Preschool: Hansel & Gretel Early Childhood Education Centre

Hansel and Gretel Early Childhood Education Centre opened its doors to students on June 6, 1996, at the ZGU building along Gov. Alvarez Avenue. It all started as an ambitious undertaking with humble beginnings. Its founder, Dr. Anicia A Alvarez is a strong advocate for constructivism and multiple intelligences. These two developmental philosophies of Professor Jean Piaget and Professor Howard Gardner inspired Dr. Alvarez during her education at Purdue University in the USA under a Fulbright Scholarship grant. It was these two developmental theories that shaped the curriculum and pedagogy of Hansel & Gretel Early Childhood Education/ Ferndale International School to be known as 'the Multiple Intelligence School'.

The year 1996 saw the first intake of 65 students enrolled in nursery through Kindergarten with a complement of five academic staff. Soon after, word started to spread and grade-level enrollment increased every year from first grade to 6th grade. Since its opening, the school's dynamic educational environment continued to evolve and in March 2003, 29 pioneer students graduated and received their elementary school diplomas.

Wanting to develop a global student body, the school's first foreign students arrived in 2001. They came from the United States of America, Australia, England, China, Egypt, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia. During the same year, our sister school, Wisdom Tree International School House opened in Liaoning province, China. The desire to continue the legacy of educating children and to establish a model school for quality education with international standards prompted the offering of basic education at the elementary level and naming this level as Ferndale International School. To make the distinction better, the preschool continues to use the name of Hansel & Gretel Early Childhood Education Center, while the elementary and secondary levels use the name of Ferndale International School in all its operations.

Basic Education: Elementary & Secondary Levels

In 2004 the secondary junior high school and senior high school programs were opened. In 2009, Ferndale International School and Hansel & Gretel Early Childhood Education Centre obtained recognition status of all its programs from Region IX, Department of Education.

Center for Exceptional Children (CEC)

In the same year (2004), Ferndale International School also opened its door to cater to the educational needs of a marginal group - special students (we call them exceptional students) with physical and learning disabilities. Special Education Center (SPED) was established as a school for exceptional children. In 2015, the name of the center was changed to Center for Exceptional Children (CEC) in response to the growing worldwide clamor to give attention to these children. Specialized programs were developed so children with behavioral challenges are provided one-on-one training, mainstream programs in various grade levels, and the functional-vocational program.

Senior High School (SHS)

'The K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum is geared towards the development of holistically developed Filipino with 21st-century skills who are ready for employment, entrepreneurship, middle-level skills development, and higher education upon graduation. With this premise, the K-12 basic education reform was approved for implementation in 2012. This was considered as the most 'comprehensive basic education reform initiative' ever done in the country.

In 2015 Ferndale International School was granted approval to offer the senior high school curriculum pursuant to the requirements of the K-12 Basic Education Program. Four academic tracks (STEM, ABM, HUMSS, GAS) and one technical-vocational track (ICT) were given approval. In 2020, the senior high school track will include maritime education. With the approval of the senior high school program, Ferndale International School now offers a complete K-12 curriculum for the students of Zamboanga.

FERNDALE COLLEGES-Zamboanga Peninsula Inc.

The year 2018-2019 saw giant leaps for Ferndale International School and its education program offerings to the community of Zamboanga City. These milestones include the following institutional developments:

In 2018, Ferndale Colleges-Zamboanga Peninsula was granted SEC approval to offer tertiary education courses. In 2019 our application to offer collegiate courses was approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED-Region IX). Four college degree programs were approved by the CHED to be opened in August 2020. The programs include the following: Bachelor of Science in Criminology (BSCrim), Bachelor of Multi-Media Arts (BMMA), Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (BECEd), Bachelor of Technology & Livelihood Education (BTLEd).

TESDA ACCREDITED PROGRAMS & ASSESSMENT CENTER

In 2019 Ferndale Colleges-Zamboanga Peninsula obtained the approval of the Technical & Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to become a TESDA Accredited Assessment & Training Center. With this accreditation, the institution has become a partner of TESDA in providing training skills courses to senior high school students and short-term courses to the general community especially those in the rural barangays.

PROGRAM BENEFITS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

February 25, 2015, was a significant day for Ferndale as it passed the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC) Certification Program as one of the Education Service Contracting through (ESC) schools in Region 9. ESC slot allocations come with subsidies for junior private high schools.

Our 1st batch of Grade 11 Senior High School Students of the school year 2016-2017 became the pioneer recipients of the Senior High School Program. It is a program of financial assistance wherein subsidies in the form of vouchers are provided to qualified SHS learners in participating private or non-DepEd public SHSs.

FERNDALE INSTITUTE FOR TEACHER TRAINING (FITT)

In 2019, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC-ROIX) approved the application of the Ferndale Institute for Teacher Training (FITT) to become a service provider for upgrading the skills and competencies for teachers Through the conduct of seminar workshops and conferences for public and private school teachers in Region IX.

Ferndale International School celebrated its 23rd Foundation Day in October 2019. We continue to grow and enrollment is currently serving over 1500 students from preschool to senior high school students.

Our School Building

In 2014, we moved our campus to BG Building located along Veterans Avenue, Tetuan Barangay to cater to the increase in student population in all the departments. With the start of the K-12 education reform program of the Department of Education and the opening of senior high school, the move to a new campus was needed.

In 2016 the new high school building has inaugurated a milestone for Ferndale International School. This two-level 20 classroom building is home for junior high and senior high school students. In the afternoon, college classes are held here.