History

The Dominican School of Angeles City Foundation, Inc. is a Catholic, Dominican educational institution owned and run by the Dominican Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary which offers basic education courses from Preschool to Junior High School.

The campus stands on a two-hectare land located in Purok 8, Barangay Mining, Angeles City, Pampanga. The late Miss Luz Morales, a pious and generous woman from Mabalacat City, generously donated this space to the congregation in 2003. This happened during the leadership of Sr. Estrellita G. David, OP. The fatherly support of Archbishop Emeritus Paciano B. Aniceto, DD, was noteworthy in this gratuitous donation.

The initiative to give birth to a Catholic School with a Basic Education course was borne out of a house-to-house survey conducted in 2008 by the late Sr. La Purisima Careso, OP and Sr. Marissa Figueroa, OP, among the residents of Barangay Mining and the neighboring barangays. The initiative eventually transformed into a vision to deliver quality Catholic, Dominican education.

In 2009, under the leadership of Sr. Maria Socorro C. Garcia, OP, then Prioress of the congregation, the first floor of the school building was constructed. With her were Sr. Salvacion B. Valenzuela, OP and Sr. Bibiana T. Colasito, OP who served as the first community of sisters who managed the new school, Dominican School of Angeles City Foundation, Inc. (DSACFI).

To commence its operation, the school started with three young girls as kinder pupils in 2011-2012 with Sr. Salvacion B. Valenzuela, OP as the teacher. The school was registered, under the abovementioned name, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a learning institution, and was approved on January 16, 2012. The same date marks the foundation day of DSACFI.

School Year 2012-2013 welcomed a new set of school leaders in the persons of Sr. Corazon C. Quiambao, OP, Principal, the late Sr. Amelia Sarmiento, OP, Treasurer, while Sr. Ma. Filomena M. Manuel, OP, and Sr. Michelle S. Salalila, OP. served as teachers.

During the summer of 2013, Sr. Zenaida S. Nacpil, OP, Chapter Prioress of Our Lady of Remedies, spearheaded the construction of two more storeys to accommodate the growing number of the school community. As forecasted, for the school year 2013-2014, the school registered a 164.70% increase in its enrolment from 34 students in the previous year to 94 students the succeeding year.

The Dominican School of Angeles City Foundation, Inc. (DSACFI) was granted Government Recognition No. E-040, series 2013, on November 18, 2013 by the Department of Education, Division of City Schools, Angeles City, Region 3, during the administration of Sr. Corazon C. Quiambao, OP., the school principal. This Recognition was for the Pre-School, effective SY 2014-2015.

In the same year, the school offered two additional grade levels: Grade 2 and Grade 8 and six lay teachers were hired as additional staff. The sisters assigned to minister at DSACFI for school year 2013-2014 were Sr. Corazon C. Quiambao, OP, Principal, Sr. Abegail L. Santos, OP, Treasurer, Sr. Ma. Filomena M. Manuel, OP, and Sr. Michelle S. Salalila, OP, Teachers and Sr. Bibiana T. Colasito, OP, part time Guidance Counselor.

The Permit to Operate grades 1, 2, 3 and 7, 8. and 9 was granted by the Department of Education in the School Year 2014-2015. Sr. Arsenia Marie T. Puno, OP served as the School Directress and Guidance Counselor, with Sr. Corazon C. Quiambao, OP. as the principal; Sr. Maria Victoria M. Changcoco, OP, the treasurer, and Sr. Salvation B. Valenzuela, OP, Kinder and Pre-School teacher.

Enrolment for 2014-2015 recorded a 206% increase with 186 learners officially counted in the roll of students.

These young Dominicans were served by 13 faculty, 2 personnel and 3 administrators. The following year the Permit to Operate grade 4 and grade 10 was granted the school. The sisters who continued their assignments were Sr. Corazon C. Quiambao, OP, Sr. Maria Victoria M. Changcoco, OP, Sr. Arsenia Marie T, Puno, OP, Sr. Maribeth T. Manguil, OP, was then newly assigned as assistant to the Directress/ Guidance Counselor.

In the School Year 2015-2016, DSACFI applied for Government Recognition for Junior High School- Grades 7, 8, 9, and 10. The School also applied for renewal for the Grades 1 to 4 and permit to operate Grade 5.

On the occasion of DSACFI’S 5th founding anniversary in January 2016, significantly remembered is the granting of DepEd’s Government Recognition status for its Pre-Elementary, Elementary and Junior High School courses of the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum.

The school year 2016-2017 was extra significant due to the school’s acquisition of the status of being a Certified Participating school to DepEd’s Educational Service Contracting (ESC) program. This collaborative endeavor between DepEd and DSACFI enables the granting of a subsidy to qualified incoming Grade 7 learners as contracted through the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC).

To accommodate the ever-growing number of learners who wish to experience Catholic, Dominican education, the Board of Trustees under the leadership of Sr. Zenaida S. Nacpil, OP, with the generosity of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, and other benefactors, endeavored for the construction and completion of the three–story St. Dominic Building which has accommodated the Junior High School learners since SY 2018-2019.

Enrolment steadily increased through the years – SY 2017-2018 with 328 enrolees; SY 2018-2019 with 334 enrollees; and SY 2019-2020 with 365 enrolees.

SY 2018-2019 marked the assignation of Sr. Liberty Q. Mendoza, OP as the new Basic Education Principal. Sr. Arsenia Marie T. Puno, OP, steadfastly serves as the School Directress and Sr. Victoria Changcoco, OP, indefatigably serves as the School Treasurer. Considered historical for the year is the membership of DSACFI to the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP).

Sr. Meliza Arquillano, OP, and Sr. Leizel V. Tedria, OP, were ministerially placed as canteen manager and teacher, respectively, in 2019-2020. Whereas, Sr. Abegail L. Santos, OP, made a comeback as a School Treasurer in 2020-2021. DSACFI recorded a total of 28 academic and non-academic staff for this period.

Covid-19 caught the global community in a surprise in the early month of January 2020, DSACFI included. With the whole country practically placed under stringent protocols and community lockdowns, face-to-face instruction as well as year-end exercises had to be cancelled to mitigate the spread of corona virus. Online commencement ceremonies became the most plausible option to ritualize learners’ leaping from one educational ladder to the next.

DSACFI has continued to adapt to the changing educational landscape, thus, school year 2020-2021 kept the teaching-learning process afloat through Online Distance Learning delivery. Enrollment, however, declined from 367 in 2019-2020 to 201 due to the impact of the pandemic on the health and economic needs of its envisioned clientele.