Dabawenyo families wanting their grade school children to experience the PEP, short for Personalized Education Pedagogy, should be happy to learn that the Saint Pedro Poveda College is inaugurating on Tuesday, April 17, its new campus at Kilometer 11 in barangay Catalunan Pequeno, Davao City to cater to students of pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and grade school programs.
Pre-kindergarten, also called the “Bloom Program” is open to 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds; kindergarten or the “Sparks” Program for 5-year-olds, while grade school, or the Ripples Program is open to Grades 1, 2 and 3.
Also known as Institucion Teresian de Educacion y Cultura, Inc., Saint Pedro Poveda College is a school owned and managed by the Teresian Association.
With the application of the curricula set by the K to 12 Educational Program Initiatives of the Department of Education, the Personalized Education Pedagogy developed by Saint Ped ro Poveda, a priest, educator and founder of the Teresian Asociation, will be offered by the school here.
For several decades, PEP, offered by the Saint Pedro Poveda College, a PAASCU-accredited school in Manila,
subscribes to the idea that effective learning stems from the initiative and interests of the learner in free, supportive and facilitative environment.
It has the following features:
Individual work period. Each student learns concepts through learning tools individually, moving through the lessons assigned in every session. It encourages the practice of initiative, self-discipline and order.
Group sessions and encounters. Small group sessions are held with each subject teacher to discuss and share with the student the knowledge and the experiences learned and to clarify important points of the lesson. Big group sharing are held for greater interaction.
It is a venue for communication of knowledge and ideas, respect and openness. It allows socialization and acceptance of other students’ perspectives.
Normalization and evaluation periods. The teacher recalls with the student the significant topics and activities of the day and relates it meaningfully to the students’ individual experiences. The student evaluates one’s performance and determine his/her own participation and collaboration in the class activities.
Grading system. The school implements programs consistent with PEP and uses a descriptive grading system with no numerical equivalents. Rubrics in different subject areas describing the learning criteria are used to assess and evaluate certain educational tasks based on learning and performance objectives.
Asked why the owners decided to locate their branch in Davao, College Director Virginia Palmares said establishing a school in Davao was a dream come true.
Ms Palmares the school believes in education based on the conviction that school programs are designed to enable the students “to become individuals who can take action, and be responsible for their actions, and develop young people who are able to work creatively and learn independently as well as cooperatively.
Enrolment is now going on. Interested parents are advised to contact Director Palmares for details.