Education

THE NEW FACE OF LEADERSHIP

by: LEO E. BLAQUIR, Ed.D

Principal III

     MANGALDAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Mangaldan National High School                                   was opened on February 23, 1945 under the leadership of then Municipal Mayor, Atty. Daniel V. Frianeza. Its present site comprises 9.6 hectares was purchased through the help of prominent citizens of the town and Don Marcelino P. Soriano, who donated a parcel of his land.Classes then were held at the Municipal Building and then transferred to the house of Mr. Teofilo Cabrera, later to the  Cendaña building and finally to its present site in 1947 with the aid of the PTA on account with Engr. Jose S. Biagtan. It was developed through the proceeds of the fund raising campaigns sponsored by the student body and teaching staff.It started with two classes, first year and second year, with Mr. Juan D. Mamayson as principal and Miss Agueda de Guzman and Mr. Sofronio Padre as teachers. From the original Mangaldan High School, it was renamed Mangaldan Community High School. It was nationalized on June 6, 1977 by virtue of Presidential Decree 1050. There were Ten(10) Principals  and I am the 11^th  as the incumbent Administrator since April 2017 of this prestigious and the biggest national high school in the entire region .  

           

As a new Principal III and a leader of the Mangaldan National High School, and the biggest Public Secondary School in Region I, I believe in bringing a community together to share leadership in many different avenues.  In a quote from Tom Peters, he states that “leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.” In a school community, this starts at the top in working with others to develop their leadership in every position and level of school.  By focusing on an individual’s strengths, you show that you value their expertise first, before you look to help them develop in other areas.  This strength-based focus helps to build a relationship with each individual, pushing them to be better every day.  When the leader of an organization has this belief and proves it through actions, it trickles down to students in the classroom.  The more experience I have in leadership, the more I see that effective teachers are effective leaders, and have this same strength-based approach with their students. If we have a community that focus on building leadership in all areas, we are more likely to be successful within our vision.

Building relationships, developing leadership, and focusing on school as the “hub” of our community, are more likely to create an environment where our students are building a bright future both today and tomorrow.  By looking at what worked in the past while also looking to develop our future, our community is more likely to be able to come together to create the schools our kids need.