SINCE 1997, THE ATENEO CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT HAS HELPED SHAPE THE LIVES OF CHILDREN, TEACHERS, SCHOOL HEADS, AND PARENTS, AND HAS SHOWN THAT "IF WE WORK TOGETHER IN TRUST AND IN HOPE, THE CRISES THAT BESET PHILIPPINE PUBLIC EDUCATION CAN BE CONTAINED AND SOLVED.

The Ateneo de Manila University established the Ateneo Center for Educational Development to help provide a systematic, high impact, and visible program of support for the Philippine public school system. The center forcuses its efforts on four major areas of educational development:

Public School Teacher Training Program

Principal Empowerment Program

Research and Development

Curriculum, textbooks, and Instructional Materials Development

The center also helps develop communities and supports systems-based integrated approaches that bolster the growth of schools. The center has made itself available to assist public schools and their stakeholders through initiatives that include awareness building; technology transfer by way of school-based research, planning, and stakeholder analysis; and community support through strengthened networks. In all of its undertakings--in its professional training programs, its school and community-based work, and research endeavors--the center actively promotes the upliftment of public education through the collaboration of all stakeholders. This drive for unity has enabled the Ateneo de Manila University to extend its resources to more teachers, school principals, and schools.

ACED History

The Ateneo Center for Educational Development is the result of two major paradigm shifts concerning the Ateneo de Manila University and its role in development. The first is the shift from the idea of Ateneo running as an excellent school to helping others to be excellent schools themselves. The second shift has been from an evolved appreciation of graduate programs aimed at harnessing leaders and professionals already in the field of development to help them make an impact on national development. Thus, the Center was inaugurated on February 11, 1997. Since then, it has extended its services to the public schools and institutions committed to enhance the country's educational system. It is envisioned to provide a systematic, high impact and visible center of support for public school systems in the Philippines. It coordinates and systematizes existing Ateneo de Manila University resources and efforts in major areas of educational development. Its flagship program, the Public School Teacher Training Program is geared towards content and skills upgrading of public elementary and secondary school teachers. To date, ACED has been serving the public school sector through the Department of Education (DepEd) as well as some of the units within the University.

ACED Participating Units

1. School of Social Sciences

2. School of Humanities

3. School of Sciences and Engineering

4. Ateneo de Manila High School & Grade School

5. Ateneo School of Government

A series of meetings was held between Ateneo and representatives from the Makati public high schools, through then City Mayor Jejomar Binay, began as early as August 1995. They discussed what Ateneo could do to help Makati in the area of teacher training and other educational development programs. On its own initiative, the Rotary Club of Makati also approached Ateneo in October of the same year requesting the University to arrange a training program to raise the competence of Makati public high school teachers. The University, through the Office of the Academic Vice-President, coordinated a series of meetings to bring these groups together and after much deliberation, the Certificate Program for Makati Secondary Public School Teachers was conceived. The Certificate Program for Makati Secondary Public School Teachers is a twenty-one unit program which involves upgrading the Sciences, Mathematics, and English. It covered one summer and two semesters of School Year 1996-1997. The courses could be taken for credit or non-credit basis. On July 1997, a team from ACED met with Dra. Corazon Santiago, Makati Division Superintendent, to enhance the version of the recently concluded Certificate Program. The group agreed that the new program will run in three phases. Phase one included workshops on Facilitation Skills in Adult Learning. This workshop was given by the Human Resource Center (HRC) under the university's Department of Psychology. This was held on November 15, 22, 29 December 6 and 13, 1997. The second phase involved graduate-level classes in the fields of General Science, Biology, Chemistry, English, Mathematics, and Physics. Academic classes were held every Saturday, from January 10 to March 7, 1998. A team of Ateneo faculty designed modules used for the courses using DECS textbooks, Philippine Elementary Learning Competencies (PELC), and Philippine Secondary School Learning Competencies (PSSLC) as their main references. The last phase is a cascade workshop for the Makati Public school teachers who are expected to echo what they have learned to the teachers of the various Makati schools not chosen as program participants. The workshop was held at the Makati Elementary School on July 18, 1998, from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. Joining the Makati public school teachers in the academic classes for the first time are teachers from the Quezon City public schools. In School Year 1998-99, ACED expanded its teacher training services to four new divisions - Pasig/San Juan, Marikina, Manila and Calamba District, Division of Laguna. ACED has formed a team to revise the modules used in the previous school year based on the participants' evaluation of the courses. To this date, the training program continue to offer graduate level courses to the participants with the exception of the modules on Adult Facilitation Workshop and the Cascade Workshop.

About the Volunteer Team

We are a community of passion-driven Ateneo volunteers, rooted in the Ignatian value of being men and women for others, commited to the improvement of Philippine basic education through service. This place is where volunteers of the Ateneo Center for Educational Development discuss what's happening with ACED, what they're thinking about, topics on Philippine public school education, and most importantly, the celebration of success stories that ACED has helped achieved.

ACED Contacts!

ACED Office

Secretary General: Belle Yambao

Finance Officer: Mic Cabauatan

Special Events Officer: Rainey Sarmiento

Administrative and Assistance: Anna Lynn Abad

Administrative and Assistance: Rica Flores

Community Development: TBA

Community Development: TBA

Public Ralations and Marketing: Nikki Delmendo

Public Ralations and Marketing: Jeremy Ryan Yap

Research and Writing: Stephanie Ferrer

Research and Writing: Gene Bueta