Assumption College of Davao (SHSEP)

was one of the few schools that had responded to the challenge of the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) to pilot a special educational program in the region for marginalized youth. Today, the SHSEP is one of the few Catholic institutions among the 21 or so Sunday high schools in Region XI, put up primarily to give working students who have no time to go to school on a daily basis, an opportunity to finish a secondary education. This is also in keeping with the avowed mission of the Missionaries of the Assumption, an all-Filipino congregation, which runs the school as an expression of its charism. Now on its 15th year, the school takes pride is giving meaningful education to its clientele, one that centers not only on academic preparation but also on integrated personal and spiritual growth. Aside from the development of the basic competencies expected of a high school program, it endeavors to develop social awareness including gender sensitivity among its students in the belief that it will make them see their condition of poverty in a larger context and make them conscious of the plausible reasons behind it. The approach to teaching is facilitative, integrative and personal. The first two are necessary to teach in a limited time frame of only 42 Sundays per school year. And the third is necessary to make the students feel a sense of importance and self-worth. As any other bold experiment, the program has had its share of drawbacks. But if the unprecedented increase in enrolment figures is any indication, it is safe to conclude that the SHSEP is here to stay. With a population consisting mainly of working students, sons and daughters of the economically marginalized sectors of society, it is small wonder that the school would be deeply involved in their issues and concerns. It is for this reason that the school has instituted measures to address these concerns. For example, it has established partnerships with non-government organizations like the Visayan Forum. It also strengthened its guidance counseling team, and modified the curriculum to make it more empowering to the students.