NASUGBU, Batangas (Mar 2026) — In five public high schools in Nasugbu, Batangas, the typical classroom dynamic has been quietly turned on its head. Teachers lecture less. Students work more. And after less than a year, the numbers are starting to show why that matters.
Five schools under the Department of Education’s Nasugbu West Sub-Office have reported early but measurable improvements in reading proficiency, numeracy, and academic performance after piloting the Central Visayan Institute Foundation–Dynamic Learning Program, or CVIF-DLP, since June 2025.
The schools — Nasugbu National High School, Balaytigue National High School, Bunducan National High School, Dr. Crisogono B. Ermita Sr. Memorial National High School, and Pantalan Senior High School — joined the pilot through a collaboration involving the Asian Institute of Management Alumni Association, PLDT and Smart, AIM–International Movement of Development Managers, ABC Stars Inc., and DepEd Nasugbu West.
How the program works
CVIF-DLP was developed by Ramon Magsaysay Awardees Dr. Christopher Bernido and the late Dr. Marivic Carpio-Bernido. Instead of sitting through lectures, students work independently through structured Learning Activity Sheets — step-by-step written exercises designed to build comprehension and mastery through repetition, reflection, and error analysis.
The approach was originally designed to work around common public school challenges like teacher shortages, limited textbooks, and class disruptions. Its core bet is that students who learn to work through problems on their own develop stronger retention and more durable academic habits.
What the numbers show
At Balaytigue National High School, mean percentage scores across subjects improved consistently from the first to the third quarter, and the number of students classified at the “frustration” reading level dropped significantly. Science and mathematics scores trended upward over the same period.
Bunducan National High School reported reading improvements across all grade levels, with a reduction in non-readers and struggling readers and a rise in average and fast readers. On the numeracy side, more than half of students demonstrated proficiency by the end of the second quarter, and non-numerate learners were eliminated by the third quarter.
At Pantalan Senior High School, Grade 11 students posted an 8.87-point increase in mean percentage scores from the first to the second quarter, while Grade 12 students improved by 7.76 points. Teachers also noted gains in vocabulary, reading comprehension, and the ability to handle complex texts.
Results at Nasugbu National High School, where 12 teachers handled 333 students from Grades 7 to 9, pointed to stronger writing habits, better attention to detail, and greater student accountability for their own learning progress.
Not every outcome was uniformly positive. Pantalan Senior High School noted that some students struggled to complete mathematics tasks independently, and school leaders said those findings would be used to refine the program’s materials going forward.
Scaling up nationwide
The Department of Education has begun institutionalizing CVIF-DLP across the country, with more than 400 schools targeted for implementation in School Year 2026–2027. PLDT and Smart, which have supported the program’s expansion since 2010, have helped train thousands of teachers and bring the approach to more than a thousand schools nationwide.
“The program ensures that learning can continue even during disruptions,” said Stephanie Orlino, AVP and Head of Stakeholder Engagement at PLDT and Smart. “These are essential skills for learners in a rapidly changing world.”
For school leaders in Nasugbu, the pilot results are an early signal that closing learning gaps does not always require more resources — sometimes it requires a different approach entirely.
