BWCS - History

Ballesteros West Central School: Leading the Way

During the 50’s, Barangay Centro West was a very fast growing community.The children in this barangay went to Centro East to study and to those whose homes were near Barangay Cabuluan went to Cabuluan West Elementary School . The concerned community people clamored for the need of a school in the barangay.

The then Barrio Lieutenant Timoteo Bayani with Mr. Marcelino Umblas, his assistant, thought of acquiring a lot for school site. They called for a barangay meeting in August, 1957 and they agreed to purchase a lot. They were able to convince Dr. Arafiles to donate his lot north of the Phil. Independent Church. Since the location was so hidden, they exchanged it with the lot which is now the present site. The original area of the school site was 4,600 sq. meters. They paid it for five hundred pesos. This was purchased in 1960.

Since then, the school population grew rapidly so there was a need of classrooms to house the pupils who were having classes in private houses. The Gr. I pupils then were taught in the house of Mr. and Mrs. Pedro Gascon and the grades II and III were taught in the house of Mr. and Mrs. Juan Acebedo.

The first school building was a prefab. 2-room building given by then Congressman Garduque. With the help of the municipal government and other concerned citizens, they pulled their resources together to put up a semi permanent six-room PTA building made up of veneer wallings, door sahutters and window shutters with G. I. sheets as roofings.

In 1959-1960, there was only one grade yet but in the following school year, there were four grades opened. In the school year 19601-1962 Grade V was added. The PTA school building was almost finished in that year so classes from private houses were accommodated in the new rooms.

In the school year 1962-1963, a grade VI class was opened. This was handled by a new teacher and a principal item in the school came in. As the school population grew fast, there was a need to expand the school area. In 1965, the coconut plantation north of the school which was owned by the Dela Cruz family was purchased for one thousand eight hundred twenty-nine pesos. So, the school area became 9,151 sq. meters.

Since the required area for a complete elem. School is at least two and one-half hectares, Mr. Jaime Catli, the principal, talked with the Umblas family to exchange their lot with the lot of Mrs. Encarnacion Acebedo at the north western part of the school, unluckily, they did not like it. So, they applied for the expropriation of the said lot in July, 1980. Sheriff Pagayan of Sanchez Mira came to hand the school principal a copy of advice to possess the land. In that case, construction of school buildings on the eastern side of the school was done. Since the school site area could almost cope up with the required standard school area, many improvements were made.

In the year 2010, a pre-school class was organized under the pre-school program of the Department of Education. This school year, 2013-2014, it has a total population of 427 pupils which were being supervised by fourteen teachers (11 are permanent and nationally paid teachers, 1 Kinder Volunteer Teacher and 2 Municipal School Board Teachers) and a principal.

School Personalized Greeting: Nasudi A West Central!

School I.D. : 102537

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