Early Beginnings

The La Salette Schools are owned and operated by the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette in the Province of Isabela in the northeastern part of Luzon, Region 02.  This Catholic Religious Missionary Congregation came to Isabela in 1948 in response to an appeal by the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Tuguegarao, Most Rev. Constance Jurgens, CICM, to help in ministering the Catholic population of the central part of the Diocese.  Out of 11 towns entrusted to their care, 8 high schools, 1 university and 8 elementary were established in 8 of these municipalities.

The first school to be managed by the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette was La Salette of San Mateo in 1949 (originally Fatima High School), followed by University of La Salette High School Department in 1951, the University of La Salette and La Salette of Aurora in 1952, La Salette of Roxas in 1957, La Salette of Quezon in 1960, La Salette of Jones in 1961, La Salette of Cabatuan in 1967 and La Salette of Ramon in 1967.  Each school is separate and a distinct legal corporation duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and recognized by the Department of Education (DepED).

In the early sixties, the functions of the Board of Trustees were left to the individual schools until 1968 when the Central Administrative Board was organized.  The CAB, chaired by the late and the then Vice-Provincial Superior, Fr. Conrad H. Blanchet and composed of all the schools directors and one representative of the Principals, acted as policy-making body and performed coordinative functions.  The set-up was sustained until the term of Fr. Rutillo Mallillin, MS, the first Filipino to head the congregation as Vice-Provincial Superior.

In 1971, the DepED decreed that all administrative positions in the school must be in the hands of Filipinos and evey Administrator must hold a Masters Degree in Education.  Although the implementation took effect only in 1977, the decree posed a serious problem to the CAB since most of the directors were lacking in qualifications as decreed by DepED. 

Only 3 schools had  Filipino La Salette Priests as Directors and 7 of them were concurrently Pastors.  Furthermore, as far as degree qualification was concerned, only 2 were with Masters Degree:  Fr. Efren Musngi, MS with MA in Administration and Fr. Salvador Pico, MS with MS in Guidance and Counseling.

Birth of the La Salette School System

As a solution to the problem brought about by the decree (Filipinization Law), a new administrative structure emerged, adopting the Superintendence concept.  The paradigm designs to have only one Board of Trustees (BOT) for all the La Salette Schools as a policy making body, with a Superintendent who is directly under the BOT to oversee all schools.  The priest/director who was not qualified were appointed as Chaplain/Educational consultant. 

The first Chairman of the BOT as a school system was Fr. Efren L. Musngi, MS, then the Vice-Provincial Superior.  After his graduate studies in the US in 1975, he introduced and spearheaded the design of the new administrative structure which had its first try-out in 1976-1977.  In that same year, a Religious of the Assumption (RA), Sr. Ma. Carmen Reyes, RA was hired as a part-time Superintendent assisted by an Executive Secretary.

Then and Now

From its try-out in 1976-1977 to what it is now today, the La Salette School System with its salient feature as having one Board of Trustees for all the 9 schools withstood critical times and challenging problems that had strong repercussions on the continued operation and management of the schools.

The Superintendent's Office now includes Assistants to the Superintendent for Religious Education and Formation, Academic Affairs and Outreach Programs.  The BOT, with sustained courage and commitment to La Salette Education and the objective its stands for, continues to animate the entire La Salette School System.