In 1976, a group of parents gathered together to address the challenge of the times: the integral education of their children with the twin thrust of academic excellence and sound character formation. Inspired by the teachings of St. Josemaría Escriva, it became their conviction that the proper education of their children is best realized through the integral formation of parents first, and secondly of the teachers–the two most important agents of child education. With these two (2) sectors properly attended to, the holistic formation of children will come as a natural consequence. This educational philosophy, in turn, is anchored on the Christian teaching that education of children is, first and foremost, the responsibility of parents. Seeing the need to bring the task of education where it properly belongs, they formed a foundation whose main corporate objective is to build schools where their educational philosophy can be operationalized. The entity was aptly named “PARENTS FOR EDUCATION FOUNDATION, INC.” or “PAREF.” One year later, PAREF gave birth to its first child, Woodrose, a school for girls that began operations in New Manila, with Grades One to Five. The school later moved to its definitive location within Ayala Alabang Village. In 1979, Southridge was born. Nestled in a three hectare property in Hillsborough Subdivision of Muntinlupa, the school opened its door to boys entering Grades One to Seven. With the two schools catering to almost the same set of families Woodrose and Southridge became known as the PAREF Tandem Schools offering Primary, Intermediate and Secondary Education programs. The Kindergarten schools became part of the PAREF family with the inception of Rosemont in 1986. Originally housed in Woodrose, it started operating in its own building in 1988 beside Woodrose. With the growing demand for the kind of education PAREF offers, Ridgefield Kindergarten School was opened in 1990 in a new building within the Southridge campus. As the natural entry point to Woodrose and Southridge, Rosemont and Ridgefield became known as the “Alabang Preparatory Schools”. In the year 1990, another preparatory school named Rosehill was inaugurated in New Manila, Quezon City to cater to the needs of the families living in the North of Metro Manila. With the offer of a land donation, the school moved to its permanent home in Mission Hills, Antipolo, in year 1993. In 1992, the initial step towards a boys’ school in Quezon City was taken with the opening of Northridge Preparatory School along Mother Ignacia Street, South Triangle Homes, Diliman. Northridge became Rosefield Kindergarten School in 1994 on account of having the same name as an existing school. It is now located in New Manila, Quezon City. One year after, the parents of Quezon City saw the birth of a school for their boys, Northfield located in Scout Gandia, Quezon City. A second campus is now being planned after a 6.5 hectare land was acquired in 2011 in Sun Valley, Antipolo, which is a twenty-minute drive from Rosehill. The PAREF System is now a big family with thirteen schools. With PAREF’s existence spanning more than three and a half decades, we have graduated more than 8,000 students; most of whom are already engaged in the world of work. These are the people whose lives we have touched; whose minds and hearts we hope continue to positively transform society from within.
