Brief Background  

Stepping Stone started as a project of the Rotary Club of Makati in 1972, as a school for indigent children in the Guadalupe Viejo area, Makati City. As more and more children were being brought to the school, the Rotary Club of Makati took note of the growing number of Special needs children.   In 1986, the Rotary Club of Makati, decided to expand the project and invited the Rotary District 3830 to participate. In 1987, eight (8) Rotary Clubs from Makati including the Rotary Club of Makati formed the school into non-stock, non-profit foundation called the Development Center for the Handicapped Foundation, Inc. (DCHFI) with Stepping Stone retained as the school name. In July 2013, the name of the Foundation was changed to Center for Excellence in Special Education (Stepping Stone) Foundation Inc. a name that is very descriptive of the nature of its operations and objectives.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF STEPPING STONE?  

Center for Excellence takes care of children with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, using or modifying the general education curriculum to meet the child’s individual needs. Primarily, we teach them life skills and basic literacy, so that they can become functioning members of society. Our special education teachers instruct students at the pre-school, elementary and pre-vocational courses. Our special education program caters to children with various types of disabilities. These include specific learning disabilities, speech language impairments, multiple intellectual disabilities, Orthopaedic impairments, Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, William Syndrome and other related development impairments. 95% of the students enrolled in the center come from indigent families. Families with income from zero to P10,000.00 a year, with unemployed family members or who have insufficient family income; not enough to cover for the daily necessities, are not able to send their child for special education. Most of these families live in areas as informal settlers. They live on a hand-to-mouth existence and in very uncomfortable conditions.