TACLOBAN CITY — About 100 public school heads in Tacloban City are undergoing training on psychological first aid to strengthen schools’ capacity to provide mental health and psychosocial support following the recent campus tragedy that claimed the lives of three students.
The three-day training, dubbed “Konekted for Resilience: Building School Community Mental Health,” is being conducted by PLDT and Smart Communications through their corporate social responsibility program in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) Tacloban City Division and the St. Therese Educational Foundation of Tacloban Inc. (STEFTI).
Marylou Gocotano, Visayas Relations head of the PLDT and Smart Public Engagement Group, said the program aims to equip school heads with the knowledge and skills to help teachers and learners cope with stress, trauma, and other mental health challenges.
She said participants are expected to integrate psychological first aid and mental health interventions into their respective school improvement plans to help create safer and more supportive learning environments.
The training, the first of its kind by PLDT and Smart in Eastern Visayas, includes a training-of-trainers session for school heads and STEFTI teachers, a psychological first aid session for the San Jose National High School community, and a symposium on stress management and secondary trauma for STEFTI students.
STEFTI School Director Mary Bernadette Palami welcomed the initiative, saying it would help school leaders, guidance counselors, and teachers better identify learners needing mental health support and provide appropriate interventions.
DepEd Tacloban Schools Division Superintendent Sherlita Palma said the workshop will prepare participants to serve as psychological first aiders in their schools and help foster safe, resilient, and mentally healthy learning environments.
The activity was organized in the wake of the June 22 shooting incident at San Jose National High School, which left three students dead and several others injured, highlighting the need to strengthen mental health support systems in schools.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
