The Alpabasa
“Every Filipino child, a reader.”
The Alpabasa Vision
“Every Filipino child, a reader.”
In 5 years, Alpabasa will be an established reading program, known for its comprehensiveness and effectiveness, utilized by schools and foundations, educators and parents alike, for teaching their children how to read in Filipino. It will have established its Zero Non-Reader track record for effective reading instruction through its different programs implemented in both the public and private sectors.
In 10 years, Alpabasa will be in every day care and primary public school classroom in key cities around the Philippines. It will have established its track record of Zero Non-Readers in these areas, monitoring not just the current success, but the repercussions of the strong reading foundations in children’s later school success.
In 5 years, Alpabasa will be an established reading program, known for its comprehensiveness and effectiveness, utilized by schools and foundations, educators and parents alike, for teaching their children how to read in Filipino. It will have established its Zero Non-Reader track record for effective reading instruction through its different programs implemented in both the public and private sectors.
In 10 years, Alpabasa will be in every day care and primary public school classroom in key cities around the Philippines. It will have established its track record of Zero Non-Readers in these areas, monitoring not just the current success, but the repercussions of the strong reading foundations in children’s later school success.
The Alpabasa Mission
“Equip and enable teachers with the program, know-how, and materials
to help grow each of their children into fluent, eager, and confident readers in Filipino.”
“Make teaching reading in Filipino so easy, anyone can do it.”
“Help the teachers, so they can focus on the children.”
Alpabasa’s mission is grounded on the belief that in order to grow readers, one must first equip their teachers. Without the proper know-how and support, teachers churn out more and more children with shaky reading foundations, with some barely learning to read at all. Unfortunately, this same educational system is also unable to properly equip enough teachers to meet the growing needs of more and more non-reading kids all over the Philippines. We want this to end.
Alpabasa’s commitment to helping children learn how to read is seen in its mission to consistently look for ways to make teaching reading easier for the teachers. It commits itself to 2 different aspects of equipping teachers: program and teaching tools development. Through these, Alpabasa aims to bring the focus of the teacher away from the rigors of planning and preparation, and back to the children.
Alpabasa Program Objectives of elected students:
Fostering a Love for Reading
To be able to create an avenue for all Filipino children to discover and develop the love and joy of learning through reading.
Every Teacher. A Reading Teacher
To empower our dedicated public school teachers through dynamic teacher-training seminars. Equipping them with a program that has been planned and designed of with the best interest of our Filipino children in mind.
Equipping Teachers with Seamless Resources
To provide teachers with a teacher-friendly, comprehensive, complete, easy-to-follow program that they can readily implement. In addition, to be able to provide teachers with materials they can readily use for teaching. The program aims to increase the quality of each interaction between teacher and child, leading to more relevant learning experiences.
Cultivating a Reading-ready Community
To cultivate a school community where kindergarten teachers are encouraged to work together, share experiences, ideas and information to create a learning environment that is best for their children.
Creativity Through Resourcefulness
To encourage and inspire teachers to think outside the box and create extensions and variations from the Alpabasa program and activities out of inexpensive everyday objects and recycled materials.
Brief History
Teacher Tisha Gonzalez-Cruz, a wife and mother of three, discovered her passion for teaching at the young age of 13. She began with a makeshift classroom in her backyard, teaching 12 neighborhood children. Her dedication to teaching led her through graduate school and eventually into her own classroom. In 1995, Teacher Tisha moved to New York and collaborated with a fellow teacher who specialized in creating teacher-made materials from everyday objects.
Upon returning to the Philippines in 2002, Teacher Tisha took on a position as a preschool teacher at the International School Manila. It was here that she initiated a simple crayon project where her students collected old crayons and school supplies to help less fortunate children. This experience ignited her dream to provide underprivileged Filipino children with the necessary teaching tools and empower educators to make learning enjoyable through songs and games.
In 2002, she founded Learning Lion Books, a publishing house, and created an extensive library of English materials over eight years. By 2010, Teacher Tisha, with the support of dedicated individuals like Rio Manotoc and Joan Abong, enhanced the materials and conducted workshops, distributing English reading materials to various communities and schools in need.
