MELANIE SAN PABLO ALEJANDRO: A TEACHER’S TEACHER
Since she was five years old, Melanie always wanted to be a teacher. This dream became a reality in 1999 when she co-founded the school of her dreams together with her sister and co-teacher. They called it the Integrated Center for the Young (ICY), a small pre-school.
Funding was a major challenge, but with courage and a strong will, they rented a house at Heroes Hill, Quezon City, near what is now Fishermall. They started with 20 students, but it was a financial challenge to operate. Generous and supportive siblings and a few friends helped by giving Melanie an interest-free, pay-when-able loan. It took her seven good years to finally pay off everyone. It was such a cathartic, liberating feeling for Melanie when she cleared all her debts.
“I was truly born to teach. I grew by experience learning what was needed to run a good school. Marketing was one of our weakest points but despite this obstacle, we grew to over 100 students. The word-of-mouth advertising through recommendations of satisfied parents and students who graduated from our school became our mouthpiece,” she said.
In ICY, teachers are paid well as they are the lifeblood of the school. The school offers pre-school education, Grades 1 to 6 and a life skills training program. The latter is specifically designed for adolescents and adults with special needs, who are in a transition phase to determine if they can move up to high school.
Melanie conceptualized a school where everyone, regardless of ability or disability, should learn to be productive and their talents discovered and honed.
She shares, “My school became inclusive where normal children and those with special needs learned together. It became a learning center where every student felt they belonged and their differences celebrated. We encouraged diversity and inclusion. Children with special needs work and learn together with normal children and this practice has proven successful. The special needs students benefit by interacting with normal classmates who serve as good role models for them. This results in developing better social skills thereby encouraging good behavior and lesser tantrums.”
In an inclusive educational system, it is not only the SPED children who benefit. The normal children gain just as much. They learn the virtues of patience and tolerance. They learn to be compassionate, understanding and caring. They learn to be accepting of differences.
When a classmate with special needs is able to accomplish even a small task, the whole class cheers and applauds. Even a child with special needs helps another child with special needs and the circle of love and joy pervades the school’s environment. These small acts of success truly inspire the teachers to strive even harder.
Melanie shares that her own four kids attended her school when they were young. This helped take out the guilt of being absent from home as she was able to monitor her children and their activities. Now adults, they are very vocal about their appreciation of Melanie as an outstanding teacher and her passion for good education. Her children also realized that ICY has helped so many students who have become very successful in their chosen fields. “At least three of our students have graduated from Ateneo University and the University of the Philippines. Several other graduates have become lecturers in the field of special education and this has been very gratifying for us,” she proudly said.
In 2014, ICY moved to a building in a bigger location with class sizes of 10 students per class and one grade level per class. The small class size enables the teacher to personally monitor the performance of each student and their individual needs. The school uses a no grade-based honor system as they do not want the students to be academic honors-conscious.
Since ICY is a highly individualized school, the teachers are the real heroes as they patiently hone and nurture each student to discover the finest jewels in their crowns.
Melanie believes that education is the most powerful and most empowering tool to uplift a child from poverty. She gives scholarships called “Batang Bayani” program to deserving poor children of the marginalized community in the area. Many of these scholars have moved on, graduating from good universities taking up math and science as their major subjects graduating as engineers with one student who graduated as a marine biologist.
Melanie took a doctoral course in Developmental Psychology which she completed in UP with a minor in Clinical Psychology.
She is grateful that her husband Francis (Kiko) is very supportive, from making stage props, setting up the sound system and ensuring that every classroom is safe for every student.
Melanie’s great respect for the power of education as a tool for nation-building creates a strong future for children with special needs and, for this, we acclaim her as a hero of education.
MY SCHOOL BECAME INCLUSIVE WHERE NORMAL CHILDREN AND THOSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS LEARNED TOGETHER. IT BECAME A LEARNING CENTER WHERE EVERY STUDENT FELT THEY BELONGED AND THEIR DIFFERENCES CELEBRATED. WE ENCOURAGED DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION.