EDNAS School marks 50 years

EDNAS School in Dagupan City celebrates its 50th founding anniversary on March 13 to 18.

“We are still maintaining the excellence of our school,” Edna Torio-Gonzales, the school director, founder and president, proudly told The PUNCH in an interview.

Over the years, Ednas School has established its status as premier educational institution in Pangasinan as evidenced by the growing population of its students yearly.

It has established branches in San Carlos City and Alaminos City.

TORIO-GONZALES

Gonzales recalled how she, then 22-years old, started the school in 1966 from its humble beginning in a rented room at the Pece Compound in Burgos St., Dagupan City, with 35 pupils then.

“It (Ednas School) is the real pre-school education in Pangasinan, non-sectarian at that time because the other schools with kindergarten are Catholic schools,” she said.

Three years later, on a one-half hectare lot just few meters behind YMCA, foundation was laid for the first structures of what is EDNAS School today.

In 1973, the school offered a complete two-level instruction [pre-school and grade school] and in 1977, EDNAS School graduated its first batch of high school seniors.

The rest, as people say, was a beautiful success story unfolding and the mission is continued today by her daughter, Maria Edna Soledad Gonzales-Blancaflor.

When it was established, the school was originally named Edna’s School. Sometime in early 1990s, a group of students coined an acronym for EDNAS which stands for Educational Development for Nice and Attractive Students. Henceforth, it was called EDNAS School.

On March 13, the golden anniversary of the school will kick off with a Holy mass to be celebrated by alumni-priests of the school, followed by parade and motorcade with five floats from clusters of its students that will compete for the Best Float.

“I thank God for making me exist up to now in spite of all the sickness that I encountered,” Gonzales said. “Maybe I have to continue my mission in this world and continue the mission of this school which I think we still continue up to now.”  (Eva Visperas)

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