School Profile

St. Bridget College Brief History

The last decade of the 1800s and the first decades of the twentieth century were years of turmoil for the country and the Church in the Philippines. The Philippine Revolution against Spain with its anti-friar character, the Spanish American War (1898) ended the 400 years Spanish colonization and ushered 40 years of the American Colonial Period.

The Americans established an efficient Public School system where students flocked to learn English and their 3 Rs. The Americans also brought Protestantism and the public schools were venues for introducing the new Religion.

In 1910 the Diocese of Lipa was created, comprising the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Mindoro, Marinduque and Tayabas. In this vast area there was no Catholic School and Bishop Joseph Petrelli the first bishop of the diocese was desirous of establishing a Catholic School to protect, preserve and strengthen the Catholic Faith of the young students. Thus he invited Sisters of the Good Shepherd whose Motherhouse was in Angers, France to open a school, the first Catholic School in the diocese of Lipa. His specific request was for English speaking sisters.

In October 1912, two Irish missionaries, Sr. Mary Constance Phelan and Sr. Mary Ligouri Burke arrived in Batangas from Burma after a long fatiguing sea voyage. In January 1913, they were followed by Sr. Mary Cyra O’Kane and Sr. Mary Clare Morrisey. Informal classes for girls were promptly opened and in June 9, 1913 the school was given government recognition and incorporated as St. Bridget’s Academy, after St. Bridget of Ireland.

“To reform morals and to strengthen FAITH in souls” St. Mary Euphrasia’s precious advice to missionaries, were the pioneer sisters’ guiding lights in their educational endeavors.

For 34 years the educational program of St. Bridget’s Academy was limited to the elementary and secondary levels. In 1946 however urged by the people of the town and realizing the need, St. Bridget’s opened the College Department which offered Associate in Arts and Bachelor of Arts courses. Sr. Mary Assumption Ocampo, the first College Dean bravely took up the task of establishing the College Department. Associate in Arts, Associate in Secretarial Science, Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Education were the initial offerings. In 1954 Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education were introduced.

In 1958 Graduate School classes were opened at the request of many public school teachers desirous of continuing their education towards a Master’s degree. Again with courage and determination to face the challenges of the times St. Bridget’s College committed herself to these ever-increasing demands for greater fulfillment of Christ’s work among His people through the teaching ministry. The last M.A. degree was granted in 1982.

In 1974, the College Department offered a new course, Bachelor of Science in Social Work. All the first fifteen BSSW graduates passed the Government Examination for Social Workers. In 1993, the College Department opened its educational opportunities to male students whose courses of choice are the service-oriented professions of Teacher Education and Social Work.

In 1993 and 1994 St. Bridget’s College was included among the top performing colleges in the Professional Board Examination for teachers. In Region IV-A, St. Bridget’s ranked FIRST and in the National level was among the top 25. In 1997 St. Bridget’s ranked THIRD on the National level in the SOCIAL WORK Licensure examinations conducted by the Professional Regulation Commission.

With the opening of the College Department in 1946 the name St. Bridget’s Academy was changed to St. Bridget’s College. In 2001 the ‘s was dropped from the name of the school which is now known as St. Bridget College.

In 1953 in response to the insistent requests of parents who desired a Catholic Education for their sons, the Boys High School was opened. In 1980, however boys and girls were integrated in co-educational classes.

In 1971 with a growing awareness of a great number of Filipinos marginalized by poverty and heeding the Church’s call for JUSTICE, ST. BRIDGET’S COMMUNITY CENTER was established to respond to the needs of economically disadvantaged families and individuals. The Center’s humble beginnings supported by the Christian Children’s Fund (CCF) which paid for the education of children has spinned off to a strong based people’s organization, THE BUKLOD UNLAD BATANGAS INCORPORATED (BUBI) based in Dumantay.

In 1998 sensitive to the rapid development of Information Technology, St. Bridget took up the challenge of integrating technology in the academic instructions familiarizing students from elementary to College with computers, computer knowhow, software programs, the internet, websites, power point etc.

At the start of the 21st century St. Bridget College, College department in line with the Good Shepherd Congregation’s thrust “TO BE LIFE BEARERS FOR AND WITH THE POOR” offered new educational opportunities for the economically disadvantaged.

In 2002, evening classes were opened to male and female students who worked in the morning to earn a living.

