St. Joseph School: Advancing knowledge, transforming lives

On August 3, 1964, a kindergarten school was opened by the Parish Council of Gagalangin as a response to the encouragement of His Eminence Rufino Cardinal T. Santos of Manila to establish a school in every parish.  Under the care of Felicisima Carls with Fr. Pedro Pajarillo as spiritual director, the humble forerunner of the parochial school expanded from kindergarten to elementary school. In schoolyear 1965-1966, recognition was awarded by the government and by then, the school was named St. Joseph Parochial School.

The school underwent transition when the management of all parochial schools was given to the parish priest as director, hence the DC sisters entrusted the management of the school to Rev. Fr. Alfredo Guerrero on April 4, 1995. Under his leadership, the quality of instruction was steadily enhanced as the academic staff were provided opportunities for spiritual, intellectual and social development simultaneous with the wide expansion of facilities to meet the challenges of the time. He worked hand in hand with Teresita Griengo as the school principal, and later Teresita Onrubia, whose vision for excellence became a realization when she was appointed in April 2002.

January 2002 became a more progressive year for St. Joseph School through the appointment of Rev. Fr. Nestor Gungon as school director. He accomplished distinctive improvement in school facilities for a more conducive teaching and learning experience. He improved the school curriculum and instruction by providing programs beyond what is required by the DepEd.

In June 2014, Rev. Fr. Nolan Que assumed office, ushering in days of great optimism for the school. Together with the school principal, Fr. Que is working toward ensuring that St. Joseph School becomes a premier school of MaPSA-RCAM ES offering the Basic Education Program.

Milestones

On June 24, 2008,  the certification team of the Fund Assistance to Private Education (FAPE) visited St. Joseph School, which received the certification program in July, thus becoming a beneficiary to the Education System Contracting (ESC) and Education Voucher System ( EVS).

December 12, 2011 also marked a significant event in the history of St. Joseph School as PAASCU ( Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools Colleges and Universities) and the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP) granted SJS Level I Accredited Status to the school’s Basic Education Program. A few years later, on December 12, 2015, PAASCU Level II was granted.

Another milestone was added to the history of SJS when the clustering of schools of MaPSA – RCAM ES (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila Educational System) was implemented in SY 2014–2015. St Joseph School was clustered with Espiritu Santo Parochial School and San Pablo Apostol Learning Center with Rev. Fr. Nolan A. Que as a cluster director.

St. Joseph School will not rest on its laurels but will continue to soar towards the realization of its goals.

St. Joseph School accepts applications, reservations and inquiries for Pre-school to Senior High School through the Registrar’s Office with phone numbers 257-1126 / 253-5740 or email [email protected].