By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

FOUR months away from the deadline to meet the highly qualified teachers mandate, 318 classroom teachers and seven principals of the Public School System have passed the Praxis tests.
This means that 187 teachers and 13 principals have yet to pass the tests.
Education Commissioner David Borja said from last month’s figure of 306 Praxis passers, 12 were added to the list, which translates to 63 percent of the total teaching staff.
PSS has a teaching staff of 505 on Rota, Saipan, and Tinian. All PSS personnel need to be highly qualified before July 1 so that the system can continue receiving assistance from the U.S. Department of Education which provides the CNMI with $20 million in annual consolidated grants.
Borja said of the 36 public school administrators, which include principals and vice principals, only seven are highly qualified based on the updated data from the PSS-human resource office.
Among the vice principals, Borja said 15 have passed both Praxis 1 and 2 tests.
Of the 36 school administrators, 18 are Praxis 2 qualified while 19 have passed Praxis 1.
Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, to become highly qualified to teach in the classroom, a teacher has to have a degree, certification, and pass a rigorous test which, in the case of the PSS, is Praxis.
“We have the same expectations for our school administrators,” Borja said. “They have until July…for them to ensure that they will be highly qualified. They need to lead by example.”
He said there are teachers who have submitted no data to the human resources office, which means they have yet to take Praxis.
Borja said PSS is considering the revival of the administrators institute which provides teachers with professional development sessions.