Busuanga Island International School

 

Executive Summary

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        The city of Busuanga in the province of Palawan in the Philippines is a partially rural island. The Busuanga Island International School will be located on 1.7 acres on the southwest part of the mainland. We are an international school that will serve preschool, primary (kindergarten through sixth grade) and secondary (seventh through twelfth grade).

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        We offer families in this area a unique opportunity for an educational experience that focuses learning academic subjects through the lens of the local economy and culture. Our school is bilingual in Tagalog and English, with well-trained instructors, a board of trustees comprised of U.S. entrepreneurs and educators, as well as local philanthropists, business people, and teachers. Our goal is to provide education that leads to self-sustaining futures for all children in the Philippines. 

 

        The Busuanga Island International School will serve 300 children from preschool to high school.

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Objectives
        In addition to the focused objectives for each class and at each grade level, we offer the following objectives while educating our students:

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Students will:

• Become fluent in English while retaining the Tagalog language.

• Contribute positively to the Philippines by identifying a particular area (for example, culture, conservation, or agriculture) and mastering that field.

• Develop business plans and products that embody Philippine culture.

• Use math, science, as well as the humanities in project-based learning.

 

Our teachers will:

• Provide students with state-of-the-art training in technology and computer science.

• Teach students skills that will strengthen the local community.

• Provide students with well-rounded humanities courses.

• Consider students in a strength-based pedagogy of learning.

• Ensure all students are treated with dignity, respect, and care.

• Utilize locally based businesses whenever possible.

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Market Analysis Summary

 

        There are 19 schools in Busuanga: one university, three public high schools, and 15 elementary schools. Although these are public schools, they are not free and the costs of tuition, books, and other expenses can be costly for local families. There is a distinct need not only for free education, but for an international school in which the students are given free tuition as well as books and other school-related expenses.

 

        There is also a need for early childhood education at the pre-K level, and our school will be the first to offer an early childhood education program for students starting at age 18 months. The parents of very young children will be seen as important collaborators in our preschool curriculum and we will advocate for parents to volunteer in the school.

 

        With the introduction of tourism in the local region, the indigenous people will be challenged to adapt to interacting with foreigners in terms of commerce. As more people from other countries visit Busuanga, the local communities will be further challenged to maintain cultural values.

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Funding

 

        We are funded solely by grants. After writing grants to hundreds of organizations, we will receive the following for the first year of operation.

 

Cville Gives - $10,000

Motorola Solutions Foundation - $500,000

Philippine Business for Social Progress - $10,000

The Baxter International Foundation - $2,500,000

The Ford Foundation - $2,500,000

Spencer Small Research Grants for Pilot Project - $50,000

Total: 5,670,000
 

        The Spencer Small Research Grant for Pilot Project will require significant research to be done at The Busuanga Island International School, and we anticipate that our U.S. educators at the school will assist not only in this research project, but in future grant-writing.

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Start-Up and Operating Costs

The start-up costs for The Busuanga Island International School will be $3.7 million and the yearly operating costs will be approximately $1.8 million. Therefore, the initial year’s cost will be approximately $5.5 million.

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Strategic Alliances

        We will look to form alliances with Children’s Chance for Tomorrow, an orphanage located on Busuanga Island, that provides, among other things, a bilingual international education to 64 children without parents. One of our local funding partners is Philippine Business for Social Progress and we also expect to collaborate with the local schools, resorts that serve international travelers, as well as local parent and community groups. As a school that will provide free tuition, we will not consider ourselves in competition with the other local schools. Rather, we will seek to collaborate and offer our assistance whenever needed.

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