Launched in August 2025, the “DepEd Heroes” program celebrates the courage, dedication, and exemplary service of teachers and education partners. It highlights best practices and meaningful contributions that strengthen the education sector, while fostering pride and unity across the education community.
Since August DepEd has awarded teachers, students and parents for their exemplary contribution, while GBF is the second organization that has been bestowed this award. GBF leaders were recognized for their impactful collaboration with DepEd—particularly in scaling initiatives that support educators, expand access to STEM education, and empower school communities nationwide.
Supporting Learners Through Access and Opportunity
At the core of GBF’s work is its commitment to expanding access to quality STEM education.
Through its scholarship programs, the foundation has supported over 3,500 lifetime scholars, enabling high-potential Filipino learners to pursue education and careers in STEM fields.
These programs are designed not only to support students financially, but to help bridge the gap between education and employment—ensuring that learning leads to meaningful opportunities.
Similarly, as aligned with DepEd's educator development goals, GBF scholarships are being offered to pre-service and in-service public school teachers to strengthen their STEM content mastery and pedagogy.
Empowering Teachers at Scale
Recognizing that teachers are at the heart of learning, GBF has invested heavily in educator development.
Its GBF STEM Collab community, now with over 320,000 members nationwide, serves as a dynamic platform where educators can access learning sessions, exchange best practices, and grow together.
In the past two years alone, GBF delivered 26 webinars and learning sessions, issuing CPD units to 103,000 teachers across the country.
A key highlight was the ARAL reading remediation series in August 2025, which reached over 210,000 teachers nationwide, demonstrating strong engagement in addressing foundational learning gaps in reading and numeracy.
From Training to Classroom Practice
Beyond professional development, GBF ensures that learning translates into classroom impact.
Through GBF Class Builder, teachers are equipped with DepEd-aligned lesson materials and guided coaching support—helping them implement effective teaching strategies in their daily instruction. The platform continues to expand from its current coverage of 5,000 schools across 45 school divisions nationwide.
Complementing this effort, GBF has partnered with Khan Academy Philippines to support the Mathtalino Remediation Program, providing technology-enabled learning access to over 3,000 learners in NCR and CARAGA.
This initiative highlights the role of digital tools in scaling interventions and democratizing access to quality learning support—especially for students who need it most.
Strengthening School Communities
GBF’s impact extends beyond the classroom through initiatives that support schools and communities.
Under the Juan Community Program, the foundation mobilizes partnerships to provide educational donations, volunteerism initiatives, and school support.
In 2025, these efforts engaged multiple Gokongwei Group companies and volunteers, contributing thousands of volunteer hours to support public schools nationwide.
The foundation also commits to invest in infrastructure, including classroom construction projects aimed at addressing the classroom backlog and creating safer, more conducive learning environments.
A Shared Mission for Filipino Learners
In accepting the recognition, GBF emphasized that the award reflects the strength of its collaboration with DepEd and its partners.
“This recognition is not just for our organization—it is for every teacher, learner, and partner we have worked with,” GBF shared. “Our role has always been to support DepEd’s mission and contribute to meaningful, scalable solutions that improve learning outcomes.”
As GBF and DepEd continue to work together, both institutions reaffirm their shared goal: to ensure that every Filipino learner has access to quality education—and that every teacher is empowered to shape the future of the nation.
Watch GBF General Manager and trustee Lisa Gokongwei Cheng’s acceptance speech here:
