​The 15th Annual School Counselors’ Circle Convention was successfully held last December 1-2, 2015 at the Hotel Jen in Pasay City. With the theme, “Making a Difference in Schools: Impact of Effective School Counselor Leadership”, the convention aimed to help school counselors become more efficient leaders in the academe. Dr. Carol Dahir, EdD, Professor and Chair of the School Counseling Department at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), as keynote speaker, shared the latest developments and brought fresh challenges to the participants on the topic.

It was a period of productivity as participants were enlightened with the various lectures presented by recognized resource speakers in the Philippines, included APSA’s President Dr. Rose Marie Salazar-Clemeña, RGC, RP, who discussed about Counselor Competencies and National Standards for School Counseling. Mr. Earnest Tan, RGC focused on how school counselors can enhance students’ capacity to become resilient in various life challenges. Dr. Imelda Villar, RGC, RP conducted a seminar-workshop on Finding the Right Path: Career Programs for Senior High School Students. At the end of the 2-day convention, the attendees took home a lot of important lessons they could apply in serving their respective schools as practitioners of school counseling.

​True to its mission of providing quality education, the United International Private School of Dubai has taken a big step in improving student achievement by partnering with Asian Psychological Services and Assessment (APSA). Last September 2015, The School Principal Dr. Eunice P. Orzame together with MME. BADRIA ALI Deputy Managing Director signed a Memorandum of Agreement with APSA to assess grade 10 students using APSA’s Aptitude test. Dr. Maria Jolit Angeline P. Malaya, School Psychologist administered the Aptitude test to grade 10 students last October 28, 2015. The Aptitude test is designed to assess potential of high school students to do college work and to better prepare them for career opportunities. Results will help students identify their potential and help them in choosing their careers.

The only ISO certified testing company in the Philippines, APSA is the leading organization and the pioneer in developing Standards-Based Assessment.

​The Asian Psychological Services and Assessment (APSA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Rose Marie Salazar- Clemeña as its new President effective July 1, 2015. Dr. Clemeña, one of the founders and a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the organization, has taken the helm of the organization vice the late Dr. Leticia Asuzano, who passed away last May 24.

Dr. Rose Marie Salazar-Clemeña brings relevant experience and expertise to the company through a proven record of leadership and management. A licensed/registered psychologist and a licensed/registered guidance counselor, Dr. Clemeña is also a certified Counseling, Educational, and Assessment Psychologist by the Psychological Association of the Philippines (PAP). She holds a doctoral degree in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, and a Master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from De La Salle University (DLSU).
​
Recently awarded by the Professional Regulation Commission as Outstanding Professional in the field of Psychology for 2015, Dr. Clemeña has an illustrious experience in education, which includes 32 years of committed service in DLSU, where she was a University Fellow and Full Professor in the Counseling and Educational Psychology Department (CEPD). She held various administrative positions at DLSU, such as Dean of the College of Education, Chair of the Counselor Education Department, and Co-Director of the Institute for Educational Measurement, Evaluation and Statistics. From 2002-2007, she served De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, first as Vice President for Academics and eventually as Executive Vice President. Upon retirement, she was granted the title of Professor Emeritus by DLSU. Dr. Clemeña is also the founding President of the School Counselors Circle Inc., a non-stock, non-profit organization serving the training needs of school counselors in the country. She is likewise a past President of the Association of the Psychological and Educational Counsellors of Asia-Pacific (APECA), the Philippine Association for Counselor Education, Research, and Supervision (PACERS), and the PAP.

Over the years, APSA has been a committed partner of the academe in delivering excellent and focused assessment technologies through the Standards-Based Assessment (SBA), and competency development programs and seminars. Under the leadership of Dr. Clemeña, APSA is highly confident that the company will rise to greater heights and fulfill its mission to the satisfaction of all its stakeholders.

With the ASEAN 2015 framework in the process of being implemented, it becomes more apparent that the demand for competency and standards in the practice of the school counseling profession will be more heightened. To address these challenges, the School Counselors Circle (SCC), in partnership with the Asian Psychological Services and Assessment (APSA) will be holding its 14th Annual Convention on Dec 1-2, 2014 at the Century Park Hotel, Malate, Manila with the theme, “Going Beyond Borders: Transformed School Counselors using Standards-Based Programs.” This year’s convention is a follow-up from last year’s convention which focused on priming school counselors for the changes connected with the implementation of the DepEd K +12 program. It will also be an opportunity for school counselors to attend the APECA Biennial convention which will be held in Singapore from Dec 4 – 6 and will actualize a chance to know more about the counseling practice beyond one’s own borders.

