Creating change, making a difference

MANILA, Philippines - Education, they say, is the greatest gift any parent can give to his or her child. It is the foundation for a bright future.

Giving their kids a good, quality education already poses a challenge — physically, emotionally, financially — for parents. Choosing the right school to send their kids to is a tougher challenge. With the mushrooming of schools in and around town, the challenge to select the best then becomes even harder.

Recently, international schools have become an option for parents who want an educational facility where intellectual curiosity is valued and where their kids will discover their capabilities as citizens of this nation, and of the world.

Ten years ago, the Beacon School in Taguig City was founded to be an exemplary elementary school that follows internationally-recognized curriculum (the International Baccalaureate program). The Beacon Academy builds on this success and offers four years of high school that see the IB continuum to its conclusion. It offers the final two years of the IB Middle Years Programme (grades 9 and 10) and two years of the Diploma Programme (grades 11 and 12). The IB Diploma Programme is recognized and respected by top universities all over the world. 

The academy is committed to academic excellence, citizenship, integrity and the education of the whole student. The school strives to be a learning community in which the collaborative search for understanding fosters thoughtful discourse, knowledge of self and the world of community. The people behind Beacon Academy trust in the strength and optimism of their students and their capacity to change the world. “We encourage them to think creatively and to respond to the world they live in,” Tana Lopa, Beacon Academy’s admissions officer, begins. “Learning in the Beacon Academy does not happen in a vacuum. Learning is always connected to the world they live in; and we encourage them to respond to this world in their own positive way.” Making a difference, says Tana, is possible at any age and as teenagers, their students (aged 14 to 18) are encouraged to believe that they have that power to be agents of change.

The thought of making a difference doesn’t hit teenagers that easily. At 14, kids do not think about others much because they are probably trying to survive their own troubles in school. But this is not the case at Beacon Academy. Tana furthers that students at the academy engage in class investigations, participate in thoughtful discourse and build friendships and close relationships with classmates and teachers. Beacon School trustee Fr. Tito Caluag, S.J. even confirms this in his opening prayer during the launch of the academy’s new campus in Biñan City, Laguna. He says, “What has begun as a dream and inspiration years ago may now be the same inspiration to millions of young Filipinos and their parents. Now, we can provide a truly quality basic education for the students.”

Guests of honor during the opening of Beacon Academy’s Biñan campus were Education Secretary Brother Armin Luistro and Biñan City Mayor Len Alonte. Also present was Beacon board chairman Andy Locsin.

Locsin thanked everyone — students, parents, faculty members, well wishers — who came to join them as the Beacon Academy moves its operations to the Biñan campus. He then invited everybody to take a tour of the newly constructed building and gym, phase one of a three-phase development project. The Biñan campus has fully equipped science laboratories, complete art facilities for Music, Drama and the Visual Arts and access to a variety of technology as the academy uses both Macs and PCs. “The building was designed with no dark corners. Teachers, staff and students are visible to each other at all times,” explains Tana.

On the big move to the South, Tana says, “There is wisdom in having a built campus. Why Biñan? Much is happening in terms of real estate development towards the south. Naturally, where you have homes being built, schools will follow.” She adds the place is ideal because the air is fresh and clean. It’s a calming environment that encourages learning and maximizes the students’ potential for growth and development.

Beacon’s international curriculum exhibits the best aspects of the Filipino ethos and prepares its graduates for both local and overseas colleges and universities. It expects its students to become engaged citizens who value diversity of thought and belief. Through its rigorous curriculum, Beacon Academy provides a college preparatory program of international caliber. 

Students at Beacon have high regard for their teachers. “Beacon has a very different teaching style from my old school. In my old school, you had to master the material on your own but at Beacon, you can really talk and discuss the subjects. People are more friendly here,” Mark Cubillan, a Grade 10 student, says. Ethan Ching, also a Grade 10 student, agrees and says teachers at Beacon teach in such a way that the students can easily comprehend.

For them to be able to create change and make a difference, these students need to have inspiring adults to show them they can. Students at Beacon Academy definitely see inspiration in their second parents at school. But unknown to the young ones, they inspire the young once even more. “The Beacon Academy provides an option for secondary education that is global in scope and quality but aware of its local context. Students quickly appreciate the academic challenges that are put before them,” says head of school Mailin Paterno-Locsin.

 (For more information, you may call +632 693-4011 to 14 or visit www.beaconacademy.ph)