Assumption College of Davao

A Looking Glass

When the late Davao Archbishop Clovis Thibault sounded off the challenge for religious groups in the early 1950s to educate the young, little did he realize that there would be takers. After all, Davao was a virtual backwater town then, left depleted by the war and struggling to restart its economy.

But two sisters from the Daughters of Mary of the Assumption, or F.M.A., took up the call. Sr. Elodie Marie Richard (Mother del Annunciacion) and Sr. Oveline Doucet (Sr. Gaetance) – of Campbelton, New Brunswick, packed their bags and headed off to Davao to lay the groundwork for setting up a school. By 1954, the Assumption School of Nabunturan in Compostela Valley Province was established. Later, it would be called the Assumption College of Nabunturan.

Four years later, in 1958, the Sisters opened a primary and secondary school, the Assumption Academy of Davao in an “open, swampy and desolate” piece of land in Agdao, Davao City. The academy began as an exclusive school for girls with Elementary and High School Departments. Enrolment was modest, at 84 elementary pupils and 86 high school students.

Shortly after, the school opened its College Department with 44 initial students. This prompted the appropriate name change to Assumption College of Davao.

It was a “conservative and conventional” school, remembers Ms. Iris Milleza who served the institution as directress for almost three decades.

Boys would start populating the Grade School in 1964, and Kindergarten pupils would subsequently begin filtering in. Yet these were not the only changes that would mark the institution of Ms. Milleza’s fond recollection. Towards the end of the decade, social unrest would tear through the fabric of Philippine society. This would heighten throughout the 1970s, during which authoritarian rule would gravely impinge on academic freedom. By this time, social conflict heightened, leaving teachers grappling with new tools to put society in context. Guided by the emerging concepts of liberation theology, approaches to education underwent a “profound shift.” The Sisters defined it as “teachings toward social transformation.”

But even as the world raged outside its walls, the ASD would revise and rewrite its mission. In 1977, the High School Dept. underwent an extensive review, and within two years the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) issued its formal survey report. To this day, the PAASCU continues to challenge the school, which in turn has kept its pledge to constantly improve its services.

In the early 1980s, the Sisters’ orientation towards social transformation assumed a deeper dimension. Undergoing a process of “soul searching,” they discovered more progressive approaches to integrating community life and mission. These they found in field exposures and awareness seminars that enabled them to explore social realities and their implications to the impressionable youth.

Sr. Concepcion P. Gasang, m.a., one of the founders the Missionaries of the Assumption, once observed: “It was in 1982-83 that the school underwent a process of reorientation by evaluating the mission statement and articulating the school thrust in light of Philippine social realities.”

Expectedly, the school curriculum was consequently modified. And by 1989, on its third decade, a new religious community was born. This unfolded when 29 members of the Missionaries of the Assumption Sisters bolted the congregation and were granted the ownership and management of the Assumption School of Davao.

Since then, there has been no turning back. A solid history of religious activism and academic competence has secured the institution as one that provides holistic education to the youth. In the early part of the 1990s, the school banned all junk food products from its canteen, a bold directive aimed at encouraging the young to appreciate good nutrition and better health.

It was also around this time when the Sunday High School Program was launched, designed for poor yet deserving children. In 1994, only 100 students enrolled in the First Year Level. After four years, the number climbed to nearly 1,400 students for all year levels.

As more new students began to attend Sunday School, the institution geared up for its 40^th founding anniversary. The year was 1998 when it re-opened its College Dept. (it was discontinued in 1978 when it did not have enough teachers with a masters’ degree) and was renamed Assumption College of Davao (ACD). This time, ACD offered degrees in English, Sociology, and Education. It also put out full courses in Computer Programming, Computer Secretarial, Computer Technology and Hotel and Restaurant Management.

Only four years ago, the ACD blessed itself with a new building. Housing a number of administrative offices and other facilities, the building epitomizes the rich history and maturity of the school. Today, enrolment continues to climb steadily. Our teachers represent some of the most competent and committed mentors in the industry. In partnership with the St. Scholastica’s College in Manila, ACD offers graduate studies in Humanities, major in Women Studies.

It is a long way from Archbishop Thibault’s call for vocation over “swampy and desolate” Agdao. And his vision for true education continues.