UST Angelicum College, Inc. 6

Angelicum College started out as an educator's simple dream to break free from the traditional educational system. When he was an elementary student at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Fr. Rogelio Alarcon, O.P had already begun toying with the idea of a school that would cater to the individual needs of each student and discard the traditional concept of grading.


But it would be years later before his idea would take serious shape. He started to expound on the system without grades, without failures while making comparative studies on the different systems of education while studying at the UST Graduate School.


In 1972, a few months after he was appointed first Provincial of the Philippine Dominican Province, he was able to convince some educators and the Province to put up a non-graded school. It was to be called "Angelicum" after one of the Dominican houses of studies in Rome and its whole existence would be justified by the nature of each individual child. Its philosophy would be "to do what is best for the learners."


In May of 1972, the Ministry of Education and Culture granted permission for the operation of this unique school. It was opened after one month of relentless activity which involved looking for a building, recruiting teachers, enrolling students, getting classroom materials, and arranging for school services.


On July 5, 1972, Angelicum School was born: six classrooms and a small library all housed at the Dominican seminary; 315 young boys under the care of 9 creative, responsible and experienced teachers who were willing to undertake a paradigm shift. It carried out the embodiment of the Dominican ideals of charity, justice, and fortitude. Angelicum became the first non-graded school in the Philippines.


In the second year of its existence, Angelicum's enrollment doubled. The first floor of the St. Dominic Building was finished in time to house the fast growing populace.


In 1974, girls were accepted to meet "the need to normalize the environment." A total of 220 enrolled in the Nursery to YS 5 Levels. Likewise, the St. Martin Building was then ready for the learners.



In 1977, St. Antoninus School opened. It offered services to children in need of special attention. Ten years later, it was renamed Special Education Department (SPED). Its operation was suspended in 1996.


Angelicum expanded beyond Quezon City. Two branches were established: Angelicum Tehran, Iran and Angelicum Jaro, Iloilo. But due to the religious war in Iran, Angelicum Tehran was closed in 1979.


In 1978, Rev. Fr. Norberto Castillo, O.P. became the director of the school. The number of students continued to rise and the school gained wider acclaim in the country's educational system. On May 11, 1979, the school library was named Fr. Ed Lumboy Memorial Resource Center in honor of Rev. Fr. Ed Lumboy, one of the school's resident priests who died in a vehicular accident.


Rev. Fr. Hilario Singian, O.P. succeeded Fr. Castillo in 1982. During his term, the St. Vincent Covered Court was completed. After one year, Fr. Singian was replaced by Rev. Fr. Juan Ponce, O.P., who became director for four years. The St. Tomas Building was constructed during this period. In 1987, Rev. Fr. Honorato Castigador, O.P. replaced Fr. Ponce. In 1988, the directorship of the school was given to Rev. Fr. Tamerlane Lana, O.P. The St. Martin Building was renovated in his term. The old cafetorium was expanded and an additional cafetorium was finished in 1991.


In 1994, Rev. Fr. Rogelio Alarcon, O.P. came back to be the seventh director of Angelicum. Indefatigable in the pursuit of his principles and ideals, he brought back the real essence of the non-graded system. The modular approach was adopted. In 1995, the College Department was opened and the school was renamed Angelicum College in May 1996. In August of the same year, recognition of the Home Study Program was granted. The swimming pool and a new Computer Laboratory were constructed and the Computer Program was extended to the YS 1 to YS 11 learners. The improvement of the football field was also done during this period.

On its Silver Anniversary in 1998, a musical play KULAYDOSKOP was presented. More than 3,000 learners from the Nursery to YS 11 Levels participated in the play which showcased the country’s heritage.


In January 1999, Angelicum College formally launched the Re-entry Education Agenda for the Poor (REAP) Program, which was attended by no less than the President of the Philippines at that time, His Excellency President Joseph E. Estrada.


In the year 2000, the new college building was inaugurated in the presence of the former Quezon City Mayor Ishmael Mathay, together with Rev. Fr. Quirico T. Pedregosa Jr., O.P., former Provincial and Chair of the Board of Trustees.


On October 2002, Rev. Fr. Hilario Q. Singian Jr. O.P. was installed as the 8th Rector of the College. During his term, the third floor of the St. Martin Building was constructed which housed the Home Study Program. Renovation of the St. Vincent Covered Court was also completed.


Fr. Singian ended his term in 2004 and Fr. Herminio Dagohoy, OP succeeded him in June 2004. Improvement of facilities and offices was done like the air-conditioning of all the classrooms at St. Dominic Building and St Thomas Building. Renovations of all offices at the St. Martin Building (octagonal) were also done. He spearheaded the launching of the Solid Waste Management and the rehabilitation of the AC Football Field. In May 2008, Fr. Dagohoy was transferred to UST as one of the administrators of the UST Hospital. Fr. Ferdinand L. Bautista, OP succeeded him and was installed on June 12, 2008 as the 10th Rector and current President of Angelicum College.

