SPOTLIGHT: Association of Fil-Am Teachers of America (AFTA)

BalikTuro participants from the Cebu Normal University (CNU) posing for a picture with AFTA members, CFO Undersecretary Astavel Naik, and CNU Alumni Assoc. during the opening ceremony of the 2018 BalikTuro Lecture Caravan

Part 2 of 2

Encouraging the ‘Filipino’ in Filipino-American youth

Aside from their commendable projects in the Philippines, the AFTA also has undertakings in the US that benefit not only its members but also the Filipino community. Among these projects are Paaralan Sa Konsulado, its flagship project, through which the Philippine Consulate General aims at propagating Filipino culture among Filipino-American children born and raised in the US; Tuklas Talino, a talent search in the literary and visual arts among Filipino-American youth from the tristate area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut); Pagdiriwang ng Kulturang Pilipino, in which they showcase positive Filipino cultural values and traits through festive parades and performances; and PERLAS or Phil-Am Exemplary Responsive Leadership Award for Students, which confers special recognition to middle school, high school, or college students of Filipino descent in the United States with exemplary and responsive leadership, academic performance and civic movement. PERLAS’s total number of recipients since 2015 is 18.

 

Empowering colleagues in the US

Through its Professional Development program, the AFTA conducts free seminar-workshops for Filipino teachers in the tristate area on opportunities to learn new strategies in Reading, Math, Science, and Technology, and how to enhance teaching styles and improve curriculum planning.

To further its primary vision of empowering Filipino-American teachers to perform at their highest potential, the AFTA also established awards and recognition programs for members and non-members alike who have shown exemplary service and leadership in the field of teaching. These awards have served to inspire teachers to excel and improve their craft even more.

Dr. Roxanne Cajigas, volunteer-educator and former president of AFTA, delivering her BalikTuro Seminar-Workshop to the senior students of the Rizal Technology University’s College of Education in Mandaluyong City on 13 August 2019

AFTA’s president, Dr. Roxanne Cajigas, leading the turnover ceremony of the educational materials donation of AFTA thru its Adopt-a-School Project to the students of Maybocog Elementary School in Maydolong, Eastern Samar on 20 July 2018

Teachers of Maybocog Elementary School in Maydolong, Eastern Samar extending their gratitude to Dr. Roxanne Cajigas of AFTA for her donations to the school’s Brigada Eskwela 2020

The Doña Teodora Alonzo Award, named after the mother of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, is given to an individual who has provided invaluable contributions to the association’s overall achievements and to the growth and upliftment of the education sector. Its total recipients since 1993 are 22.

The Ulirang Guro Award confers honor on Filipino or Filipino-American teachers who manifest exemplary commitment and service to the development of the youth by raising the standards of pedagogy through their meaningful, progressive, and creative teaching practices, which benefit their school community and the students they serve. Since 2008, a total of 53 individuals have received this award.

The Crystal Apple Service Award is bestowed biennially on Filipino and American teachers of various grade levels for their untiring efforts, clocking in 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, and 25-plus years of continuous dedicated service to the teaching profession in the United States. This award had only started in 2014, but it already has the most number of recipients at 289, a testament to the growing number professionals who have embraced the quite challenging vocation of teaching.

The Dangal ng Lahi Award is the highest honor given by the AFTA for outstanding accomplishment and service by an individual to the teaching profession, to the advocacy for education, and for uplifting the Filipino people, here and in America, through education. Since 2014, only 3 individuals have received this award.

The Taglay ay Nagniningning sa Galing, Lingkod ay Wagas or TANGLAW Award is bestowed on retired teachers who have successfully completed their career in the United States. The AFTA is honored to acknowledge their many years of dedicated service in contributing to the success of their students. It has had a total of 56 recipients since 2014.

The Leadership in Educational Administration Distinguished Service or LEADS Award recognizes and honors Filipino-American school administrators such as principals, assistant principals, school directors, and other educational managers who create exceptional learning environments for their faculty, staff, and students. This award serves to inspire and encourage thousands of Filipino teachers in the US to take a leap of faith and accept the bigger challenges of leading their educational institutions. Since 2015, 29 individuals have been recognized by the AFTA as deserving of this award.

The AFTA is an organization truly worthy of commendation and emulation. Amidst the challenges being faced by Filipino communities in America then and now, it has stood the test of time and, through education, has been a crucial part of the lives of the largest Filipino diaspora in the world. It has brought pride and honor to Filipinos here and abroad. Thousands of lives have been changed for the better because of its continued effort to bring progress to underserved communities.

These Filipino teachers in the US are some of our modern-day heroes. And just like our national hero, Rizal, they are obviously believers in the transformative power of education, as immortalized in his words, “Without education and liberty, which are the soil and the sun of man, no reform is possible, no measure can give the result desired.”