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A private school founded in 1995, Hillcrest School set out to undertake the mission of offering quality and affordable education to the youth in COGEO Village. Today, Hillcrest School has been growing for more than 25 years, attracting a large number of professional teachers and housing more than 650 students from preschool to senior high. Currently, even during the pandemic, the school is recruiting new teachers, and student enrollment keeps growing every week. Keep reading to find out how Hillcrest School achieves continuous growth and maintains a joyful learning atmosphere despite extraordinary circumstances.
Hillcrest School achieves continuous weekly growth in enrollment when many schools in the Philippines have been forced to close down in the pandemic.
Teachers, students, and administrators enjoy highly interactive classrooms and easier class monitoring.
The Principal credits strong customer support with 24/7 technical assistance.
“ClassIn is the avenue where the teachers and the learners connect… Whenever I was visiting or monitoring their classrooms, I would feel the energy; I would feel the connection; I would feel the excitement of the teachers every day when they were talking to the learners.”
— Marlu Bersamin-Cundangan, PhD, Principal of Hillcrest School
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a first-time nationwide shift to virtual learning in the Philippines – many educational institutions were forced to close down, and Hillcrest School faced an unprecedented crisis as well. A rushed adoption of Google Classroom for online teaching made it difficult to replicate the regular classroom, and student participation and interaction in the classroom dropped dramatically. Traditional online meeting software did not work well for online learning, and the school could only afford a modest salary for teachers and little extra funds for trying more EdTech platforms.
It was hard to replicate usual classroom settings virtually
Traditional conference software lack interactive functions
The school was short on budget for exploring different EdTech tools
Looking for more instructional tools beyond what Google offers, Principal Bersamin-Cundangan learned about ClassIn upon a friend’s recommendation. After the initial demo session, ClassIn’s consultant promised Hillcrest School a two-month free trial in consideration of the school’s financial stress.
The experience of schoolwide use of ClassIn was beyond the expectations of all students and teachers. For teachers, the platform comes with dedicated technicians to familiarize teachers with various features and 24/7 customer support to reply within minutes. When it comes to administration, the principal specifically credited the monitoring function as she could go into any classroom undetected. Additionally, students are greatly motivated by gadgets unique to the platform, such as the slot machine and digital trophies, to participate in-class activities.
Technical trainings and around-the-clock customer service for teachers
Comprehensive classroom features for engagement and assessment
a. Gadgets such as virtual trophies to mobilize active participation
b. Teachers can gather and share learning data such as attendance
The class monitoring function to allow for undetected check-ins
Over the two-month period of using ClassIn, Principal Bersamin-Cundangan has received positive feedback from teachers, students and parents. “Actions, fun, can do a lot of things” is what they say about ClassIn. The principal also observed that upon entering an online classroom, she feels the energy and interaction, which reinforces her choice. She also stressed that she never hesitates to report problems because ClassIn’s technical team will quickly fix and update features.
More energized virtual classrooms with diverse channels of interaction
Worry-free administration and teaching supported by ClassIn’s technical team
Noticeable growth of enrollment in the pandemic
Read more:
How Sekolah Global Mandiri Boosted Student Engagement in Remote Learning
Our Lady of Africa Schools Achieve Remarkable Learning Outcomes despite Connection Difficulties
