In this episode of Beyond the Classroom, we sit down with Michelle Garingalao-Ong, an award-winning education leader from the Philippines whose path to school leadership began in nursing and community psychology. Michelle shares her deeply personal journey from serving two-year-olds to leading a full K–12 school community, including founding and directing C.H.I.L.D.S. Academy in her province. Eight months into her marriage, a simple question from her husband—whether she wanted to return to teaching—became a pivotal moment that redirected her life’s work. What followed was not ambition, but what Michelle describes as a calling: to create a place where children feel safe to learn and educators feel inspired to stay.
Our conversation explores how Michelle led her school through crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic, launching the province’s only fully synchronous distance learning program, while centering mental health, compassion, and community resilience. She reflects on receiving multiple national awards not as markers of success, but as affirmations of purpose. Listeners will hear how her loving, grounded leadership has built a school culture rooted in empathy—one where service, inclusion, and emotional well-being are not add-ons, but the foundation of education. This episode makes clear why Michelle belongs in education: her work reminds us that the most transformative schools are led by those who see teaching not as a job, but as an act of care.
