Divine Word Academy of Dagupan

The Divine Word Academy of Dagupan is a Catholic, private, secondary school run by the Society of the Divine Word in Dagupan City, Pangasinan in the Philippines. It is one of the few schools that offer an education in Chinese culture in addition to the regular curricula required by Department of Education Culture and Sports and by private schools, in combination with the ideals of a Catholic education.The academy is under the direction of the Divine Word Missionaries and is primarily established for the benefit of the Catholics of Chinese descent, residing in Dagupan City and around the country. However, the school equally welcomes all children regardless of race, color and religious creed.Its director is Rev. Fr. Edsel Ricafort Demillo, SVD. Its campus minister is Frats. Mark Angelo Ramos, SVD.HistoryBishop Therode Schu, SVD, expelled from China by the Communists because he preached the Word, found himself in the Philippines in 1953. Still driven to serve the Chinese, his vision was to keep the Word alive by establishing a parish and a school to take care of the apostolic needs of the Chinese. Eduardo Kang Tan, Sr., a prominent Chinese in Dagupan convinced Bishop Schu to establish the parish and school in Dagupan City. In 1955, the Parish of Saint Therese was officially established with Father Joseph Kwo as the first parish priest. At the same time, plans for the school were made with the assistance of concerned citizens led by Eduardo Kang Tan, Sr.In 1957, the school opened its doors to students from kindergarten to first year high school. It was then known as St. Therese Chinese Academy with 130 enrollees and eight teachers. The first director was Fr. Richard Hartwich, SVD. The other administrative officials were Fr. Peter Joseph Kwo, school treasurer, and Fr. Matthias Ning, school disciplinarian. In 1958, Fr. Aloysius Yang, SVD became the acting school director but was replaced after a while by Fr. Hubert Lohrbach, SVD. In 1960, the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) took over the ownership and administration of the school. Henceforth, the school was known as the Divine Word Academy of Dagupan (DWAD). In 1961, Fr. Henry Schmitz, SVD became the school director, a position he was to hold for 15 years. The year also saw the High School Department holding its first Commencement exercise with eight graduates.