To: All Regional Directors and Division Superintendents
All others concerned

1. Statement of Policy. It is DECS policy that the provision of equipment, training, and other forms of assistance shall be undertaken on as equitable a basis as possible. In many cases, however, the available resources have not been adequate to attend to all the public elementary and secondary schools at the same time. A system of priorities of attention has therefore been devised, which will try to maintain a geographical balance at the same time that certain schools are given prior attention to complete their needs.
2. Priorities in Attention. The prioritization of attention will include such diverse matters as the provision of science laboratory equipment, supportive MOOE, and the retraining where necessary of faculty and administration. The purpose of prioritization in attention will be to ensure that each divi¬sion will have at least one fully equipped and adequately trained elementary and secondary public school, with resultant effects in the quality of instruction and presumably output, and to serve as a demonstration center for other public schools in the area.
3. Demonstration Elementary Public Schools. Henceforth, for purposes of improvement of facilities and equipment, as well as development of human resources, demonstration public elementary schools shall be identified, at the rate of one school per division or 133 schools in all, to be recom¬mended by the Superintendent concerned and concurred in by the Regional Director, to be selected from the five best performing complete elementary schools in terms of the NEAT, which shall have a minimum of 30 sections for all six grades, and which shall preferably be located in one of the larger urban center in the division.
4. Demonstration Secondary Public Schools. Henceforth, for purposes of improvement of facilities and equipment, as well as development of human resources, the priorities in public secondary schools shall be as follows:
   1. First priority will be the regional science high schools, at the rate of one such high school to the region, which had been identified under DECS Order No. 89, s. 1993.
   2. Second priority will be the identified demonstration public secondary schools, at the rate of one school per division or 133 schools in all, in addition to the regional science high schools, to be recommended by the Superintendent concerned and concurred in by the Regional Director, which shall be selected from the five best performing public secondary schools in terms of the NCEE (now the NSAT), and which shall preferably be located in a large urban center in the division. A demonstration public secondary school shall have at least 24 sections for all four curriculum years to qualify. Where there are two or more divisional leader schools as contained in DECS Memorandum No. 3, s. 1994 the Superintendent concerned shall determine which of the secondary schools is most suitable for purposes of prioritization.
5. Exceptions. The above system of priorities shall not apply in the cases of additional school classroom construction and teachers, resulting from increased enrollment. It should also be noted that what are being selected are schools rather than their principals, although it will follow that in improving the quality of the selected schools the evaluation and training of principals will form an important part.
6. Effectivity. This Order shall be effective for each Region as soon as the Regional Director shall have submitted a complete list of recommended divisional and municipal public elementary and secondary schools under his jurisdiction. Any previous issuance of this Office the provisions of which may be inconsistent with this Order shall be deemed revoked or modified accordingly.

References:
DECS Order: (No. 89. s. 1993)
DECS Memorandum: (No. 3, s. 1994)
Allotment: 1-2–(M.O. 1-87)

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:
Course of Study, ELEMENTARY LISTS
Course of’ Study, SECONDARY OFFICIAILS
EQUIPMENT SCHOOLS

DO_s1994_024