To rise and fly high because of passion is a sweet victory for SDCB. Republic Act 9407 or known as the law that converted the Municipality of Batac into a component city in the Province of Ilocos Norte paved the way for the application and establishment of a separate division for the City of Batac.
The Division of Batac City is in its premiere existence but continues to soar high to attain quality education alongside the culture of excellence. This aspiration and legacy have been rooted from the very first sprout of development since its existence in 2008.
This young division started from humble beginnings. From its mother division, the Division of Ilocos Norte, headed by the then Schools Division Superintendent, Dr. Cecilia Pacis-Aribuabo it continues to blaze the trail to excellence through relentless self-empowerment with dedicated and committed public service. It was formally established on 08 September 2008, through a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed between the Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Office No I, represented by the former Regional Director, Dr. Ligaya Soledad Tan Miguel, and the City Government of Batac, represented by its then City Mayor, Hon. Jeffrey Jubal C. Nalupta. It was witnessed by the then Assistant Schools Division Superintendent of Ilocos Norte, Dr. Norma L. Fernando, who was assigned as the OIC Schools Division Superintendent of the newly established Division, together with all the Division Chiefs of DepEd-Region I, the local government officials of City of Batac headed by Hon. Jeffrey Jubal C. Nalupta and City Vice Mayor, Hon. Allan M. Nalupta and the officialdom of the mother division.
The first few months of operations of the Division of Batac City were tough since it was an interim Division, depending on the support from the kind Mother Division and the supportive local government of Batac City, until eventually, it became an independent Division, when the Cityhood of
Batac was re-activated by the approval of the Supreme Court on 15 February 2011.
The Gabaldon Building of Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School (MMMES) of Batac District I was renovated and refurbished by the local government of Batac which became the temporary Division Office. It was not ideal, but it was cozy and it served the purpose. The rooms were converted into offices, conducive enough to house various units of the division. The landscaping of the frontage of the Division Office was cooperatively done by the different schools having their own share to landscape with the help of the local government. The Gabaldon Building of MMMES housed the new office of Batac City Division.
With the assistance of the mother division, the OIC Schools Division Superintendent, Dr. Norma L. Fernando, recommended a skeletal staff (see Annex 3) composed of qualified school officials who were concurrently doing their official functions as school administrators. She also borrowed some administrative and facilitative staff from the mother division and from the two (2) Districts of Batac. “The hardest thing to do was to start, when you begin from zero, but with the cooperation and support of everybody, things went smoothly,” said Dr. Fernando.
The Batac City Division consisted of two elementary districts, namely Batac District I with 13 schools headed by Mrs. Rosario A. Bingayen, a recipient of the Outstanding District Supervisor Award given by the Philippine Public School Teachers Association (PPSTA), and Batac District II with 13 schools headed by Mr. Rogelio N. Asiao, president of the Batac Elementary Public Schools Teachers Association (BEPSTA).
There were four (4) big public secondary schools: Batac National High School-Poblacion Campus, Batac National High School-Bungon Campus which were then headed by Mr. Leonardo Zacarias S. Valdez, Secondary School Principal II, together with Crispina Marcos-Valdez National High School, a newly established secondary school named in honor of the mother of former Congressman Simeon M. Valdez. There were also four big private secondary schools which include Immaculate Conception Academy, a Catholic School, Batac Junior College, Batac Institute, Inc., and Eureka High School. As a whole, these elementary and secondary schools contributed to the success of the new Batac City Division. The private secondary school principals also worked hard to put Batac City Division in the limelight.
The administrative and facilitative staff was headed by Mrs. Mayveline Q. Sanguir who was designated as Administrative Officer and Mr. Joel P. Malunao as Human Resource Management Officer. The supervisory staff and the planning office were manned by school administrators who were concurrently doing a dual role. They would report to their schools in the morning and report to the Division Office in the afternoon so that they could perform their dual role.
