History
The De La Salle Brothers were invited to Iligan City by Monsignor Patrick Cronin of the Prelature of Ozamiz to assume the operations of St. Columban's Academy, which used to be known as Woodrow Wilson Junior College. The first group of Brothers was led by Br. Crescentius Richard FSC. The school used to be located by the Cathedral but the Brothers opted to transfer the school to a three-hectare lot in the barangay of Pala-o after the student population started growing.
After the school was transferred to Pala-o, the Brothers changed the name of the school to La Salle Academy. Br. Alfred Shields was named Director and supervised the construction of the academy's permanent buildings in 1961. At this point, La Salle was still an exclusive all boys' school.
In 1967, the academy started accepting fifth grade students after the RVM sisters agreed to send their Grade 5 students to the academy. This group of students would be the seminal group of grade school students.
By 1973, a school gymnasium would be completed and the school would start accepting girls for Grades 5 and 6, as well as first- and second-year high school. In 1976, the La Salle Parents Foundation of Iligan was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In 1985, the academy opened its kindergarten school, holding classes at the school gymnasium. By 1986, the first batch of kindergarten students had graduated. In 1987, the first phase of construction of the school's dedicated Grade School building was completed and dedicated to St. Br. Miguel Febres Cordero. A canteen and a school library were also constructed during this period. Between 1990 and 2000, the Administration Building, the amphitheater, and the Grade School Building would be completed.
In 1989, the high school department was accredited by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU), and was re-accredited in 1993 and 1998. Its outreach program was also institutionalized in 1993 after the creation of the Community Development Office. In June 1994, the Board of Trustees approved the establishment of a night high school.
In 1999, Br. Jaime Dalumpines FSC spearheaded the purchase of a property on Mt. Agad-Agad with the intention of using the property for recollections as well as developing it into an Ecology sanctuary. With the purchase came the adoption of a nearby purok, Langilanon, with the academy helping the town's farmers to establish the Langilanon Farmers Cooperative. It was also during this year that the Technical and Vocational Education Training Department was established.
In 2004 the school officially became a school of De La Salle Philippines.
Read more about this topic: La Salle Academy (Iligan City)
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