Integrated Montessori Center

An overpriced school with questionable learning concepts and a lack of care for children My first impression of the IMC high school in Bayani two years ago was actually very good: a new building, clean facilities, and lots of opportunities for children to learn. However, today I deeply regret that we enrolled my stepchild there. But let me tell you why: 1. The main point that really shocked me is the lack of pedagogical oversight and effort: My stepchild and their friends told me many times that the teachers rush through the content and do not take time to make sure that the kids properly understand the concepts. Particularly math was a problem. Out of 45 children, around 40 failed in exams and the teacher (and the principal) still did not recognize a problem here. How ignorant must someone be to not accept that a failure rate of 90% is not a failure of the kids but of the teacher(s). In a crisis talk with the teachers and the vice-principal, I confronted them with those numbers and I think this was the first time that they have actually realized the problem, but why did they not realize that their students do not comprehend the stuff that is taught? I was then told that their math is adapted from the Singapore math and it is more intense. However, we are still in the Philippines and I actually do not care if they adapt Singaporean, Australian or Congolese math (take care: sarcasm), since the results matter. The math teacher was kind of infamous for strict and hurried teaching, so I wonder why the school management has accepted that for so long. 2. The tuition fees are around PHP 93,000 per year plus the books and plus the school uniform and transport if you need that. So you end up easily at around PHP 110,000 - 130,000. That might sound reasonable if you compare it with top-end schools such as Ateneo etc. but trust me, given the IMC’ quality, it is not worth it. The classroom size was 45 children! 45 children in a private school that charges more than 100,000 pesos to educate your child. They did not want to open another class in the cohort, I guess to save cost and increase their profit. Because after all, they are a profit-oriented company. 3. IMC follows an interesting business model, where teachers rush through content (see 1.) and if your child has problems to follow, they offer you plenty of “extra tuition” and “enhancement classes” for your child to become better. Of course those extra classes aren’t free and since the teachers mess up the regular education in the day, I have the feeling those extra classes are supposed to increase the revenue of the school. Indeed, such a business model is highly reprehensible if you consider how much you already pay here. 4. Another questionable fact is their relationship with the transportation services to bring kids from home to school and vice versa. The service we had was always late and my stepchild arrived in school late as well. We asked the service many times to be earlier, but they failed. On top of that, the school told us that our child is often late. That was the time when I got angry since they accredited the services and only they had leverage against them (for instance, discontinuing the accreditation). But also here they failed to communicate it. Summary: I conclude and do not recommend this school for parents. For the high price-tag they charge, you won’t get a reasonable return. They failed to properly educate the children, they failed to recognize that some of their teachers are rushing through content, which resulted in weak performance of a whole class. I just don’t see that they prepare the children for the future such as college or life in general. But what is just striking here is the fact how they take so many things for granted. I pay such high tuition and I expect that most of the school related stuff is covered by them. At the end of the day, their private school is a service, that is their job. But I did not see enough effort to fulfil that service.

2013 Alumni here and I definitely recommend this school to parents / students seeking a high quality education. This is a near-perfect environment a student can have as the school provided as much as materials they needed. Before I graduated, I remember that there was no basketball court and we had to do most of the P.E. sessions within the campus. There was no official space for P.E. itself. Despite the lacking of facilities, the school is consistently growing to offer more than what parents / students want from a quality school, and i'll let you know that IMC has that potential.

I spent all my preschool, elementary and high school years here in IMC and I must say it is a very commendable school. They've honed me into the person I am today and they've taught me very well. It's a very family-oriented school and you could get all the support you need through them. The education they offer are well-thought-out and is competitive to any schools out there. I, myself, graduated just in the top 10 of our batch in high school and graduated as Summa Cum Laude in College. What I also loved about this school is they do not just focus on academic performance but also bring out the creativity out of their students through celebrating different events monthly and conducting competitions in sports, speech, arts, singing, dance and even small skits. If I were to go back to being a child, I would definitely go to this school again if given the choice. :)

I am a student in IMC and while i was there for almost 6 years those years improved me im graduating this year for high school

It has almost been 6 years when I last studied highschool in IMC, but the teachings and learnings have become inherent in me. IMC does not only provide high quality education to their students, they also seek and bring out their full potential which is a great way to prepare them for the next level. It has a welcoming and engaging environment, wherein teachers were trained to be approachable and dedicated in their field. Likewise, my elementary and highschool years in IMC will always remain as a fulfilling experience and precious memory.