Don Bosco Technical Institute – Tarlac
Don Bosco Technical Institute in Tarlac City (formerly, Don Bosco Academy), or simply Don Bosco Tarlac, is a private Catholic basic education institution run by the Salesians of the Society of Saint John Bosco in Sto. Cristo, Tarlac City, Philippines. Established in 1947, it is the first Salesian school established in the Philippines. Don Bosco is the only academic-technical school in Tarlac. The Don Bosco Technical Institute is made up of the Educative Pastoral Community. Its main components are the Salesians, the teaching and non-teaching personnel, the alumni, the parents, and the students . The Salesian spirit gives to the institution its lifestyle, its way of doing things. One element is the Family Spirit. Being an educational institution, it has a system of education called the preventive system. This system rests on the pillars of religion, reason, and loving kindness. History. Don Bosco Tarlac was opened in 1947 in the rented Oriente Hotel located in the municipality of Tarlac (now Tarlac City) in Tarlac province by Fr. James Wilson, an American military chaplain at Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga. He was concerned with the Catholic education of the youth of Tarlac. Because  of his devotion to Saint John Bosco, he named his school St. John Bosco Academy. The school was transferred to its present site in Brgy. Sto. Cristo, Tarlac in 1948. In 1951, the school welcomed its first Salesian, Fr. Anthony di Falco, SDB. From then onwards, it received a steady stream of Salesians who continued to improve the school. It started its technical curriculum in 1974 and four years later its name was changed to Don Bosco Technical Institute. From a student population of 80 in 1947, it has grown to around more than 2,000 students at present. St. John  Bosco Academy is the first Salesian educational institution founded in the Philippines. A second institution was established in 1952 at Victorias, Negros Occidental, and was followed by other Salesian schools in Mandaluyong in 1953, in Cebu and in Makati in 1954 and eventually in Bacolor, Pampanga in 1956. All these schools are named after St. John Bosco whom the Church has proclaimed Father and Teacher of the Youth. He dedicated his life to teaching. To continue this work, he founded a religious society of priests and brothers – the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB). In 2016, it opened its co-educational  senior high school department. The Seal of the School. The seal of Don Bosco Technical Institute Tarlac consists of the gear, flask, laurels, and the anchor. The gear is the symbol of technical education. The flask symbolizes academic education provided by the school with special emphasis on science. The laurels point to the contribution of the institution in preparing capable citizens. The anchor is the symbol of Christ. On its golden jubilee, the school added the motto in Latin under the seal: "Ducere est servire" (To lead is to serve). Patron Saints. St. John Bosco. Giovanni Melchior Bosco (August 16 , 1815 – January 31, 1888), commonly called Don Bosco was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and recognized pedagogue, who put in practice the dogma of his religion, employing teaching methods based on love rather than punishment. He placed his works under the protection of Francis de Sales; thus his followers styled themselves the Salesian Society. Bosco established a network of centers to carry on his work. In recognition of his work with disadvantaged youths, he was canonized in 1934. St. Dominic Savio. Saint Dominic Savio (April 2, 1842 – March 9, 1857) was an Italian adolescent who died at the age of  fourteen. Today, he is honored as the patron saint of juvenile delinquents. He is the youngest non-martyr to be named a saint. He was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954. The Salesians of Don Bosco. The Salesian community for school year 2020–2021 consists of: