Almost two years ago, Richelle See and Chery Manadlang shelled out a combined P1.5 million from their respective savings to open The Brick’s Place Pre-School inside New Manila in Quezon City.
Now on its second year and with 24 kids enrolled in, the partners expect to have a better return on their investment.
"Putting up a school is really financially challenging. There are a lot of risks involved. Fortunately, we are able to keep our heads above water," says the 34-year-old See.
Manadlang keeps tabs on the school’s financial operations, being its chief financial officer. Their monthly expenses, she says, amount to P100,000 excluding the P5,000 budget each of them sometimes spend to buy materials for the school.
"We buy educational toys and manipulatives to teach certain concepts to the kids. These materials, sometimes, we can only buy in the States, Singapore and Hong Kong," narrates the 32-year-old Manadlang. "Whenever we are on a vacation, we make it a point to shop for new materials," she adds.
The Brick’s Place currently employs three teachers, two assistants, a caretaker and one office secretary.
"It’s a misconception that running a pre-school is one of the most lucrative businesses. Hindi totoo yun," quips See.
"More than the earnings, it is a vocation for us," says Manadlang. Her goal, which she shares with See, is to expand progressive teaching to children.
"We have a certain approach, our own philosophy. We are not only here to attend to the kids’ educational advancement but their emotional stability as well," notes See.
Both of them have mastered the so-called progressive teaching before they decided to put up their own school.
Manadlang left their family business to attend a seminar in Waldorf School in Manila, where, eventually, got her into teaching three to four-year old kids. After that short stint, she went to ABS-CBN Learning Center but didn’t stay long. Soon after, she pioneered the Bright Minds School along Kamias. She then went on to join Psycchpros, a diagnostic center for intervention reading, and became a full-pledged pre-school progressive teacher at Apples & Oranges, where she met See.
See, for her part, did not immediately give in to her calling after she graduated from University of Santo Tomas with a degree in literature.
"I’ve always wanted to teach literature pero sa bata ako napunta," she says. But before formally dealing with kids, See worked for over two years in a five-star hotel in Manila. When she got out of that job, she earned her first taste in teaching at First Steps to Learning, where she first served as an assistant teacher. After four years, she was handling her own classes.
She then transferred to Apples & Oranges where she was a head teacher and later on, a school administrator. "Then I decided to rest for a year to ponder on what to do next. And in May 2005, The Brick’s Place was born," See narrates.
The Brick’s Place is currently offering pre-school at P65,000 (tri-semester); lessons for toddlers at P50,000 and lapsitting for also P50,000. The fees, they say, are the prevailing rates among private pre-schools in Manila.
"We receive inquiries from some parents and sometimes, they get really overwhelmed by the fees and we fully understand that. But once we explain to them the factors why, they become open to idea," admits Manadlang.
"Our commitment to them is to teach their children progressive knowledge and the proper conduct when dealing with family, friends and the society," notes See.
She adds, "The idea was to adopt something unique, but at the same, ensuring the quality (of education)."
The two young entrepreneurs’ educational theory, embraced something Russian. A theory developed by Lev Semenovich Vygotsky. His theory is simple. He believed that each child possesses remarkable strengths just waiting to be tapped given the right stimulation and encouragement. This is the curricular centerpiece of The Brick’s Place.
"It’s hard to explain the philosophies and approaches to the kids’ parents, but we make sure they see the results in how their kids interact with them at home," says Manadlang.
A three-year old child for instance, is normally exposed to the mastery of the alphabet, counting, and reading and pronunciation of letters. Once a child masters a subject, under the Vygotskian theory, he or she is already given advanced material for the same subject.
"Sa amin individualized. Yung three years old kapag very skilled in other aspects, ready na siya for advanced subjects. Yun ang difference namin sa iba," says Lim-See.
But if a child for example, shows slow progress in a certain subject, they are also reinforcement classes or what they call amplifying methods.
"Sa ibang school kasi, kapag medyo magaling yung bata sa isang subject, they end up waiting for another year para lang mabigyan ng advanced classes yung bata. Sa amin, we can teach advanced subjects, while strengthening or amplifying their weak points," adds See.
See and Manadlang’s Vygotskian-inspired school, is now also widely followed in the US and The Brick’s Place is perhaps one of the few that uses such theory in Asia.