LEAP school's passion for education

MANILA, Philippines – LEAP School for Young Children celebrates over a decade of happy families, learning moments, and being the perfect home away from home.

Trained experts, ideal location, a solid curriculum, not to mention ample financing — these are some of the basic building blocks one will need to run a school. However, running a successful school will require something else primarily. Just ask Ina L. Syquia, Marilou Zalamea-Acero, and Raffy A. Reloza, the founders of LEAP School for Young Children. Since it opened its doors in 1997, LEAP has been an exemplary springboard to primary education for children ages one and a half to five. According to Teacher Ina, Teacher Marilou, and Teacher Raffy, the road to their school’s success required no top-secret formula, innovative strategy, or tricks up their sleeves. Rather, its success was founded upon the right combination of values: passion and a personal commitment to providing quality preschool education for kids.

“We look at how important being with children is,” Ina stresses. “It’s not something to be taken lightly that you want to be with kids every single day. You have to have the patience and the drive to actually be with children.”

“This is why it’s important to have good teachers around,” adds Marilou. She guarantees that LEAP only employs highly-qualified educators with practical training and a formal background in child development, education, or psychology to ensure that only the best care and schooling is given to the children.

LEAP is located within the secure neighborhood of Greenmeadows and only minutes away from the commercial business districts of Ortigas and Eastwood, making this residence-turned-school the ideal choice for both stay-home and working parents. In fact, when the founders decided to set up LEAP, they envisioned a learning center that would serve as “a home away from home” for their young students. “[The school’s] an extension of the family,” says Raffy. “The kids enter, they see us, they see their family pictures on the walls, they see a place [that’s] comfortable. They enter another home.”

The acronym LEAP stands for “Learning Experientially through Appropriate Practices.” In line with the vision of providing a “second home” to students, the school uses a play-based teaching method so children can learn in a setting that is fun and feels natural.

The school’s philosophy follows the Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) approach, which provides individualized instruction based on the child’s age, individual character, and socio-cultural background. Marilou explains, “DAP allows the different learning philosophies to co-exist. We take in the different approaches and studies in child development and we put them into a learning environment. A prevalent thing now in education is Multiple Intelligence. It recognizes the fact that children learn in different ways. One kid will tend to be more bookish, another more artsy. We recognize that. And since our classes are very small, we’ll know how each one learns, what the strengths and weaknesses are. And then we work from there.”

Classes are therefore divided into different “centers” to touch on the different modes of learning. There’s an art table, a writing table, dramatic play area, puzzles or table toys area, etc. For kids ages three and below, the ratio is one teacher to four kids, while the ratio for kids above three years is one teacher to nine kids. The teacher-student ratio is small so that each kid is given close, ample attention. With this teaching setup, the instruction is individualized, hands-on, play-based, and loads of fun that kids won’t think it’s work at all.

For over 10 years now, LEAP not only became a comfortable second home for tots, but an intimate community as well of teachers, parents, and kids. “We’ve been celebrating more than 10 years of happy families,” Marilou boasts. LEAP certainly prides itself not only in the way it has effectively helped children develop the necessary skills to become well-rounded individuals, but also in the close relationships that the school has formed with the parents and for the parents.

For the founders of LEAP, every moment is a learning experience for the child. That’s why it’s important to them that everyone who is in constant contact with the children is also trained and involved in the learning process. Parents are definitely encouraged to be active and involved in the activities. Ina says, “We just don’t let the parents leave their kids at the door. We make it a point that they tell us how the child is feeling or if they have special instructions for the day.” When class is dismissed, the teachers in turn exchange information with the parents regarding their child’s progress that day. Parents are also welcome to join the class and perhaps read a story.

“Whether they’re there for one year or they’re there for a number of years, the parents become friends and serve as resources to one another,” says Raffy. “Almost always the [parents] even form their own little barkadas within the school. And that’s what we try to build on. So early on when they enter, there’s a partnership already between the teachers and the parents. And the parents appreciate that.”

Even the yayas are involved in the development of their alagas. Throughout the school year, LEAP holds a series of workshops where yayas are given hands-on training on topics such as administering first aid, handling behavioral challenges at home, and even fun activities that they can do with the kids over the summer. “We make it a point that the topics would be apt,” Raffy points out.

This close network that LEAP has built with the students, their parents, and even their yayas has definitely worked to the school’s advantage and ultimately contributed to its success. “I don’t see ourselves going big, big, big. One of the things that the parents love is that it’s so cozy. Everybody knows each other by name,” says Raffy.

“And what gives us the edge over other schools is that we have not wavered in our standards in providing quality child education and care,” Ina adds.

Marilou shares, “One thing that has stopped us all the time from branching out, expanding the school, or adding levels is keeping the standard of quality. If we do expand, then that would mean we have to expand ourselves also. Hard to imagine keeping the standard if we spread ourselves too thin.”

Clearly, for these three and for over ten years of committing themselves to the education of young children and harnessing personal relationships with their coworkers, students, and the students’ families have been rewarding enough. So, what more do they expect in the next 10 years for themselves and LEAP? Marilou answers, “Hopefully to still keep on doing what we’re doing!”

For more information on LEAP School for Young Children, call tel. no. 6330270 or visit the school at 30 Greenmeadows Avenue, Q.C. Visit the website at http://leapschool foryoungchildren.com