When a school needs support, it is common for a principal to think about who can help—parents who can volunteer, local officials who can provide assistance, or organizations that can donate resources.

But what if community engagement is not just about asking for help?

This was one of the questions explored by 22 public school principals during the Year 3 Principals Training of Mentoring Future Leaders for Nation-Building, an educators development program of Security Bank Foundation, Inc. (SBFI), in partnership with the Ateneo Center for Educational Development (ACED).

Held from May 25 to 29, 2026 in Iloilo, the training focused on a practical challenge faced by school leaders: how to build relationships with the people around the school and turn those relationships into lasting partnerships for learners.

The principals spent the training identifying their stakeholders, understanding what matters to them, and discussing ways to work with them. They also shared experiences from their own schools and learned from one another about what works—and what does not—when engaging a community.

For Melissa DR. Aquino, Trustee and Corporate Secretary of SBFI, the relationship between schools and communities should go beyond asking for resources. “The community is not just an ATM or a source of support. It is a partner. The child belongs not only to the school, but to all of us.”

That idea gave the principals a different way of looking at their roles. A parent, barangay official, local organization, business owner, or community volunteer may each have something different to contribute. The challenge for school leaders is knowing how to connect with them, earn their trust, and give them a reason to take part.

Guided by Dr. Joseph Dela Cruz, Director IV of the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), the principals explored these ideas through reflections, case studies, stakeholder-mapping exercises, small-group discussions, brainstorming workshops, and plenary sharing sessions. Interactive activities, including the Human Machine Challenge, helped participants experience firsthand how individuals with different roles and strengths can work together toward a common goal. Other collaborative exercises, such as jigsaw puzzle activities, encouraged principals to recognize the importance of shared knowledge, communication, and collective problem-solving in building effective school-community partnerships.

The principals developed Community Engagement Plans outlining how they would strengthen relationships with their own stakeholders and turn those relationships into concrete actions. Instead of bringing home only notes from training, they left with plans they could bring back to their schools and communities.

These included Ms. Rona May Esperanzate Cruz of Ricardo Viola Adriano Elementary School, who plans to engage SK officials, alumni, parents, religious groups, and private partners as reading volunteers and mentors through the KABSAT Learning Teams initiative, bringing literacy sessions closer to communities. Meanwhile, Dr. Hanena Epino of Datu Andiam National High School aims to reduce absenteeism by building a support network with school personnel, peer mentors, barangays, and LGU partners to monitor attendance, conduct home visits, and help address students’ financial, family, transportation, and motivational challenges.

For these school leaders, the lesson was straightforward: a school cannot do everything on its own. It needs parents who listen, communities that care, local leaders who participate, and partners who are willing to work alongside educators.

Through Mentoring Future Leaders for Nation-Building, SBFI and ACED are helping school principals develop the skills to bring these people together, not simply to support a school, but to create a community where children have more people looking out for them.

The training ended with a clear call to turn plans into action by engaging communities, addressing root causes, and implementing solutions collaboratively. Each participant will document their initiative and its impact, with results and lessons to be shared with fellow educators and partners in a culminating presentation targeted for 2027.