While the division was at its peak of celebrating its birth and existence for one and a half years, it was deactivated because of the legal issue regarding the cityhood of Batac. Its inclusion in the General Appropriations Act was discontinued, and the new division continued to exist under the Mother Division of Ilocos Norte. Dr. Norma L. Fernando continued to function as the head of the Batac Division (Batac I and II Districts) until her retirement on 21 April 2010, under the compulsory retirement at age 65. Through the assignment given by Dr. Aribuabo, the operation of the division continued under the supervision of Mrs. Froserfina J. Bravo who was the Assistant Schools Division Superintendent in charge of the 2nd District of Ilocos Norte. Mrs. Bravo was instrumental in the preparation of documents for the revival of the Division, and requested utility workers for cleaning, repair, and maintenance of the Gabaldon Building in MMMES. A series of meetings with the then Mayor Jeffrey Jubal C. Nalupta ensued for the request of lot and Deed of Donation for the new site of the Division.
After all the conflicts and challenges the division had experienced, it remained steadfast. The legal issue of cityhood was settled when the Supreme Court finally declared that Batac City was duly recognized as a city. This was strengthened when the division was revived on 26 November 2013 through a “ceremonial offering” held at the Gabaldon Building, Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School, attended by school officials, school heads, teachers, and non-teaching personnel of elementary and secondary schools of Batac City. The ribbon-cutting was graced by DepEd Region I Regional Director, Dr. Teresita M. Velasco, assisted by other equally honored guests.
On 06 January 2014, the new incoming Officer-In-Charge, Ms. Vilma D. Eda, CESO VI, the former Assistant Schools Division Superintendent, Division of Laoag City, was appointed as head of the new division through a “ceremonial offering.” The event was made more significant and delightful with the presence of the Assistant Regional Director, DepEd Region I, Ms. Bettina D. Aquino; City Mayor Jeffrey Jubal C. Nalupta; Schools Division Superintendent of Laoag City, Ms. Araceli C. Pastor; City Legal Counsel, Atty. Jesus C. Nalupta Jr.; Office of the Senior Citizens Affair (OSCA) Chair, Dr. Francisca N. Caluya; Education Program Supervisors, School Heads, and other respected guests. Many improvements have been made since then, foremost is the construction of the permanent Batac City Division Office at the Government Center of Batac City.
During the administration of Mrs. Eda, the Division of Batac City was changed to City Schools Division of Batac to conform with R.A. 9407 stating the name of the place as City of Batac. The City Schools Division of Batac was moved from Gabaldon Building at Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School to its new site at Barangay 16-S Quiling Sur City of Batac with its new building funded by the Department of Education through the Basic Education Facilities Fund (BEFF) in 2014.
The flagship program of Mrs. Eda is the establishment of ICT enabled school system in the City Schools Division of Batac such that teachers and students level up from knowledge consumers to knowledge creators.
In 2017, Dr. Joann A. Corpuz, CESO VI, Assistant Schools Division Superintendent, Officer-In-Charge, Office of the Schools Division Superintendent, headed the Division. The division is in its race in providing quality education for 21st-century learners through its flagship on Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This is along with the introduction and implementation of EDMODO, Rachel PI, interactive learning materials, robotics, and virtual reality. These programs and projects were continued by the division through the leadership of Dr. Corpuz.
The flagship program of Dr. Corpuz includes providing Inclusive Growth and New Innovations in Education (IGNITE), Project R.O.S.E. (Read One Story Everyday), and Agri-technopreneur. These projects addressed all the administrators, teachers, and staff in producing a creative spark amongst their clientele – the learners.
With the present leadership of Dr. Joel B. Lopez which started in September 2019, the City Schools Division of Batac (CSDB) continues to soar high and wave its banner proudly, together with other divisions in Region I. During this time, the City Schools Division of Batac changed to the Schools Division of the City of Batac (SDCB) in parallel to the conversion of Batac City to City of Batac with reference to Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution No. 5SP 2019 – 132 (A Resolution Enjoining Government Offices, Private Institutions and All Concerned to Use “City of Batac” as the Official Name of Batac, Ilocos Norte by Virtue of Republic Act No. 9407 Instead of “Batac City”).
Among the flagship programs of Dr. Lopez during the Covid19 pandemic include 4As (Agmula, Agtaraken, Agtagibalay, Agliwliwa), Herd Schooling, and research. These programs helped teachers, employees and students cope with the challenges of the pandemic.