SUGPAT-ALSPA preps curriculum for launching
Gearing up for its second cycle, the SUGPAT Alternative School for Peacebuilding and the Arts (ALSPA) is developing this month its new curriculum module which will be used when the school officially launches later in June.
Following a creativity-centered learning approach, the curriculum will have a foundation of three learning strands namely: Human Dignity and Children’s Rights, Leadership and Project Management, and Design Thinking.
The design of the module was developed from the focus-group discussions among select ALS Learners from the east, west, and central parts of Zamboanga City that SUGPAT-ALSPA conducted in April.
The FGDs revealed that with the trends and demands of the 21st century, ALS learners saw the need to learn and develop 21st century skills especially in critical thinking, culture, and communication.
Moreover, the school puts on a premium creativity as a thinking model, meaning learners would learn how to creatively mobilize their resources to solve a problem in the community that they are a part of, considering they are “experience experts” of issues they face.
Expansion of SUGPAT-ALSPA curriculum
The school will also include electives on SK Reform Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Digital Literacy, Entrepreneurship, and Arts & Media.
With the school’s more comprehensive set of course offerings, the SUGPAT-ALSPA has tapped different departments of Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU) to help teach the subjects. 
Partnerships have been explored with Julius Lapasaran from AdZU’s College of Nursing and Dr. Afdal Kunting from the School of Medicine to touch on adolescent health literacy, the College of Science and Information Technology and DigiBayanihan for digital media literacy, the School of Management and Accountancy for entrepreneurship, and different units in the Social Development Office and the College of Law for youth development and leadership.
While new learning strands and methods are being introduced to SUGPAT-ALSPA, the concepts of leadership, creativity, and peacebuilding of last year’s curriculum still remain according to Rogin Eribal, ACCA-SUGPAT’s education specialist.
“We see the value of these ideas and we hope that our learners will become better leaders and community builders once they graduate from SUGPAT,” Eribal said.
The module was designed by the SUGPAT-ALSPA team after numerous consultations with education professors and experts on adolescent formation and education.
“We want to pursue the holistic development of our ALS learners. That’s why we make sure that each effort we do is targeted on our goal for them,” Eribal shared.
The SUGPAT-ALSPA is a 6-month alternative learning program that will be mentoring 35 ALS learners from across Zamboanga City.
It is one of the four components of the SUGPAT Adolescent Development and Participation program, the flagship program of Ateneo de Zamboanga’s Center for Culture and the Arts with support from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Philippines.