St. La Salle Preschool

The St. La Salle Early Childhood Learning Center was established in 1997 as an outreach program of the College. From then on, the College of Education has continued to carry out its mission and commitment to provide quality preschool education to nearby marginalized communities with each student paying only 50 pesos per month.  From 1997-2009, the program catered to 5-6-year-old children ages 5-6 living in the neighboring communities of DLSU-Manila.  It was in AY 2008-2009 that it became a joint project with De La Salle-College of St. Benilde (DLS-CSB) that a property at 2139 Fidel Reyes Street in Manila (site of the present building) was acquired through a donation by DLS-CSB.  As part of the agreement, DLSU-Manila is responsible for the school operations that include curriculum implementation, staff requirements, and financial management. DLS-CSB, meanwhile, handles the feeding program for kids.

In AY 2009-2010, the 10-month preschool program was expanded to provide additional classes for 4-4.11-year-old children classified as the kindergarten class.  Presently, two sessions with two concurrent classes per session in the morning and afternoon are being held from Monday to Friday.  Each class comprises of about 12-15 students with three contact hours every session divided among math, social studies, arts and language lessons. On a regular basis, about 26-30 children enlist in preparatory school while 24-30 join the kindergarten at St. La Salle every year.

With the management’s collaborative effort, the St. La Salle Preschool was granted a government permit to operate as a preschool education in AY 2012-2013. The preschool is not alone in its educational apostolate; it has established partnerships with non-government organizations that provide donations for the preschool’s instructional needs, such as the Metrobank Foundation, Inc., Megaworld, PLDT, and school-based organizations such as the De La Salle University-Parents of University Students Organization (DLSU-PUSO) and the DLSU Center for Language and Lifelong Learning (DLSU-CELL).