After years of space struggles, Laoag school gains room to grow
Buttong Integrated School (BuIS) junior high students in Laoag City finally leave makeshift classrooms behind as they move into a new, student-friendly school building from the SM Group.
Few would expect that a top-performing school like Buttong Integrated School (BuIS) in Laoag City has long struggled with space and facility limitations.
Known for its excellence in campus journalism, drum and lyre competitions, sports meets, and cleanliness, BuIS continues to thrive despite its constraints.
Originally built to serve elementary students, the school was thrust into a new role in 2022 when it was converted into an integrated school, accommodating learners up to Grade 10. While the conversion was welcomed by the community, it slowly showed challenges.
With no proper classrooms for junior high school (JHS), the school resorted to makeshift solutions. Some classes were held in the covered court and others in the conference hall.
As the classrooms were originally designed for elementary pupils—typically seven meters by seven meters—they were stretched to accommodate JHS students, who require larger seven-by-nine-meter spaces.
“When I was installed here as principal in January, my biggest challenge was that we had incoming Grade 10 students but no classrooms for them. The existing classrooms were designed for elementary pupils, not for JHS students,” BuIS Principal Arnel Sabuco said.
Equipped with tables, chairs, wall-mounted fans, and concave whiteboards, the new classrooms provide a conducive learning environment that supports better focus and improved student outcomes.
As enrollment rose from 700 to nearly 1,000, space became even scarcer. Many of the new learners were transferees or returning students. The two JHS sections holding classes in non-classroom spaces had to learn amidst noise, heat, and poor ventilation. BuIS even had to borrow tables and chairs from other schools. Teachers and students alike struggled in the said temporary setup.
“Learning was difficult under those conditions. The spaces weren’t conducive. It wasn’t ideal, but we always open our school to everyone. We did what we could to keep them in school,” he added.
Sabuco calls the turnover of the new SM Foundation two-story, four-classroom school building a ‘sigh of relief.’ The foundation, in partnership with SM Prime and in support of the Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School program, constructed fully furnished classrooms with key features designed for comfort, functionality, and safety.
Each classroom is equipped with panoramic whiteboards, wall-mounted fans, clocks, and armchairs, including left-handed chairs. Every room has its own comfort room, an upgrade from shared restrooms in older buildings.
The structure also includes a PWD-accessible restroom, emergency lighting, a fire alarm bells, and ramps for accessibility.
All four classrooms include tables and chairs for teachers, creating a more organized and effective teaching environment.
“This building came at the right time. It will allow us to give students and teachers a better environment for teaching and learning. Now, we can focus on improving quality, not just making space,” the principal smiled.
With over 30 teachers and nearly 900 students, the new building helps ease the school’s overcrowding problem and gives breathing room for future growth.
With renewed facilities, the school community is optimistic about the new doors that will open for them.
“To the Buttong community, let’s continue working together. We will do our best to make this school something we can all be proud of. With the new school building, we will keep our goal of ensuring a more seamless and high-quality transfer of learning, now that we have more conducive classrooms for effective teaching and learning,” the principal hoped.
