HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

It was then that Dr. Anacleto E. Agaton, an educator in heart and in mind who studied in the 1920s in such distinguished institutions as Columbia University (Superintendent of Schools), Cornell University(Master of Arts in Education), Yale University (AB Law) and New York University (Doctorate in Jurisprudence), brought to reality his dream of a college that would serve the city and its surrounding towns with a complete education. He formally established The Colleges of the Republic (COR) in June 1948 after its incorporation on April 29, 1948.

The Core Gateway College (formerly The Colleges of the Republic) at Maharlika Highway, in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija.

The principal reason the Colleges of the Republic was established was the huge need in San Jose and its surrounding areas for a conveniently located institution that could provide a solid college education for a large number of high school graduates that would have had to face the huge expense of going to Manila or other cities in order to obtain a college degree. There were also numerous public school teachers who needed to complete degrees in education that they had been unable to pursue because of World War II. With a college within the proximity, they were able to continue to keep their teaching jobs while studying in the evenings and on Saturdays. This is why the courses initially offered by COR were primarily geared toward degrees in education.

In 1964, additional courses – the Master of Arts in Education, Four-Year Normal (Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education), Collegiate Commercial Course and Four-Year Liberal Arts (AB) – were authorized to be offered by the College. It was also during that time when summer classes were opened for secondary, undergraduate and graduate courses.

In 1975, the Five-Year Night Secondary Course, Five-Month Stenography, Five-Month Typewriting Course, and Two-Year Junior Secretarial Course were given government recognition.

Several other new offerings were launched in the succeeding years. In the ‘90s, COR opened its doors to the age of Information Technology when the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Associate in Computer Science were initiated. Because of the growing numbers of parents of toddlers who are eager to set foot in a school during this decade, COR gave birth to its Pre-elementary course after it earned recognition (No. E-020 series of 1996) in 1996. Another graduate program, Master of Arts in Public Administration, became accessible.

For over half a century, COR has provided the people of San Jose City and its neighboring communities with quality education. The school, through 58 years of teaching, has come to understand the needs of the community and the special role that an educational institution plays in promoting the growth and well being of a developing city. In order to keep abreast with current trends and changes, COR continually improves itself in terms of facilities and improved services.

Dr. Agaton’s vision has been kept alive through the years. Thousands of students have passed through its doors since 1948 and many have gone on occupying distinguished positions in government agencies, in the academe and in the private sector.

The Colleges of the Republic, now CORE GATEWAY COLLEGE (CGC), grows with the city each year. As it does, the students, teachers and administration continue its commitment to provide distinctive quality and unmatched services.

PRESENT TIMES

As it moves on towards a culture of excellence, CGC has been doing more than what it has previously done.

This year, to further improve the students’ and employees’ love for reading, a program dubbed "Drop Everything And Read-adopted" (DEAR) will be implemented. In this program, an hour every week will be allotted just for reading. Each student and employee is encouraged to bring with them a book or a magazine, or any reading material of their choice – provided that such material is educational and written in English and does not depict pornography and violence visually – in the specified date, time and place where they will spend an hour reading.

With this program, the institution expects that participants will make reading a habit. Vocabularies will not just increase but also their comprehension, with the help of activities that will follow after the reading time. Since this is a school-wide activity, it is anticipated that everybody will enjoy and benefit from the program.

Another enhancement program lined-up is the series of seminars and workshops for college students scheduled in a "college hour", which is one and a half vacant period common to all students. These seminars/workshops will be spearheaded by the Office of the Students Affairs and Services and will tap speakers from within the campus and those from outside depending on the topic/subject on hand.

For basic education, the "constructivist" approach to learning will be adopted and students will be given more opportunities to develop their other intelligence, especially in the field of mathematics and science, sports, music, environmental preservation and values formation.

There are also student organizations, some already in existence and others to be revived, which do not just build up the leadership capabilities of the students and their cooperative skills but also will support the school’s effort to bring out the best in them.

With the onset of the implementation of a new institutional development plan prepared by each department this academic year and the years to come, life at CGC will be something to be cherished. As the school continually aims at making a difference, it will forever be thinking of something to offer better than its best.