Elements of the finest schools in a school run by parents

MANILA, Philippines - While teachers take the place of parents in thousands of schools all over the country, none offer the kind of pedagogy that schools under the Parents for Education Foundation (PAREF) possess. These are schools run by no other than the parents themselves.        With a firm resolve, they formed PAREF in 1976, a non-stock, non-profit corporation, whose main objective is to put up schools and to provide parents the means to promote the world-class education they dreamed for their children.

Dreaming of leaders who can bring about social transformation, PAREF focuses its efforts on building men and women of character.

“Members of the alumni,” reported Ralph Guzman of PAREF-Southridge School, “are just about always bumping into co-alumni at the University of the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, University of Asia and the Pacific, and the University of Santo Tomas.” Indeed PAREF students continue to enter Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Brown, Yale, and Stanford, even earning Latin honors of summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude. Within its 35 years, the system has produced at least ten summa cum laudes, six of them in American universities. Thus, the University of the Philippines and some DepEd officials have informed PAREF that its student results show that it is one of the top school systems in the country.

For PAREF, its strongest tool for facilitating personal excellence is one-on-one mentoring. Each child is assigned to one mentor, a member of the school personnel, who chats on a periodic basis with the student personally to understand his or her personality, behavior and potential. Inspired by the ideas of a modern saint and Catholic educator, Josemaria Escriva, PAREF is the first organization in the Philippines to practice this type of active partnership between parents and teachers.               

Building on this key strength, PAREF has developed its home-school collaboration system through the years. The latest addition is the incorporation of Harvard-Business-School-style case studies in its New Parents Education Program (NPEP), developed together with Educhild Foundation.

The faculty is considered the heart of the school. Thus, PAREF ensures that its teachers are fit for the purpose of being parent partners outside the home.

PAREF has successfully realized its mission and vision by putting up 7 single-sex schools all over the country: Southridge, Woodrose, Rosehill, Northfield, Springdale, Southcrest and Westbridge. The PAREF Preschools, Inc. (PPSI), meanwhile, is composed of Rosemont, Ridgefield, Rosefield, Ridgefield Iloilo and Rosehill Preschool.

For parents who aspire to play a proactive role in the education of their children and desire for them to grow up living the values of the Catholic Faith, PAREF will be more than happy to welcome them as part of their community. Parents can visit any of its schools all over the country or call (02) 6314292, 7810220, 6311695 or 6877104 or send an email to [email protected]. Parents can also visit www.paref.org or drop by the PAREF Office at Units 107-109 Cedar Mansion II, No. 7 Escriva Drive, San Antonio Village, Pasig City.