Forming Minds, Nurturing Hearts, Honoring Culture

Lumadnong Edukasyon means education that belongs to the Tagakolu people themselves — not education delivered to them, but education that sustains their own knowledge, language, and way of life.

The IP Schools' own mission statement puts it directly: "To deliver education that incorporates the Tagakolu Indigenous Knowledge Systems into the mainstream education system in order to sustain the Tagakolu culture and allow the Tagakolu to maintain the strong bond with the Tyumanem." This means the required national curriculum is taught alongside — and through — Tagakolu Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Practices, and Spirituality (IKSPS): genealogy, ancestral land, traditional farming and craft knowledge, language, and spirituality, all held together as one education, not two separate tracks.

This work belongs to the Tagakolu communities themselves. The IP Schools were named by their own communities, and the great majority of their teachers are Tagakolu men and women, trained and supported to teach in their own language and from their own knowledge.

What is Lumadnong Edukasyon?

Kyasan Indigenous Peoples School

Schools That Bring Hope Closer to Home

Providing accessible Lumadnong Edukasyon while nurturing Tagakolu identity and leadership.

Lebleb Indigenous Peoples School

Kabigen Indigenous Peoples School

Established through the community's desire to provide a safer and more accessible place of learning for their children.

Continuing the mission's commitment to bringing education to remote Indigenous communities.

Together, the three IP Schools serve 192 students, taught by 12 committed Tagakolu teachers, 7 of them licensed education professionals who live in community during the school week.

Sustained by Real Partnership

Featured

Beyond the Classroom: The Bp. Pierre Fisette Tagakaulo Assistance Program

Not every Tagakolu student's education ends at the IP Schools. The Bp. Pierre Fisette Tagakolu Assistance Program—named for the PMÉ bishop who helped found it—supports Lumad students through high school and college, currently supporting 19 students as they work toward becoming the next generation of teachers, leaders, and advocates for their own communities.

Sponsor a Fisette Scholar

Indigenous Knowledge Formation

Education That Forms the Whole Person

Tagakolu Indigenous Knowledge, Systems, Practices, and Spirituality (IKSPS) is the community's spiritual worldview, distinct from Catholic catechesis, and is taught as part of Tagakolu identity rather than as religious instruction.

Cultural Formation

Academic Excellence

Leadership Formation

Tagakolu language, arts, and design (Kadégkadég na saka), and the community's own defined values and ways of relating to others and the land.

The required Philippine national curriculum, taught in and through Tagakolu language and knowledge systems.

Forming students toward responsibility for their tribe and community, and toward active stewardship and defense of the ancestral domain — qualities named directly in the schools' own "Qualities of Ideal Graduates."

An ideal Tagakolu graduate carries their culture forward, protects their ancestral land, and stands ready to serve their community with the same generosity they were raised in.

Every learner carries a dream.

Meet a student, teacher, or graduate whose story reflects how education rooted in faith and culture continues to transform lives, strengthen families, and inspire future generations of Tagakaulo leaders.

Learning with Hope

Stay connected with the daily life of our Indigenous Peoples Education Ministry.

Follow us on Facebook for classroom activities, student achievements, school events, teacher stories, and moments that celebrate the joy of learning rooted in faith and culture.

Follow Our Learning Journey

The future of this ministry is shaped by people who believe that education changes lives.

Whether you sponsor a learner, provide school supplies, support teacher formation, contribute to the Educational Endowment Fund, or share your professional expertise, your generosity becomes an investment in generations of Tagakaulo children.

Together, we can continue opening doors of opportunity while preserving the dignity and heritage of every learner.

Every Child Deserves the Opportunity to Learn

"Education helped me dream of a better future without forgetting who I am or where I come from."

— Tagakaulo Student or Graduate

Stories of Hope

Where Will God Lead You Next?

Read inspiring stories of learners, teachers, and families whose lives have been transformed through education.

Come and Serve

Support Our Mission

Discover opportunities to volunteer, teach, mentor, or accompany our learners.

Help sustain pastoral ministry, Indigenous education, and the future of the mission.

"Education rooted in Christ and enriched by culture does more than prepare children for tomorrow—it forms them to become faithful disciples, compassionate leaders, and hopeful stewards of their own communities."