Written by: Dr. Violeta F. Apiles and Mr. Jan Rae Manuel
September 25, 2026 | Sablan, Benguet — The University of Baguio High School (UBHS) renewed its commitment to making education accessible beyond the traditional classroom as it launched the second year of its Reading and Tutorial for Reformation Program (RTRP) with 18 young residents of the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth–Cordillera Administrative Region (RRCY-CAR).
Anchored on the belief that education can create pathways toward growth, agency, and successful reintegration, RTRP brings UBHS teachers, personnel, alumni, and community partners together to provide contextualized learning opportunities for young people whose circumstances have placed them outside mainstream educational settings.
More than an outreach activity, the program reflects the University’s continuing effort to translate its educational expertise into community-responsive action. Through sustained tutorial sessions, needs-based learning interventions, communication activities, and values-oriented experiences, RTRP seeks to equip participants with competencies that can support them as they prepare for their next chapter.
The initiative contributes particularly to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education, which calls for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. By intentionally extending learning opportunities to young people experiencing social and educational disadvantage, the program also supports SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities and SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, particularly through its emphasis on inclusion, rehabilitation, personal agency, and constructive participation in society. Its collaborative implementation further demonstrates SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
UB Alumni Returning to Serve
A distinctive feature of this year’s implementation is the participation of UBHS alumni who have returned to contribute their time and professional competencies to the institution and its partner communities. Among the volunteers were UBHS Secretaries Ms. Leah Lyn Dalanao, Junior High School Secretary, and Ms. Diana Ngipol, Senior High School Secretary. Joining them was Mr. Darthon Ventura, a BSEd English graduate, Licensed Professional Teacher, and member of UBHS Batch 2021.
Two UBHS alumni who have since returned to their alma mater as educators also took active roles in the program. Mr. Kyth Allan Manuel, UBHS Batch 2021, recently joined the UBHS faculty and currently coaches the school’s SINAG campus journalists. Ms. Shaira Jane Salingbay-Ongyod, UBHS Batch 2014, is now in her second year as a UBHS faculty member after previously serving with the University’s CCSD Office. She also served as UBHS Outreach Coordinator during the conceptualization and initial implementation of the RTRP.
Together with current UBHS Outreach Coordinator Mr. Jan Rae Manuel, the alumni and personnel served as facilitators, coaches, activity judges, and learning partners throughout the day’s activities. Their involvement illustrates a developing cycle of engagement within the University: UBHS learners becoming alumni, alumni becoming professionals, and professionals returning to serve new generations and communities. This intergenerational participation strengthens the sustainability of the program by transforming alumni engagement into a continuing resource for community education.
Finding Their Voice for the Next Chapter
The day’s learning session began with “Make It Land: Finding Your Voice for the Next Chapter,” an interactive communication workshop facilitated by UBHS Principal Violeta Apiles.
Communication was intentionally selected as the opening competency because meaningful learning begins with the ability to understand others, articulate one’s ideas, and participate confidently in dialogue. Rather than approaching the first meeting solely as a tutorial session, the activity created a space where participants could introduce themselves, reflect on their aspirations, and communicate the dreams and plans they were comfortable sharing.
Through the idea “You Are More Than Your Name,” participants were encouraged to recognize that their identities and possibilities extend beyond labels and past circumstances.
Interactive exercises allowed them to experience how messages may change as they move from sender to receiver and to identify barriers that affect understanding. Participants also practiced organizing and expressing their ideas using the
PREP Framework—Point, Reason, Example, Point—and reflected on how structured communication could help them make their messages clearer and more purposeful. The session culminated in a simple but forward-looking message:
“Your voice is a tool that can help build your future.”
Participants were reminded that communication goes beyond speaking and listening. It enables people to express needs, make decisions, build relationships, resolve differences, and participate meaningfully in their communities.
From Outreach to Needs-Based Intervention
Consistent with UBHS’ learner-centered approach, the kick-off was also designed to generate information that will guide succeeding RTRP sessions. A Needs Assessment and learning-area Pre-Assessment formed part of the day’s activities. Results will help the UBHS Outreach Team and RRCY teachers identify learning needs and determine appropriate content, strategies, and interventions for the regular tutorial sessions.
This assessment-to-intervention approach shifts the program from one-time volunteerism toward a more responsive model of community engagement: understand the learners, identify their needs, design appropriate support, implement the intervention, and monitor their progress.
Such an approach allows UBHS to bring not only volunteers into the community but also the University’s educational competencies in teaching, assessment, differentiated support, mentoring, and learner development.
Learning Through Culture, Play, and Community
The day concluded with indigenous and Filipino games prepared by the volunteer facilitators. Organized into teams, the young participants engaged in activities designed to foster camaraderie, cooperation, healthy competition, and sportsmanship.
Throughout the session, UBHS alumni and personnel moved beyond conventional volunteer roles. They facilitated learning activities, coached participants, judged speaking challenges, assisted during games, and interacted directly with the residents.
The integration of communication, assessment, mentoring, culture, and recreation demonstrated RTRP’s broader understanding of education—one that recognizes learning as both an academic and social process.
Sustaining the Partnership
The September 25 activity marks only the beginning of this year’s engagement. Following the kick-off, the UBHS Outreach Team and RRCY educators agreed on regular sessions for the succeeding months, allowing the program to progress from initial assessment toward sustained tutorial and developmental interventions.
RTRP forms part of UBHS’ broader community engagement efforts implemented with partners that include DSWD-CAR, BJMP-CAR, and Gumatdang Integrated School. These partnerships allow the University to extend its human and educational resources to communities with different learning circumstances and needs.
In its second year, the Reading and Tutorial for Reformation Program demonstrates how a school can transform its core competence—education—into a vehicle for social inclusion.
Its innovation does not lie simply in bringing lessons outside the campus. It lies in connecting institutional expertise, alumni participation, learner assessment, sustained mentoring, and inter-agency partnership into a continuing educational response for young people who deserve meaningful opportunities to learn, develop, and prepare for what comes next.
For UBHS, reaching beyond borders means ensuring that education does not stop at the school gate.
It reaches where it is needed. It creates spaces for voices to be heard. And, one learner and one partnership at a time, it helps make second chances possible.