CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar — Samar Colleges, Inc. (SCI), the Schools Division Office of Catbalogan City (SDO-Catbalogan City), and Eastern Visayas Regional Science High School (EVRSHS) officially sealed their partnership through the ceremonial signing of Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) under PROGRAM CONNECT: Community Network for Continuity of Learning on September 9, 2026, at the Smart Room of Samar Colleges, Inc.

The signing formalized the collaboration among the three institutions and set the responsibilities of each partner in supporting learners during class suspensions, calamities, and other disruptions to regular classes.

Mr. Rhett Caesar L. Piczon, SCI’s School President and Chairman of the Board of Directors; Dr. Crista Joy C. Abogadie, SDO-Catbalogan City OIC-Schools Division Superintendent; and Mr. Fernando Jr. V. Macabare, EVRSHS OIC-School Head, led the signing for their respective institutions. The partnership covers the implementation of Program CONNECT and its initial initiatives, Math-Tulungan: Building Numeracy, Empowering Futures and ResiLearn: Resilience in Learning Amid Class Disruption.

As the pilot beneficiary school, EVRSHS will be the first school where the program's interventions will be implemented. The pilot phase will provide an opportunity for the partner institutions to work together, assess the interventions, and identify ways to improve further and expand the program.

Under the agreement, SCI will provide training, technical assistance, learning resources, and support for the implementation of ResiLearn and Math-Tulungan. This includes the development and deployment of the learning management system, capacity-building activities, troubleshooting, and monitoring and evaluation. These services will be provided at no cost to participating public schools during the pilot phase.

SDO-Catbalogan City, meanwhile, will help identify and onboard participating schools, learners, and teachers. It will also support the integration of the program into regular and contingency learning plans and provide feedback to help improve the program.

In their commitment message, Mr. Piczon expressed SCI's commitment to sharing its resources and expertise with partner schools and communities. Dr. Abogadie also expressed the Division's support for the partnership and its potential to provide learners with continued learning support despite disruptions. Similarly, Mr. Macabare affirmed EVRSHS’ commitment to taking part in the program as its pilot beneficiary school.

With the MOAs now signed, the partnership moves from consultation to implementation. The agreement provides for joint monitoring and evaluation and allows the partners to consider expanding the program to other schools as mutually agreed.