For this year’s SCC convention, Dr. Carol Dahir will share her expertise and knowledge of the current practices not only the United States, but also in other international countries, like Turkey, where she is a consultant. Relevant information gained from the discussions will help school counselors to be at par with international standards as they hone their skills in the practice of school counseling in our educational system. This will be furthered strengthened by the talk of Dr. Rose Salazar-Clemeña on the Philippine standards for counseling and how it impacts on the new K-12 curriculum.

As an update to the current demands of the counseling profession, the Professional Regulatory Board (PRB) will also share the latest dimensions in the regulation of the practice of the profession. Dr. Carmelita P. Pabiton will lead the discussions that will ensue on how our existing laws affect the practice of the guidance and counseling profession.

To strengthen last year’s introduction to the need for research in counseling, Dr. Carlo P. Magno, APSA Vice President for Research , will share his expertise by giving a talk on “Developing Evidence-Based Research in School Counseling. “ This will be collaborated by the papers that APSA member school counselors will present in the research forum.

In the workshops, Mr. Earnest Tan will share his experiences in “Techniques in Managing Team Media” while Dr. Belen Vergara will share on “Stress Debriefing Techniques. To encourage our counselors to hone their academic counseling roles, Dr. Jose Alberto Reyes of De la Salle University will share his views on “Facilitating Learning Experiences in Homeroom Guidance.”

The SCC Convention is an annual gathering of school counselors and practitioners dedicated to helping school counselors be updated with the current trends and issues in the school counseling profession.

​The Math Circle of the Philippines will hold this year’s annual convention on Nov 12 – 13 at the Century Park Hotel, Manila. The convention will aim to equip mathematics teachers with the needed tools for the challenging demands of the 21st century learners through the different sessions to be led by the respectable Mathematics professors and practitioners.

To open the session, Dir. Jocelyn Andaya of our DepEd Secondary Education Division, will follow up her presentation from last year’s convention of the Math K-12 Curriculum by sharing with math professors the progress and updates of the new math curriculum and the challenges math professors have to tackle to ensure the higher learning achievement in the area of mathematics, especially with the addition of the 2 years in the high school level.

Dr. Levi Elipane, a professor of De la Salle University will deliver a talk on “Integrating Mathematics Problem Solving and Critical Thinking- Twin Goals of Mathematics in the Basic Education Level.” This will be further strengthened by the workshop of Dr. Ian Jun Garces, Professor of the Department of Mathematics of the Ateneo de Manila University on the effective techniques and strategies for solving problems by asking the right questions.

Mathematics teachers in our country face many critical problems as research papers of Math teachers will be presented in this year’s convention. These papers can share how mathematics teachers can cope with these problems and make their students learn effectively. Data can be derived from the results of the Standards-Based Assessment instruments that schools use to measure student achievement levels, aside from the formative assessment tools that mathematics teachers use in their classrooms.

In last year’s convention, APSA awarded gold medals to the highest scores in all the grade levels in schools across the country. For this year, APSA will also award gold medals to the highest achievers in Mathematics learning .

​APSA is passionately continuing to fulfill its solid mission of delivering quality assessment and competence- development programs for its stakeholders. APSA strongly encourages its members to take the Global Mathematics Certification for their teachers to be certified proficient in Mathematics.

To date, a total of 498 out of 774 (64%) teachers who took the Global Mathematics Test from 2006- 2012 passed the Global Mathematics Certification. Two Math teachers hurdled the Level 2, certifying their proficiency to teach elementary, high school, and college level. Level 4 to higher level passers may teach in the high school. Level 6 passers are certified proficient to teach in the primary level only. It is envisioned that all Math teachers in APSA subscribing schools will be certified at the level 4.

This year, the Global Mathematics is scheduled on November 23, 2013 at the Mariner’s Home, Nakpil, Manila.

As a commitment to education, APSA continues to deliver quality assessment and competence development programs for the academe with the launching of the Principals’ Institute in 2009.

In partnership with De La Salle University- College of Education, and California State University, the Principals’ Institute is a 2-year educational program consisting of 3 phases designed to help principals or senior teachers who have the potential for leadership and higher responsibility enrich their leadership and management skills, improve instruction through effective supervision, foster curriculum collaboration among faculty, and utilize time and resources effectively to maximize student achievement.

​Each phase is a live-in seminar workshop dedicated to complement participants’ extant knowledge, competencies and skills with up-to- date theories, concepts, and skills in Curriculum Design and Instruction, Standards-Based Assessment, Instructional Supervision, Strategic Planning, and Management, and in other areas of Educational Leadership and Management.

Participants are guided through a systematic process in using their existing curriculum and assessment data to improve the quality of education in their school. Participants will examine the everyday challenges in everyday life and implications of strategic and instructional leadership with research, implementers in the field, learn how independent school leaders can use these findings to better educate their students.

