong literacy and numeracy skills to succeed in school and soon enough, at their work and daily life. With the help of the teachers, they can fully develop global awareness for students to become globally competent, they must have strong mathematics and literacy instructions.

With the advancement of technology and communication, it has been easier for schools and teachers to integrate global literacy and numeracy skills into their curriculum for students to develop the needed knowledge. With the best literacy and numeracy support, once students graduate, they will be able to compete with a lot of top-notch students, not only with the opportunity to be employed within the Philippines but improve and increase the rate of international employability opportunities as well.

There are a lot of opportunities awaiting and emerging worldwide especially because the only barrier to educational possibilities is location and language. When the educational curriculum focuses on the missing gap of numeracy and literacy skills, it will allow the students to obtain a flexible innovation for them not to hinder the possibility of becoming one of the best, amongst worldwide competitors.

Obtaining an acceptable level of literacy and numeracy will not only improve one’s educational level but also improve social life, education, and career prospects. In terms of literacy, the ability to read, write, and understand information will affect how you interact with possible employers and attract prospects when doing business with people. If a person has poor literacy and numeracy skills, it will be difficult to attain the hope of being globally competitive.

Literacy must be strengthened and made specific and the use of mathematical skills across the curriculum shall enrich the study of each curriculum area to contribute to the development of a broader and deeper understanding of numeracy.

Based on several studies, there are necessary standards for a person to become a globally competent person, and that is to fully understand and explore critical questions and problems of the world. However, when one cannot be systematically engaged in these problems, one reason is because they are not fully capacitated with literacy and understanding to analyze and evaluate critical situations. Thus, aspiring globally competent students must recognize that they can effectively communicate, verbally and non-verbally, with diverse audiences which is why teaching advanced literacy and numeracy is a core factor and responsibility of schools to help the young people be ready for the battle they head on locally and internationally.

Based on the findings, when teachers have greater working conditions and clear expectations, they function best. In terms of classroom factors that influence student learning, powerful school leadership is second only to student academic teaching.

School leaders, like teachers, require help and professional development opportunities. It is critical to have access to mentoring and authentic learning experiences when developing strong school administrators.

Sufficient training, as well as frequent, on-site (or virtual) coaching from extremely successful former school leaders, are at the heart of the New Rulers model. The work of organization aided in the acceleration of students ’ learning and instructional improved performance. They now are looking for regional and national leaders to assist them in creating effective atmospheric entry and recovery concepts. They aim to recognize and assist students in recovering critical lost teaching while also increasing instructor capacity.

The work of the organization assisted in the acceleration of student learning and instructional improvement. They are now searching for local and national leaders to help them develop efficient reentry and recovery models. They intend to identify and assist students in recouping critical lost learning while also increasing teacher ability. Information can be used by school administrators to coach as well as empower their instructional staff to enhance their teaching methods and learning outcomes.

Leading Teachers collaborates with school administrators to review existing introductory knowledge and data on classroom situations. It then begins to develop professional learning opportunities to fill gaps caused by instructional misalignment. This approach is crucial for students of color and those with low-income family members.

By taking a pupil approach to leadership, principals but also school leaders can help students succeed. Hiring a much more diverse workforce is one evidence-based approach leaders could indeed take. Alumni principals, for example, are significantly more diversified than principals nationwide. Students perform better once they are taught by teachers who closely mimic them.

Teachers have had to discover an entirely new method of instruction while dealing with the personal, emotional, and professional consequences of COVID-19. Leading Educators, a program that advises system and school leaders on equitable classroom teaching practices, has streamlined a teaching model for the whole child and educator. Although more needs to be done to support teachers, the first step is really to support leaders who enable high-quality working environments and conditions.

Every successful plan is a systematic and crucial decision-making process that is commonly headed by a firm and innovative leader. On its downside, every unfavorable outcome is due to unorganized and ineffective decisions made by the control system.

