APEX Teacher Receives Commendation from President Arroyo
To commemorate their 20th anniversary, on 7 September the Metrobank Foundation awarded Glendale B. Lamiseria, an APEX school teacher from Dulag National High School in Leyte, as one of the country’s ten outstanding teachers of 2007. As the second awardee from Region VIII, Ms. Lamiseria follows in the footsteps of Allan M. Canonigo from New Ormoc City National High School, who in 2004 won the first Metrobank award from among the APEX schools.
Ms. Lamiseria, together with the 2007 awardees, were commended in Malacañang Palace by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the finest examples of competence, integrity, dedication, and professionalism, not just to the academe and to the teaching profession, but to our nation building as a whole. During the confirmation of the gold medallion at Malacañang, Ms. Lamiseria delivered a speech on behalf of the 2007 awardees. The House of Congress and Senate also gave separate bills and resolutions for the first time to recognize the achievements of the ten outstanding teachers as role models and inspiration for the Filipino people.
The entire campus transformed into a beehive of activity due to Ms. Lamiseria’s dedicated efforts, with students getting involved in projects that benefit not only the students themselves, but also the out-of-school youth and teachers making a paradigm shift to make learning fun, practical, and relevant using contextual teaching and learning. Although Ms. Lamiseria only has 11 years of teaching service, one of the shortest careers among this year’s awardees, she turned her excellent undergraduate background, from which she graduated magna cum laude, into an outstanding professional career made possible by her love for her chosen profession.
Ms. Lamiseria’s instructional competence is reflected in the Community-based Adventures for Lifelong Learning (CALL), one of the APEX key strategies she employed in order to teach mathematics. Through her initiative, the school came up with a maiden newsletter entitled “INNERVISION,” which circulates as the only local newspaper in Dulag. This pedagogical project successfully integrates entrepreneurship skills in songs, games, activity sheets, modules and research activities, which are often conducted in the form of practical projects that make concepts easier to learn and appreciate. Realizing the value of her expertise and the impact of her contributions, Ms. Lamiseria’s superiors gave her the task to develop lesson plans, particularly on Practical Work Approach and Computer-Aided Instruction. Because of her successes, fellow teachers regularly invite Ms. Lamiseria to share her methodologies and materials, especially in information and communication technology through training activities at the division and regional levels. In addition to her multiple responsibilities, Ms. Lamiseria also designs and facilitates computer literacy training programs for out-of-school youth, giving them the minimum skills necessary to land decent jobs.
A consistently winning coach in math and other competitions, Ms. Lamiseria received various commendations, including the distinction of being named Outstanding Secondary School Teachers of Region VIII in SY 2003-2004. | 