In August 2004, a Ten-month TESDA Accredited Course – International Food Service Management (Food and Beverage Service Management) trained students in personality development, basic accounting, basic cooking, food preparation, cafeteria management and restaurant services. St. Bridget College hopes that after those ten months they would have the skills for a gainful employment.

Knowing that THE TEACHER is a key factor in the learning process, the faculty’s professionalization and ongoing formation provides them with opportunities to attend seminars, conferences, conventions, masteral classes and retreats to hone their teaching skills and to keep abreast of the latest trends in education.

Cognizant of the role of the laity in post modern times and heeding the call of the Church for the lay people’s responsibility to build a JUST society, St. Bridget is working towards lay empowerment, training their faculty and staff in 3 the principles and skills of lay leadership and entrusting them with positions of responsibility.

The Department of Education’s prescribed curriculum is enhanced with human and timeless gospel values and by a thrust towards WOMEN, JUSTICE, PEACE and the INTEGRITY OF CREATION.

Then tiny mustard seed sown in 1912 has grown to a giant tree and growing still towards the Centennial in January 2012.

Faithful to the Church and the charism of St. Mary Euphrasia, looking out to the societal needs and challenges St. Bridget College presses forward in her MISSION OF EDUCATION fostering a caring community of COMPETENT, COMPASSIONATE PERSONS OF INTEGRITY.

Mission

St. Bridget College Batangas is a center for excellence offering an education with programs and services that are person and community oriented anchored in Christian faith and values and supported by appropriate resources and technology. We will form competent, committed and integrated persons who live the Good Shepherd charism of compassion and the values of St. Bridget College. Drawing from our tradition of caring we create a culture of reconciliation, justice and peace responsive to societal and cosmic needs.

Vision

St. Bridget College Batangas is a Catholic evangelizing educational institution founded by the Religious of the Good Shepherd inspired by the compassion of Jesus, and the zeal of St. John Eudes and St. Mary Euphrasia.

We form Christian communities through education that strengthens faith and morals and uplifts human dignity.

Impelled by merciful love we participate actively in building a transformed society characterized by love of God and neighbor, justice, peace, reconciliation, and integrity of creation.

Goals

St. Bridget College education shall form graduates who are educated per-sons, useful citizens and practicing Christians, thereby producing competent, technologically adept and committed individuals who will integrate knowledge with Christian values in actual life situations. Recognizing the preciousness of the person, it shall provide opportunities for re-creation through creative expressions and intellectual pursuits thus enhancing the students’ holistic development. Committed to the RGS Congregational WJPIC (Women, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation) Thrust, St. Bridget College shall offer training for leadership and citizenship skills necessary for students to be instruments of social transformation and ecological balance. It shall also provide knowledge, values, skills and experiences that will enable them to insightfully comprehend the interconnection of issues and concerns of women, justice, peace and integrity of creation.

Institutional Core Values

Compassion

St. Bridget College strives to develop individuals who are “COMPASSION-ATE PERSONS” and whose love for Christ and His Church is also their love for the least of the brothers and sisters. It seeks to develop persons who give witness that “a person is of more value than a world.

Zeal

St. Bridget College strives to form individuals who have burning desire to make God known, those who have loved, served and saved souls, individuals who have the will to fulfill the duties of their state with eagerness, affection, courage and perseverance.

Service

St. Bridget College strives towards the development of community of persons who believes the Church of Christ includes the least of the brothers and sisters needing to be loved and served. It seeks to form individuals who are willing to share their time, talent and treasures with those who have little or none at all, individuals who help without expecting anything in return. It seeks to form persons who promote a climate of evangelical welcome and kindness, peace and harmony at all means.

Integrity

St. Bridget College strives to form community of persons who are worthy of trust, individuals who are able to respect the accomplishment of others and able to accept their own strength and weaknesses; individuals who have the skill to give the information objectively and truthfully.

Justice

St. Bridget College strives towards the formation of communities of per. sons who are grateful to their blessings, individuals who recognize their essential quality with every other individuals and adhere to the Golden Rule. It seeks to develop individuals who see that they have moral obligation to express themselves truthfully. It seeks to form loving persons who have chosen to love other persons as another self. It commits itself to individuals who are aware of their human dignity; and are able to practice fairness,  righteousness and uprightness in doing things and in dealing with others.

Nationalism

St. Bridget College strives to the formation of persons who are loyal and supportive to their country. It seeks to develop individuals who appreciate Filipino history and culture, its heritage of freedom, traditions, values and ideals of justice and peace.

