FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is progressive education?

Progressive Education is an educational philosophy that places greater emphasis on the needs and capacities of the individual child rather than the teacher’s. Children’s interests, learning styles and intelligences come first and foremost, emphasizing and promoting divergent and critical thinking, creativity, and imagination.

Unlike traditional forms of teaching, progressive education involves greater freedom of choice, activity and movement.  Lessons are experiential, focused on hands-on, tactual-kinesthetic activities, educational trips, live interviews of resource persons, audio-visual aids to learn concepts, rather than the usual lecture and paper skills assessment.

The school also implements an integrated curriculum, wherein different subject areas are integrated by a Christian core theme.

Is the school DepEd recognized?

The Preschool program is recognized by the Department of Education; the Grade School program has obtained its DepEd permit and is calendared to be recognized.

Who can be admitted to the Preschool and Grade School programs?  Is there a qualifying exam that my child needs to take?

COJ accepts all children regardless of race, religion, or sex. However, we do inform the parents that ours is a school that is Roman Catholic in orientation.  We cannot accept children who cause interference with other children’s safety or rights.  In certain cases, COJ will accommodate special children only if they are highly educable.

Incoming children who fall under the following categories will have to take a qualifying examination* and go through an assessment prior to enrollment to determine the appropriate grade level of the child and/or acceptance or non-acceptance to the program:

1. Children with special needs;
2. Children whose ages are in between the cut-off of two grade levels;
3. All Grade School applicants (including Prep students who plan to stay on at COJ).

Aside from passing the qualifying examination, other requirements prior to admission are as follows:

1. Two (2) Referral Letters from the previous school/s attended: one (1) from the Principal / School Director and one (1) from the homeroom teacher;
2. Copy of previous school records  (i.e., report cards, narrative reports, etc.);
3. No failing grades and no conduct mark below 80;
4. Interview with the parent and child; and
5. Letter of Undertaking (for children with special needs).

*A Qualifying Exam is given for the grade level a student is applying for to determine if the child has gained competency for learning areas (Math, English and Science) that are within the standards of the school.  This is done at an independent 3^rd party testing facility.  A testing fee of Php 350.00 is paid at the school before testing could be scheduled.  Test results are submitted to the school and are conveyed to the applicant.

---

Do you accept children with special needs?

We DO mainstream children with special needs into a regular class, admitting a maximum of two (2) special needs students in each class level.

Prior to admission to the Preschool level, students with special needs are asked to sit in a class for a week to observe behavior and social and cognitive skills.

Only the following special cases may be admitted in COJ:

1. ADHD / ADD (one per class only)
2. Hearing Impaired trained to listen, lip read and to speak (with hearing aid and FM system)
3. Learning Disabled (Dyslexic, others)
4. Speech/Language Disability

Children with Mental Retardation, Autism, and Global Developmental Delay may not be permitted due to lack of school facilities/services for these types of cases or until such time that the school will be able to provide intervention services for children with these cases. 

COJ observes a maximum of 18 students per class (for the Grade School classes only), thereby giving them optimal learning.

How is the child’s progress assessed?

Quantitative measures are not used but instead, the PRESCHOOL child’s progress is monitored through several ways: Anecdotal Records of the teacher’s observations pertaining to the child’s abilities and behavior in class, Narrative Reports, Developmental Checklists, and portfolios of the child’s works.

On the other hand, the GRADE SCHOOL child’s progress is assessed through homework output, quizzes, quarterly examinations, special projects, oral recitation, participation and involvement in class and school-wide activities, twice-a-year narratives from teachers, and portfolio of the child’s works.  The child’s Character Formation is also rated by the Homeroom Teacher and the other subject area teachers.

Multi-age children are grouped together so as to promote cooperative learning in the classroom.  Older children are able to reinforce concepts as they “teach” the younger ones, and the younger ones are able to model and learn from their older peers. Although children are “mixed,” the teacher makes sure that individual learning needs are met through one-to-one sessions or small group sessions with them.