THE ANGELICUM SYSTEM


The Angelicum System adheres to the theoretical framework and established practices of a non-graded system of education as envisioned by its founder, Fr. Rogelio B. Alarcon, O.P. Its primary concern is to accept and respect individual differences. It recognizes the unique learning styles, special needs, similarities and differences of all learners. There is ample variability in instructional approaches to varying needs.



Individualized Learning
The system is non-graded in such a way that learners can, individually, move through the content, that is, the curriculum, at his own pace, commensurate with his own abilities, interests, and needs. Individualized learning occurs when the curriculum, the materials and activities are organized for self-pacing through self-learning materials/modules.

Self-paced
Learners are enabled through flexible arrangements to progress at their own best pace and in appropriately varied ways. Curricula are individualized to correspond with individual needs, interests, and abilities.

Continuous Progression
Continuous Progression sees learning activities of the learner as one continuum consisting of different graduated levels. Levels 1, 2, 3, etc., signify the increasing degree of difficulty of the skills in the learning continuum. Thus, when a child enters Angelicum, the first thing done to him is to determine his level. Then he starts his lesson in the level determined and progresses from there.
The expected standards of performance (in terms of outcomes) in the subject areas of the curriculum are defined so that the points to be reached by the end of a designated (e.g. a four-year) period are well known. However, the time taken to reach that end and the path followed to that end is allowed to vary.

No Grade Labels
Grade labels are not used (e.g. first grade, first year) to identify boundaries within which it is presumed that typical children of a given age group can and should function academically. The Angelicum System sees a particular subject area level as a continuous whole with a complete set of skills to be learned by the learners without the usual time frame.

No Marking System
The competitive or comparative evaluation system, through which the products of each child's academic efforts are marked or rated with symbols or words that represent point along a scale of acceptability, is not used. Instead, results of mastery tests are given descriptively. A check (/) means that the learner had gained ample working knowledge, skills, and values relative to the lesson.

No Retention or Failure
The promotion-retention system which requires that a child be demonstrably qualified at the end of each year to cross the boundary between one grade level to the next, or else be retained ("failed") within the lower boundary for yet another academic year is not the practice in a non-graded scheme of education.
Early academic failure tends to be self-fulfilling prophecies for later years. Young people, who grow believing that despite their best efforts they are incapable of achieving quality results in their school work, begin to see themselves as having little inherent quality.

Individualized Learning Materials
Individualized learning materials are the basic vehicles for guiding student learning and provide the framework for beginning to individualized instruction. A variety of learning materials and activities are organized for self-pacing through individualized self-learning packages/modules.

Process-Oriented
The process is more important than the product. The skills of learning to think and to learn, especially inquiry, evaluation, synthesis and application are stressed. Learning, which is the "work" of the child, is intended to be not only challenging but also pleasurable and rewarding.

Teacher as Facilitator of Learning
The teacher's main focus is on the student's learning rather than teacher's teaching. The teacher aids in children's development and diagnoses problem areas. He suggests alternative plans of action, provides resource materials, and gives encouragement, support or prodding as the teacher assumes an unparalleled importance in learning, considering the purpose of education which is the total development of the person (immediate) and his eternal salvation (ultimate).

Mastery Learning
An approach to learning that emphasizes performance-based outcomes, such learning is often related to competencies that are taught and then evaluated for mastery.

Self-evaluation
The learner himself monitors his own performance. As he records his checkmarks of the skills learned, he keeps track of his own pace through a progress report chart. Through the chart, he realizes if he lags behind or if he is going fast.

Home-School-Community Collaboration
This focuses on the relationship of the learner with the active role the school, parents, and society play in the learning process. Learning starts at home, complemented in school, verified in society and perfected in life. Since all are concerned with the same person, collaboration is a must to give consistent, unified, and relevant information.
The Parent-Facilitator Conference (PFC) is an occasion for the school and the parents to discuss what is beneficial for the formation of the child. Cooperation between the school and the parents is to be elicited and all this can happen when there is openness and communication.

Cooperative Learning
A type of learning based on the notion that students can learn from each other by coordinating/networking efforts in a format that promotes the exchange of dialogue and ideas. Brainstorming together is one type of cooperative learning example.

Open Classroom
The Open Classroom system of education focuses on the place where the learner is as he learns and its impact on the learning process. This system believes that the learner can learn wherever he is. A particular place, however, has a decisive influence on a particular learner. The classroom is a very important place for learning. It is in the classroom that the teacher sets the mood for learning. However, learning is not confined to it. Learning could also happen in the next room, in the playground, in the library, under the trees, anywhere. The whole school then becomes a learning center. This center extends even beyond the limits of the school compound. The whole world, where the learner moves, eventually becomes a learning center.

Positive Motivation
Facilitators and other members of the school staff genuinely seek the welfare of the learners. They listen with empathy in order to let the learners get to the problem and the solution at their own pace and time.

Distance Learning
The refers to the use of modern telecommunications specifically the internet to present live instruction to locally- based learners as well as foreign- based learners who are enrolled but cannot be physically present in school. The wide range of media available for instructional use can also help deliver equal educational opportunities. An example would be the Home Study Program, which uses a webcam for the online monitoring of each learner’s performance and progress.