Organizational Structure

Board of Trustees

Religious of the Good Shepherd

Top Level Administrators

Preschool Program

Preschool education in SBC offers possibilities for children’s overall development that are fun, welcoming, and relevant to their surroundings. Children’s focus, self-control, memory, and social skills are all developed through play and developmentally appropriate activities. Collaboration between the home and the school is made to promote a nurturing, child-centered, and exciting learning environment. Children who received an SBC education felt free to explore, express themselves, learn, and develop healthy self-concepts.

Being a Catholic school, our preschool programs focus also on character development than just producing academically great students. The pre-school curriculum seeks to prepare our children for a seamless transition of children from preschool to primary schools by offering unified strategy to promote the blossoming of each child’s intrinsic potentials in all domains of development.

We make sure your kids are K12 ready in light of current developments in our educational system and developing needs.

Grade School Program

The Grade School Program is a six- year program that aims to develop academically competent, morally upright, and compassionate persons of integrity. It provides academic offerings to develop students who can think intelligently, critically and creatively in life-situations. A wide array of co-curricular activities allows students to enhance and exhibit their artistic gifts that promote wellness and lifelong fitness. The Institutional Core Values which are COMPASSION, ZEAL, SERVICE, INTEGRITY, JUSTICE AND NATIONALISM are consciously integrated in all curricular, co-curricular offerings, programs and activities.

PAASCU, a nationally recognized accrediting agency, granted the Grade School Department of the Integrated Basic Education a Level III Accreditation Status. The department, through the efforts of its Administration and Faculty, continues its efforts to provide the best elementary education that will prepare the learners with their high school life.

Junior High School Program

The Junior High School Program aims to develop functionally literate learners who can demonstrate the 21st century skills with solid foundation of Christian Catholic values. The program offers a large repertoire of curricular and co-curricular activities designed to enable students to view conditions under which they make decisions, plan forward, manage risks, foster change and solve problems experienced in the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex ambiguous) world. The school’s core values and the Women, Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation thrust are infused in all subjects which contribute in every learners’ character formation and citizenship building.

The Junior High School Department of the Integrated Basic Education has been granted Level III Accreditation Status by PAASCU. With the zeal and vigor of its Administrators and Faculty, the High School department continues to offer resilient Academic Programs which respond to the needs of the world.

5-Year Enrolment Summary

Strategic Challenges

Throughout the years, St. Bridget College has confronted myriad of challenges, each presenting a unique set of circumstances that demanded thoughtful navigation. Societal shifts, educational reforms, economic fluctuations, and global events have all contributed to the complex landscape in which the institution operates. However, it is the collective strength and determination of the St. Bridget community that have allowed the institution to not only endure but also to evolve and thrive in response to these challenges.

The following are the institution’s identified challenges based on the common priority issues of the three Bridget schools.

1. 1. Student Enrolment

      The most significant decline in enrolment in the last 5 years was marked during SY 2020-2021 with a decrease of 9.25%. The global pandemic and its accompanying economic challenges influenced the enrollment patterns. Other identified factors are birth rate where young families have lesser children and the mushrooming of smaller schools in the city based on the data gathered from a study conducted by the instutiton.

      Proactive measures to attract and retain students were done by the institution such as leveraging the school’s online modality of teaching and learning, the maximum use of the Learning Management System and the creation of the new office, the Admissions and Marketing office which is tasked to facilitate strategic marketing initiatives and streamline the admissions process.

   2. Students’ Mental Health Issues

      Students’ mental health has been identified as a significant challenge based on needs assessments conducted by the guidance office. Data from last school year’s survey (2022-2023) reveals that the top three concerns of students are stress management, test anxiety and students’ study skills.

      To mitigate these, extensive mental health campaigns and activities such as webinars were provided to the students. Bible Camp, Youth Camp, retreats and recollections were also given to develop students holistically. Recreational activities such as field trips, and co-curricular activities were also offered to nurture students. These experiences are hoped to contribute positively to students’ emotional and mental states, fostering a more balanced and resilient mindset.

   3. Fast turn – over of Faculty

      The fast turnover of faculty poses a great impact in the stability and continuity of academic programs at St. Bridget College due to several reasons such as very slim opportunity of promotion, greater opportunities in public schools, or in abroad, and teachers’ workload.

      To foster a more stable and resilient teaching staff, the school included merits and promotion in the Institutional Development Plans. During mid-year assemblies, recognitions are also given to outstanding employees. Professional development opportunities are also provided to contribute to the growth and expertise of the teaching staff.