By Moneth G. Deposa
Variety News Staff

THE Public School System, with the approval of the Board of Education, has replaced the bilingual program.
Called now Chamorro/Carolinian Heritage Studies, the new standard is being offered from kindergarten to eighth grade in 16 public schools.
“PSS changed the name of the bilingual program to Chamorro, Carolinian Heritage Studies because we became aware of the need to revisit the program,” Jess Elameto, program coordinator, told Variety yesterday.
There are five summary standards for the new program: interpersonal oral communication, academic oral communication, reading, writing, and cultural values.
Elameto said PSS has been trying to address the concerns raised by the Chamorro and Carolinian Bilingual Education Teachers Association last year.
“PSS has already addressed the teacher substitution issue and it is trying its best to get appropriations for the new standard. The only thing that remains a concern is the ‘traveling instructors who have to carry their materials while moving from one classroom to another,” Elameto said.
Last October, Education Commissioner David Borja instructed all administrators and principals to stop the substitution practice as it violated contract provisions and PSS policies.
According to a resolution submitted by the Chamorro and Carolinian Bilingual Education Teachers Association to the Legislature last year, 95 percent of bilingual teachers in public schools were without permanent, designated classrooms.
Elameto said PSS has over 60 instructors for the new program, which was implemented last month.
He said various certification courses are now being offered at Northern Marianas College such as instruction in teaching linguistically diverse students; Carolinian orthography; Carolinian language arts; Chamorro language arts; instruction for students with disabilities; Chamorro orthography; instruction in lesson planning and classroom management; instruction in computer technology; and instruction in planning and assessment.
PSS, Elameto said, will see if the new standard can be offered exclusively to seventh or eighth graders to comply with the needed graduation credit requirements.
“It’s now being offered from K-8th…If we can offer it only in seventh or eighth grades, we can correlate the standards and benchmarks of the program,” he said.