Decision-making is an adjective that first appeared in 1946. The word decision is similar to the terms resolution, outcome, output, conclusion, result, and determination. A decisive leader is determined to trace the most effective plans and actions. Moreover, successful decision-making should resolve prevalent issues, conflicts, and challenges. Additionally, an excellent leader is conclusive in a way that strives to achieve a better output, outcome, and result.

The absence of decision-making in an educational leader results in the antonyms of the word "decision," which are procrastination, postponement, delay, deferment, indetermination, and indefiniteness. The inability to decide, especially on an urgent matter, will result in deferment. Furthermore, it causes delays due to procrastination because decision-making follows a systematic procedure. Without a decisive leader, a school might not have definite goals and plans, resulting in the impossibility of success.

Educational procedures, strategies, and resources become more advanced as we move forward into modernization. Nowadays, the criteria for measurement for educational quality assurance have been enhanced as relevant resources and equipment have become more upgraded. Usual and traditional approaches might make a school survive, but it takes an extraordinary technique to stand out in this competitive educational landscape.

With their integrity and devotion, school administrators must be decisive, allowing them to provide an immediate response to concerns, fill the gaps that might occur, and bring out-of-the-box projects for the betterment of the educational journey of the students, teachers, and even parents.

Highly competitive decision-making is essential to the problem-solving skills of school leaders. Problem-solving and decision-making skills can be transferred to teaching and non-teaching personnel by exercising them, encouraging your personnel to take initiative, and continuously monitoring and training their skills and competencies.

Organizing, collaborating, and executing seminars for school staff will increase the learning and skills of your members, which will result in a more effective teaching and learning process. An excellent school leader creates great teachers. Hence, great teachers produce a vast quantity of future professionals that can be leaders in different industries.

Hiring a decisive leader saves time and effort while maximizing accomplished output. A school leader who cannot decide effectively is better to step down into the role of follower. From there, they gather and hone themselves into a leader who can make the best decision when everyone is considered and no one is left behind. Remember, we are now in the innovation era. Think of the plans and ways nobody thought you were capable of coming up with.

Every day can be incredibly hard, but if used precisely, every day can imply every advancement. One of the most important resources a school principal can possess is the ability to influence other people. Several leaders have titles but never take the measure. Nevertheless, as their abilities and comprehension expand, they may be able to endeavor to improve themselves and convert their shortcomings into advantages.

Every day is a struggle for school administrators due to the never-ending projects and obligations. According to studies, obtaining additional duties is among the most beneficial methods for improving competence. Leaders must recognize and gain knowledge from someone else's disputes. If school administrators believe they are suffering from a lack in certain aspects, it is not too late to find out more by participating in various events and programs.

The COVID-19 virus outbreak has suddenly and substantially altered the functions of school administrators. Because this circumstance is unparalleled, there is no clear path for them to take. To ensure that neither of these events occurs suddenly, it is constantly best to be ready for any struggle. It is for this reason important to formulate and create systems and workshops for all educational leaders and staff.

Every school principal in the Philippines also must improve their performance and ensure that their learners obtain the dedication and attention to which they feel entitled. In that case, they could perhaps develop events and programs that benefit not only them and their personnel but as well as the schoolchildren who assume their potential as a leader. A leader who will persevere in the face of adversity.

Every school community would benefit from having quality academic governance and leader. In addition to other attributes, having excellent communication skills brings people to the pinnacle of the 'desired' lineup. Each educational administration necessitates a favorable workplace environment, particularly in today's fast-paced and competitive world.

It is considered that various varieties of personality characteristics are required for a team to function successfully. Every school principal must clarify the duties and responsibilities of each staff member to create a successful instructional management structure. Keeping track and reviewing all obligations and tasks allows efficient changes and enhancements to be implemented anywhere along the way. Let us all remember that a stronger team equals proper management.

To be a school leader does not require you to be a principal or the head of a school. Often all it takes is to be a simple leader in the school environment. The Department of Education (DepEd) is fully devoted to assisting every apprentice leader in honing their abilities and gaining more expertise in the field.