By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

GUAM Public School System Superintendent Luis Reyes has cracked the whip on the Direct Instruction, or DI, Program, ordering all division heads and school principals to ensure that the controversial program is implemented properly in schools.
In a memorandum released yesterday, Reyes said the DI Program has been clearly recognized as a research-based program and successes have been documented time and time again.
“Whether or not you support the program or decry the process of its adoption, it is a program that is being implemented in our school system and will continue to be implemented,” Reyes said.
He added, “I expect that you will follow through with its requirements and ensure that all teachers are teaching the program with fidelity and that you are providing instructional leadership at the school site through reviewing student performance data and making decisions based on the data.”
Practices prior to the implementation of DI were described by Reyes as “ineffective.” He said the government and the education community channeled millions of dollars to the educational system hoping to improve the teaching and learning of students.
“There were no results. We cannot continue down this path,” Reyes said.
Direct Instruction is a reform program implemented in the elementary schools. It is also being used as a corrective reading, language and math program in the middle schools.
According to Reyes, the DI Programs contain an empirically-based curriculum and an accountability system for those who teach and manage the program in the schools.
“The Reading First Center is required to report program progress and/or challenges to my office. The scope and requirements of the program are unprecedented in our school district. The historic low performance of our students district-wide is the reason for its adoption,” Reyes said.
GPSS has been implementing the DI Program for four years now in the elementary schools and three years in the middle schools. Reyes said GPSS must overcome the challenges these last couple of years have presented and move in the direction of positively impacting student achievement.
“We are accountable for the progress of our students. It is the primary reason that we as a school system exist. I am sure we all want to establish an accountability system. The Direct Instruction Program affords this accountability,” Reyes said.
Direct Instruction has drawn both praise and criticism from parents, teachers, and students.
The program, which focuses on basic subjects like math and reading, has been blamed for the elimination of other subjects like science and social studies. However, proponents have said that the DI Program has led to better learning and retention among the island’s public school students.
Owen Engelmann, director of curricular resources of the National Institute for Direct Instruction, or NIFDI, has said that Direct Instruction is not being implemented properly in the island’s schools.
NIFDI is a not-for-profit corporation that has a contract with GPSS to provide a training program for DI.
According to Engelmann, the lack of school aides, the lack of enforcement of the DI Programs, and the lack of cooperation by teachers and school administrators are just some of the problems hindering Direct Instruction.
In his memorandum, Reyes is now ordering GPSS officials to facilitate the support to the schools given by both NIFDI consultants and GPSS trained district coordinators.
“The recommendations of the NIFDI consultants and the district are expected to be adhered to and followed through in a timely manner. I want you to take note that I realize change is hard to accept. In fact, we have heard statements of castle-building and the like. This is due to the resistance to change. We must change. We have no other alternative. We must show positive results in justifying the millions of dollars, both local and federal, that are being expended by our system,” Reyes warned.
He added that undermining the implementation of the DI Program by any individual or division will be subjected to the full attention of the Superintendent’s Office.