The establishment of Stella Maris Academy of Malolos was envisioned by the siblings and children-in-law of the late Bienvenido and Marcelina Cruz, who served at the Stella Maris Parish in Pamarawan, Malolos, Bulacan, a barrio located along the fringes of Manila Bay.

Because the siblings’ ultimate goal in life is to give back to society what it has given them, and because they want to relive the apostolic work of their parents in serving the church and the community, they applied for a permit to open pre-school classes, but many parents requested that elementary-level classes also be opened.

The school was formally opened in June of S.Y. 2004-2005. The first year was characterized by humble efforts to put up the school, even in a rented lot with a bodega, and this was converted into preschool classrooms. Part of the lot was utilized for the construction of three classrooms, a small canteen, a library, offices, and washrooms. 

The school was inaugurated and blessed in May 2004, a week before classes began, by the Rev. Fr. Rodolfo M. Cruz, a first cousin of the siblings.

In June 2004, the school opened its doors to primary pupils. Three preschool sections and one section each for Grades 1, 2, and 3 were accommodated. In May 2004, government recognition was granted to pre-school levels and a government permit to operate for Grades 1, 2, and 3 by the Department of Education. The enrolment in SY 2004-2005 was 110, which exceeded beyond the expectation of just having 50 pupils or even less. Since School Year 2004-2005, SMA has never gotten tired of improving its service to the City of Malolos youth. That’s why the enrollment continuously grows year after year, proof of the unwavering support of parents and benefactors. 

The siblings, four of them educators by profession, with the help of sisters and brothers-in-law, focused their energies on promoting academic excellence, improving the school’s facilities, setting up organizational systems, and developing holistic student programs despite very limited financial resources.

The owners of the school always make it a point to deliver excellence in education, nurturing the total child in each and every SMAer, building people, and training teachers through excellent mentoring and proper coaching. This has become one of the reasons why SMA became the preferred school for many families.

The high school department was opened during the SY: 2008-2009. The elementary and junior high school departments are government-recognized.

In spite of the absence of sufficient modern academic, sports, and other instructional facilities, we are working hard to tap the strength and potential of every SMA child. We take pride in saying that we have made our pre-school and elementary pupils shine not only in our school but also in the whole division and even up to the region.

Since SY 2004-2005 up to the present, our pupils have reaped honors and awards in literary and academic competitions. The majority of our pupils joining contests have emerged winners in academic contests in science, general information, mathematics, and campus journalism.

While our school stands tall in the field of academic education, we never get tired of seeking new and more effective ways to live out SMA’s mission and vision. We continue to use a fundamentally traditional philosophy of education with clear and specific objectives to implement innovative and modern educational methods and strategies—the Montessori Method and Multi-Intelligence Theory of Howard Gardner, to name a few. We adapt teaching strategies that will tap the multiple intelligences of pupils, thus allowing every learner to shine in his own light and become more involved and active in learning.

We cater not only to the development of our pupils who belong to the group within normal limits. Every so often, we redesign our curriculum so that we can offer the best to some of our students who are struggling learners or who possess learning disabilities.

We are an inclusive school and proud to be recognized as a SpEd school, having been granted government recognition for our Special Education program on February 29, 2016.

We are also a certified Education Service Contracting (ESC) school, which means we are granted financial assistance by the Department of Education through the Private Education Assistance Committee (PEAC).

Stella Maris Academy of Malolos continues to provide quality education with continuous improvement of our classroom environment, strengthening of its academic programs, the intensification of social consciousness, and the deepening of students’ faith in God through curricular, co-curricular and extracurricular activities.