In the early sixties, the Tarlac United Methodist Church (TUMC) extended its usual Sunday School classes to weekdays to accommodate non-schooling children of members. In succeeding years, however, enrollment opened to accommodate non-member children. This facilitated the establishment of the Ecumenical School (ES). From a modest one-room class, it expanded and became the pioneer of formal Pre-School Education in the province of Tarlac. Staffed by a Church Deaconess, honed primarily in teaching children, the school gained the distinction, and its trademark of a pre-education characterized by the “tender loving care” of children.