The culminating phase consists of a two-week educational trip to California State University where participants are able to observe classes, attend short courses on educational leadership with other Masteral and Doctoral students. The travel experience and meeting with other educational leaders provide opportunities to school leaders to exchange ideas and develop personal and professional relationships, as well as broaden their perspectives of education in other parts of the world.
​
Last May 20-24, 2013, the second batch attended the 2nd phase of the Principals Institute at the Alejandra Hotel in Malate, Manila. In partnership with Dr. John Addy Garcia, Dean of College of Education of DLSU, and Dr. Roland Agoncillo, Chair of Educational Leadership and Management of DLSU, the one-week training involved lecture workshops on Strategic Planning and Management; Supervision of Instructional Programs, and Educational Leadership and Management in Schools.

The training focused on the instructional leadership role of the school leaders in the context of effective school environment. Participants were provided with a strong foundation consisting of research, theory-oriented, and inter-disciplinary approaches that serve as guide in developing their own principles and theories for their management actions.

Dr. Roland Agoncillo, together with Dr. Roberto Borromeo, former Dean of College of Education of DLSU, and Dr. Aldrin Darilag, Professor of DLSU conducted the lecture-workshops.

The members of the 2nd batch of the Principals Institute are Fr. Emmanuel Regalado, Director of Kong Hua School , Cagayan de Oro; Fr. Emil Ascaño, Principal/Rector of St. John’s Institute in Bacolod, Ms. Nanette Nicerio, Activity Coordinator of Elizabeth Seton School, Mr. Alexis Macapanpan, Social Studies Subject Coordinator of St. Paul Pasig and Ms. Rose Argana, Directress of Southernside Montessori School.

Participants were also given opportunities to benchmark with other schools when they visited Elizabeth Seton School and De La Salle University during the second phase. In the summer of 2014, the second batch participants will leave for United States to complete the 3rd phase of their program by attending classes at the California State University and visit some private and public schools to observe and interact with the principals and educational leaders.

The principals’ institute was initiated by APSA Chairman and CEO Dr. Leticia Asuzano.

Five leaders share one vision- “to enable their schools to reach the apex of excellence through effective leadership and supervision”.

Fr. Emmanuel Regalado , LRMS, Director of Kong Hua School in Cagayan de Oro, Fr. Emilio Ascaño, LRMS, Rector- Principal of St. John’s Institute in Bacolod, Ms. Rosario Argana, Directress of Southernside Montessori School in Muntinlupa, Ms. Nanette Nicerio, Activity Coordinator of Elizabeth Seton School in Las Pinas City and Mr. Alexis Macapanpan ,Social Studies Subject Team Leader of St. Paul Pasig took the challenge as they joined this year’s Principals’ Institute.

The Principals’ Institute is a 2- year program consisting of 3 phases designed to help principals or would be- principals enrich their leadership and management skills, improve instruction through effective supervision, foster curriculum collaboration among faculty, and utilize time and resources effectively to maximize student achievement.

After the successful completion of the last phase of the 1st batch last April 13-26, 2011 held at the California State University, the first phase of the Principals’ Institute was held last May 13-25, 2012 at the St. Paul College, Pasig.

APSA Chairman and CEO Dr. Leticia Asuzano introduced the participants to the program and explained how principals can make a difference in their schools by making standards work.

Ms. Teresa Canton, Principal of Talisay Malayan Academy, and who was trained on Making Standards Work by Dr. Douglas Reeves conducted the lecture- workshop on Creating Power Standards. Why standards are needed, where a school should start if it intends to use the standards approach, how to make power standards, how to translate standards into activities and how to prepare scoring guides were among the key topics of her lecture.

Sr. Teresa Yasa, professor at the DLSU College of Educational Leadership and Management also conducted theory-based lecture- workshop on Curriculum Planning and Design. During the week, participants had the opportunity to tour around St. Paul Pasig and visit the school’s classrooms, laboratories, and other facilities.

Participants also had the chance to visit Bro. Andrew Hall of DLSU. Dr. Voltaire Mistades, Dean of the College of Educational Leadership and Management introduced the participants to the Educational Leadership and Management Program (Executive Program).

The Executive Program in Educational Leadership and Management is designed for experienced educational leaders and managers, enabling the participants to complement their extant knowledge, competencies and skills with up-to-date theories, concepts and skills in the various areas of educational leadership and management through the adoption of an innovative teaching-learning system that combines traditional classroom work with technology-enabled learning strategies, independent study and one-on-one faculty student consultation.

During the 2nd week of the seminar, Dr. George Gagnon, professor at the University of California Berkeley conducted a 5 –day lecture- workshop on Leadership and Supervision and Staff Development. Dr. Gagnon discussed how participants can apply the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) Professional Standards for Educational Leaders in their own practice; use the standards to structure individual action plans; collect and organize relevant leadership materials for self and teachers (portfolio); and practice management and supervision skills.

The Principals’ Institute is also an opportunity for participants to exchange ideas and develop personal and professional relationships.