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History of La Salle Green Hills
The history of La Salle Green Hills started more than three hundred years ago in France when a French priest gave up high social and ecclesiastical position and family wealth to dedicate himself to the neglected youth of his day by establishing an institute of religious teachers. This priest, St. John Baptist de La Salle, born in Rheims, France in 1661, founded the Fratres Scholarum Christianarum or Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools on May 28, 1684 whose purpose was “to give Christian education to children” especially the artisans and the poor. St. La Salle died in 1719, was canonized in 1900, and proclaimed Patron of All Teachers in 1950. Today, there are 6,000 Christian Brothers in more than 80 countries teaching and managing schools. In the Philippines, they are known as the De La Salle Brothers.
The Brothers in the Philippines
The educational work of the Brothers in the Philippines started when nine brothers from Marseilles, France arrived in Manila on March 29, 1911 upon invitation of the Archbishop of Manila, Jeremia J. Harty, to establish a college: the De La Salle College. De La Salle College, now De La Salle University, was originally located in Paco but was moved to Taft Avenue in 1921.
During the early fifties, the Brothers of De La Salle hesitantly acquired a six-hectare lot along Ortigas Avenue in Mandaluyong to relocate the Novitiate from Baguio and to accommodate increasing requests for admission to grade school.
The Birth of La Salle Green Hills
In July of 1959, La Salle Green Hills opened its doors to two preparatory sections and one section each for grades one and two. On August 24, 1960, La Salle Green Hills, Inc. was registered as a non-stock, non-profit corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In August of 1964, the high school was established. Since then, a number of significant events have taken place on campus. Among those directly related to the High School Department are:
- Inauguration of the National Shrine of the Divine Child (1959)
- Construction of the St. Benilde Hall (1967-1969)
- First formal accreditation of the High School Department by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities or PAASCU (November 21-22, 1973)
- Establishing of the Adult Night High School which offers free Lasallian education to disadvantaged Filipinos (1979)
- Holding in the St. Benilde Hall of the Operation Quick Count of the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) which helped restore constitutional democracy in the Philippines (1984 and 1986 elections)
- Holding of the First Asian Nation Symposium attended by forty brothers from Asia, Europe, Australia, the Americas, and Africa chaired by Superior General Brother Pablo Basterrechea (February, 1985)
- First convention of the National Lasallian Spirit in Action or LASSA (1984)
- Launching of the institutional program on social concern (1986)
- Holding of the first Asian Pacific Lasallian Youth Congress Region (1989)
and many more events with far-reaching influence.
Early Accreditation and Excellence
La Salle Green Hills High School continuously evaluates and improves its educational programs and services to provide quality education. After an initial self-survey in 1972 using PAASCU Form A and after the format survey visit in 1974, the high school was granted initial accreditation for a period of three years. In 1977, the Department was re-surveyed using Form A and granted accreditation for 5 years. Successive re-surveys in 1982 and then in 1987 made use of PAASCU survey Form B. In all of these visits, La Salle Green Hills High School Department was given clean accreditation making it the first and only high school to receive such. In 1998, the school was granted another seven-year accreditation.
Expansion and Growth
The increasing number of students coupled with the need for facilities made it imperative for the administration to construct a new building. The High School transferred to the new building, which was inaugurated in 1995 and named in honor of Br. Mutien-Marie, FSC. On August 25, 1997, the five floors consisting of classrooms, offices, multi-purpose rooms, work areas, the Cybersphere and reading area were dedicated to the pioneer brothers in La Salle Green Hills, namely: Br. Alphonse Bloemen, FSC for the ground floor, Br. Francis Cody, FSC for the second floor, Br. Denis Ruhland, FSC for the third floor, Br. Hugh Damian Wester, FSC for the fourth floor, Br. Mel Bock, FSC for the fifth floor, Br. Peter Graves, FSC for the Reading Area, and Br. Vernon Poore, FSC for the science laboratories. More recently, Room 112 was rededicated to Mrs. Maria Pilapil for her devoted service to the school as High School Principal several years ago. In 2001, a study hall was constructed attached to the Benilde Gymnasium and was dedicated to the memory of the late Cesar A. Cruz, former High School Assistant Principal.
La Salle Green Hills continues the legacy of St. John Baptist de La Salle and looks forward to the centennial celebration of the Brothers in 2011.
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