Maria Domenica Development Center

MDDC is a private non-stock, non-profit educational foundation recognized by the Department of Education since 1989.

It is managed by the Camillian Sisters with the center’s primary organizations: the Board of Trustees (BOT), and the Stewards.

The Board of Trustees (BOT) is the governing body the Camillian Sisters Maria Domenica Development Center, Inc. It is the highest policy making body of the school and provides oversight across all the Center’s operations. The board is composed of religious members. Its current members are:
President: Sr. Bernadette S.A. Faustino
Vice-President: Sr. Benilda L. Quimio
Secretary: Sr. Leandrina R. Aclan
Treasurer: Sr. Luzviminda E. Acuesta
Member: Sr. Veronica M. Centeno

The Center Management serves as the school’s human and spiritual carrier and is composed of the Directress, administrator and all permanent faculty/staff members.

The Stewards serves as guardians of the pedagogy and philosophical foundations of the school. While they do not exercise any corporate powers, they provide spiritual and moral guidance to the BOT and are highly respected by the school community. The Stewards are:
• Miss Teresa Abadam
• Dr. Divina Hey Gonzales
• Mrs Salvacion Angtuaco
• Sr. Liberty J. Elarmo
• Sr. Elvira O. Dojinog

How It All Started

It all started with the desire of the Camillian Sisters Philippine Delegation to initiate a mission in caring and educating very young children in order for them to properly develop and mature into responsible, thinking, moral human beings possessing the courage to take concrete steps initially, to develop one's self. Its concern is to follow the congregation’s Foundress Maria Domenica Brun Barbantini, whose charism is to serve the poor sick. Her charity generated life and holistic health to the needs of the child and the Filipino family. It is a healthy atmosphere that trains the individual to become a balance person, learning to live life’s realities at home, in school and in the whole community of the society. With adult’s guidance, this process brings about optimum healthy growth and total development of all the children starting from the very young age, bringing contribution towards goodness, truth and beauty of life.

It started in June 13, 1989 when Sr. Leandrina R. Aclan, one of the pioneer Filipino Camillian Sister, was assigned to manage the Maria Domenica Child Development Center (MDCDC). It is following the theories on Family Life and Child Development. It uses a child-center method in teaching- learning strategies involving active participation of the family in the Center’s curricular activities. This includes the special needs of the children afflicted with different learning difficulties. The following Sisters who took over Sr. Aclan’s transfer to missions were: Sr. Liberty J. Elarmo and Sr. Elvira O. Dojinog trained in the same professional preparation.

• Its pedagogy is based on the teachings of piagetian’s theory, on the development stages of childhood and adolescence. It is integrated also with other developmental childhood pedagogy like Montessori, Steiner, Erickson, etc. to meet the growing needs of the children. It believes the philosophy on “holistic approach to health, appropriate early childhood development to regular children and special education to Children With Special Educational Needs CWSENs above all.” This approach nurtures the child's whole being, working from the "hands" (physical) through the "heart" (emotional and spiritual) to the "mind" (intellectual). It is one of the different early child development centers in mission countries of the Camillian Sisters throughout the world as in Italy, Taiwan, Thailand, and Brazil.

• It was first named Maria Domenica Child Development Center because it caters the early years of the children’s development. Later, in the year 2007 it was changed to Maria Domenica Development Center to accommodate CWSENs who are growing older and are still in need of special educational assistance. Eventually, prevocational and Independent Living Program is provided to train them to work behavior and skills in life.

Healing education is included in the curricular activities in all levels. The aim is to prevent possible disturbance in the development process of the child, lessen if there are onset of difficulties and increase insight in the learning process of the individual student.

Preschool: Toddler, Nursery, Kindergarten & Preparatory

• The goal of the Preschool program is to develop a sense of joy and love in the young child and a respect for all living things. This creates an experience for the academics that follow in the next educational development. It is intended to be a home-like experience so that the young child feels secure and comfortable in his first years away from the family home.

• Preschoolers are phenomenal imitators. Therefore, the teacher serves as a role model to them. The teacher also provides the rhythm, ritual and respect that live within the MDDC environment.

• Active play (indoor and outdoor) is a key component of the Maria Domenica Development Center which helps your toddler in his/her development: emotionally, mentally and actively while they learn.

• The rhythm of each morning provides a balance between individual free play and organized group activity. Activities include household tasks such as baking, sweeping, and planting; artistic activities, drawing and watercolor painting; and linguistic activities such as listening to story tales, using puppets, and role-playing.

• Every day there is a "circle time" with singing and movement, and the day concludes with the telling of a traditional story.

• Special Education for Children with Special Educational Needs (CWSENs) is patterned on the regular preschool program, with individualized educational program (IEP) for each child. It is done separately from the regular preschoolers. This is a special class on early intervention. Needed therapy is done on a one-on-one and/or in a dyad session with the therapist in the therapy room.

• Integration of a child with special needs (CWSENs) for an activity with a regular class of same age.

• Mainstreaming is integrating a child with special needs in a regular class of her/his same learning capacity.

• Transition class is a preparation of the CWSENs to a regular class or formal class in the intermediate class.

• Inclusion is the stage when the CWSENs is ready to mix with regular class of same age accompanied with a shadow teacher inside the class.

• Prevocational and Independent Living Program is training provided to CWSENs in young adult stage in work behavior and work skills, home management (bed preparation, household work, home gardening…) for community integration to prepare them for self-advocacy and economic sustenance. This includes the following components:

1. School program for the supervised educational activities;
2. Home program is designed for the individual to supervise activities and needs at home for two (2) hours;
3. Community program to learn for socialization activities, in an actual real life situation for two (2) hours.