However, Teacher Tisha realized that there was something missing in her approach. She recognized the need to teach children in Filipino to be more effective. In 2011, she introduced "Alpabasa." The first Alpabasa material was a 31-page book that later evolved into Filipino flashcards focusing on syllabication. With the assistance of Sa Aklat Sisikat, this material was shared with over 100 public school teachers.
In 2012, along with her friend Aina Zulueta-Valencia, they worked on creating the Alpabasa punch-out book. It took them two years to develop the Alpabasa Syllable cards and the Alpabasa Filipino Flashcards, featuring over 40 original songs. They believed that play was the best way to learn. In 2014, with the support of Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and the Quezon City Division Office, they donated Alpabasa materials to teachers in Quezon City, conducting teacher training workshops and impacting 200 public school teachers.
Despite positive feedback and successful workshops, Teacher Tisha felt that there was still a missing piece in helping children learn to read with fluency. Seeking expert guidance, she attended Teacher Sholeh Villoria's reading workshops, which proved to be the best in her teaching career. Teacher Sholeh, along with Teacher Noelle Pabition, joined forces to complete the Alpabasa reading program, leading to impressive results in a summer pilot program in 2015
Following the summer program, these dedicated teachers entered the Pharmaton Life Changers Challenge and secured a 1 Million Peso grant in July 2015. With ongoing support from numerous individuals, the Read to Achieve Foundation Philippines Inc. (RAFPI) was established, aiming to expand opportunities for others to share the ALPABASA Reading program to public schools and communities in need.
As of now, since the founding of RAFPI in 2021 (post COVID-19 pandemic), we have helped around 25,000 children and trained more than 600 public school teachers.
Muntinlupa City | 1,500 students |
Quezon City | 6400+ students |
Angeles City, Pampanga | 1900+ students |
San Fernando, Pampanga | 5,807 students |
Pasig City | 2,900+ students |
Navotas City | 500+ students |
Laguna | 3,100 students |
Olongapo City | 3,600+ students |
Supporting Institution
A. DepEd Schools Division Offices (SDO)
- SDO of City of San Fernando
- SDO of Angeles City
- SDO of Olongapo City
- SDO of Cabuyao Laguna
- SDO of Quezon City
- SDO of Pasig City
- SDO of Manila
Supporting RCs:
- ROTARY CLUB OF PASIG
- ROTARY CLUB MAKATI NORTH
- ROTARY CLUB ILOILO SOUTH DISTRICT 3850
- R OTARY CLUB OF ZAMBALES WEST
B. Supporting Organizations / Corporations
- AHA Learning Center
- Assumption College
- Reachout Ville Foundations Inc. (ROVFI)
- Security Bank Foundation
- BPI Foundation
- Oriental Tin Can & Metal Sheet MFG
- Polymer Products (Phil.) Inc.
- PRECISION CRESTEC, INC.
- LEARNING LION BOOKS INC.
- SIEMENS INC.
- HSBC PHILIPPINES
- TUKOD FOUNDATION
- RAYOMAR OUTREACH FOUNDATION, INC.
- ENTREPRENEUR ORGANIZATIONPHILIPPINES
- TOM SAWYER’S FOOD CORPORATION
- MOMMY MUNDO
- PIANDRE HAIR SALON
B. Supporting Organizations / Corporations
- MovEd FOUNDATION
- CANDY CORNER
- ZONTA CLUB ALABANG
- MOTHER BUTLER GUILD OF ST. JAMES PARISH
- MAÑOSA PROPERTIES, INC
- TRANSLIFT SHIP MANAGEMENT, INC.
- ADSPIN ADVERTISING, INC.
- YOGAPLUS PH
- ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY BATCH ‘88
- CARWORLD, INC.
- AK AND FRIENDS
- CARLOPACIFIC
- FOREX CARGO
- KTX.PH
- METROBANK FOUNDATION
- SAN MIGUEL BREWERY, INC. SAN FERNANDO PAMPANGA
- YESPINOY FOUNDATION