By Rizal Raoul Reyes | Contributor
IN her younger years, Little Presidents Learning Place (LPLP) Vice President Sandra Co did not imagine she would pursue a teaching career. Originally a certified public accountant by profession, Co realized teaching was a vocation and a passion. In 2007 Co’s dream to run a school materialized when she established her dream school in Manila near Malacañang.
A believer in developing a strong educational foundation for children in their formative years, Co emphasized the preschool aims to develop the children into well-rounded individuals once they grow up. “We believe every child is unique and equipped with multiple intelligences such as linguistic [word smart], bodily kinesthetic [body smart], musical [music smart], interpersonal [people smart], intrapersonal [self smart], naturalist [nature smart], spatial [picture smart] and logical [number smart],” Co said.
Co and her teachers are aware that the children should be guided in developing the right values so they can be molded as productive and responsible citizens of the country.
“We are stressing in our school obedience to authority and parents as part of values formation for the children,” she said. Patriotism and love for God are also given emphasis because Co and the school believe these two elements are needed by Filipinos to contribute to nation-building.
Good manners and right conduct is being stressed to the children by the teachers by giving them lessons in healthy-eating habits. In the era of the fast-food generation, LPLP could help the succeeding generation eat nutritious food and practice a healthy lifestyle.
Co said LPLP makes sure the children are secured and happy in an atmosphere of positive discipline that encourages them to be respectful, resourceful and responsible leaders. Thus, LPLP provides the environment and the infrastructure to ensure the children will develop their potential. Facilities include a chapel, mini garden, dance room, library, auditorium, playroom, 25-meter swimming pool, among others.
Building confidence is another important facet of LPLP’s educational thrust. At LPLP, Co said children are encouraged to be active in several activities. One of the final activities of the preschool class is the presentation of a children’s play where all the students participate.
“Since we are close to the Presidential Palace, we thought that our school should have a recall and at the same time give a message to the public that LPLP is a good training ground for the country’s future leader,” Co said.
One interesting goal of LPLP is “to encourage children to play fairly.” This particular goal of LPLP should be stressed and emulated by other schools to enable the country develop morally credible leaders.
To boost their competency, Co said LPLP aims to develop students to be fluent in Mandarin and English. It has five English teachers, four Mandarin faculty members and seven assistant teachers.
Asked how she developed her people skills, Co said her early exposure as a 5-year-old in the family’s former bakery business located in Claro M. Recto honed her talent in communicating with the different types of personalities.
When she was bitten by the education bug, she took up 18 units on education to equip herself in running the school. Right now, she is currently taking up a Master’s degree in Educational Management at Centro Escolar University.
“We want to leave a legacy to the children, more of a calling. “Since I am doing this, I want to be fully equipped,” she said.
LPLP’s preschool program offers programs in the Pre- kindergarten and the Kindergarten Levels.
The Prekindergarten level has the Baby Literacy Program (6 months old), Pretoddler (1 to 1-1/2 years old), Toddler (2 years old) and Nursery (3 years old).
The Kindergarten level has the Kinder 1 (4 years old) and Kinder 2 (5 years old).