By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THREE support staff members of the Public School System are applying for the regional education master’s online training in evaluation program which is fully funded by the U.S. Department of Education through the Pacific Resources for Education and Learning.
Education Commissioner David M. Borja said PSS recommended two primary candidates and one alternate for the program.
“These individuals were chosen by our (human resources office) from a pool of applicants. We named the three after determining that they have met all the criteria set for this national master’s program,” Borja said, adding that one applicant is from PSS central office while the other two are from Rota and Saipan.
The program, according to a brochure from PREL, “incorporates a specialization in evaluation with an existing master’s degree program in the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Department of Educational Foundations.”
The two-year program of study requires completion of 30 credit hours over the course of five semesters — summer, fall 2007, spring 2008, fall 2008, spring 2009 and late spring 2009.
Courses will be offered “in a hybrid synchronous format and instruction is self-paced, within the constraints of assignment deadlines, and students interact with faculty and other students through an in-person orientation, online course platforms, videoconferencing, and site-based learning groups.”
Borja said this is the first time that PSS will be competing in the program following PREL’s presentation in the CNMI.
He said the CNMI’s applications to the program were coordinated with Northern Marianas College acting president Danny Wyatt.
Under the program, according to PREL, students will be drawn from across the U.S.-affiliated Pacific — American Samoa, the CNMI, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, the Marshall Islands and Palau.
An initial cohort of 15-20 students will be competitively selected and provided full funding for tuition, travel, and related educational expenses.
The final determination of admissibility to the program is made by a review committee composed of the graduate chair and other faculty members from the coordinating committee.
The general objective of the program is to build the capacity of educational leaders in the Pacific to appropriately and effectively conduct and utilize program evaluation.