Beginnings

The history of Colegio de la Milagrosa, now St. Louise de Marillac College of Sorsogon (SLMCS) dates back to 1937 when Rev. Francisco Reyes, former Bishop of Nueva Caceres and parish priest of Sorsogon, took cognizant of the absence of Catholic schools in the province. With his burning zeal for service, he sought the assistance of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who at that time were managing Colegio de Sta. Isabel, now Universidad de Sta. Isabel, Naga City. Sr. Carmen Reta, Vice-Visitatrix of the Daughters of Charity in the Philippines, responded to the plea of the Bishop and laid the preliminaries.

On June 30, 1937, four sisters from Colegio de Sta. Isabel: Sisters Aurea Muñoz, Concepcion Calinog, Silvina Lopez, and Estanislaa Daradal started their work on youth formation, sowing the first seeds of Catholic education in the southern portion of Sorsogon. A seven-room school building housed the first 22 pupils.

School Years 1945-1947 marked the opening of a complete elementary and general secondary programs, both of which continued even during the war. By that time, English was dropped in favor of Nippongo, but Religion remained the core of curriculum. After the war, the Sisters continued the gigantic task of re-building the educational mission. Enrolment increased and the demand for higher education came as a challenge. In 1949-1950, the first two-year Junior Normal Collegiate course opened. Next came the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Education in 1955; Collegiate Normal Course in 1960; Associate in Commercial Science in 1961; and Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education in 1963.

The decades of the 70’s and 80’s were characterized by more innovations. In 1974, the high school department became co-education. In 1980, Bachelor of Science in Commerce was offered. The kindergarten program opened in 1982. In 1986, the College underwent Congregational Evaluation Visit for institutional upgrading; and in 1988 the graduate program received government recognition to answer the need of various stakeholders to upgrade themselves through higher studies. Pursuing its mandate for quality education, the Basic Education Department in 1993 submitted for accreditation by inviting the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU). After a successful self-survey and first visit from PAASCU in 1993, the Department was granted a Level II accreditation in 1997, becoming the first PAASCU accredited school in the Province of Sorsogon, at par with other prestigious accredited schools in the Philippines. Driven by the challenge of quality, excellence and relevance, the higher education department underwent the preliminary PAASCU visit in 1999 for the following programs: Liberal Arts, Teacher Education and Commerce Education, which were granted a Level II accreditation in 2003.

Similar re-accreditation status was given to the basic education department, as well as the recognition of the College as a service provider of the DepEd project Alternative Learning System that caters to out-of-school youths and adults. In 2001, the Daughters of Charity St. Louise de Marillac Educational System (SLMES) piloted an alternative shared leadership-governance called Servant Leadership Team in the management and supervision of schools. The schools in the Albay-Sorsogon areas were clustered with SLMCS as the lead school. The cluster includes: SLMCS-Gubat; SLMS-Bulan; SLMS-Tabaco and SLMALC-Libon. The cluster is due for re-valuation 1n 2008. The gains earned by St. Louise de Marillac College of Sorsogon for the past 71 years bear witness to its fidelity to the charism values of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac as a Vincentian Catholic school. With its humble beginnings come a tangible contribution of the Company of the Daughters of Charity to the province of Sorsogon.

Today, SLMCS is proactive, relevant and quality-driven across the threshold of a rapidly changing global society. As a Catholic Vincentian institution of learning, SLMCS carries out its primordial role in facilitating the integral formation and development of transformed women and men of character with Christ as the center and foundation of the educational program. With the visit of the DC Management Review and Mission Audit last February 2008 and as the lead school of the DC-SLMES Albay-Sorsogon Cluster, SLMCS faces the challenge to carve its own niche in the academic arena while remaining rooted in the teachings of Sts. Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul. The College is also gearing up for additional short term TESDA-run and ladderized courses. From School Years 2008-2010 and according to TESDA requirements, the following short term courses are underway: Housekeeping, Front Office Operations, Food and Beverage Services and Commercial Cooking, Programming NC IV, and Computer Hardware Servicing NC II.

Preparations for ladderized courses in Bachelor of Technical Education, BS in Technology and BS Hotel and Restaurant Administration are also in line. Starting SY 2008-2009 BS in Commerce will be known as BS in Business Administration, with the following majors Business Economics, Financial Management, Human Resource Development, and Marketing is in place.

Plans and programs are now designed to respond to the Daughters of Charity four Provincial Priorities, with acronym TAME.

First, T-he alleviation of poverty and hunger through community organizing for sustainable development.

Second, A-ccess to primary education through sustained alternative learning system and other modes of flexible education delivery.

Third, M-inistry to migrant families, HIV/AIDs through programs of transformative education and skills training coupled with outreach activities for the benefits of clients and the larger communities.

Fourth, E-nvironmental sustainability through functional education program integrated in the curricula and community building activities that considers environment in its totality.

Scholarships and grants are also expanded. School-sponsored scholarship programs include: St. Louise de Marillac Grant, Academic Scholarship, School President Scholarship, and Alumni Scholarship; Private-sponsored Scholarship programs: Clotilde Salvador Educational Foundation Inc., Acuña, Diño, and Monje scholarship, and Amberg Scholarship Assistance Program; and government sponsored scholarship and Grants-in-aid Programs through CHED-FAPE: National / State Scholarship Program, Regional Scholarship Program, Private Education Student Financial Assistance (PESFA), and Study Now Pay later. Now on its 71st year, SLMCS continues to strengthen its basic education with flagships in Performing Arts, Speech, and Computer-Integrated Program-based curriculum.

Likewise, the higher education flagship includes Alternative Learning System and foreign languages such as Mandarin and Spanish.

Its extension campus – SLMCS-St. Anthony Gubat offers Agricultural and Industrial APEX – based (Applied Academics for Excellence) high school curriculum, a combination of a revised Technical Vocational Education (TVE). APEX exposes students to academic, technical, and employability standards necessary for a successful work life while TVE provides special skills development forming students to be academically outstanding in preparation for higher learning and/or gainful employment. A twinned one year Career Alternative Re-Entry Education for Out-of-School Youth (CARE-OSY) skills development and training program starts operation this SY 2008-2009. The program provides opportunity for the out-of-school youth and potential drop-outs to develop and acquire basic knowledge, appropriate attitudes and entrepreneurial management skills for self and/or gainful employment. Significantly, SLMCS continues to establish a track record of consistent passing rate higher than the national passing average in the Licensure Examination for Teachers and producing notable regional placers. For its Accountancy program, the past years also witnessed the College’s passing rate in the CPA board examination higher than the benchmark set forth by the Professional Regulatory Commission.