(PSS) — Following a challenging journey during which “many people didn’t believe the school could ever be rebuilt,” Education Commissioner Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho hailed Friday’s unveiling of Hopwood Middle School’s 20-classroom modular school building as “a gift” to students and the community.
The new multi-million-dollar, ARPA-funded (not FEMA-funded as earlier reported) building was designed to provide a stable, secure, and safe learning environment for the next 15 to 30 years. Hopwood, which is located in Chalan Piao, was severely damaged by Super Typhoon Yutu in October 2018. Once the entire Hopwood campus is rebuilt over the next 18 months, the other damaged structures will be demolished.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday was witnessed by Hopwood students, teachers, the school’s Parent Advisory Council leadership, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, lawmakers, Board of Education members, Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert Naraja, Saipan Mayor RB Camacho, and community leaders.
Hopwood is the CNMI’s oldest public secondary school. Established in 1949 as Saipan Intermediate School, it shared a campus with Chalan Kanoa Elementary School (now WSR Elementary School). It was renamed Hopwood Intermediate School in the 1950s when it relocated to its current site.
High-quality
The new modular classrooms, according to Commissioner Camacho, “are a gift to you students and the community who collaborated with us, had shown us patience, and persevered in ensuring that our students had access to high-quality learning environments.”
He added, “And I just want to say thank you, congratulations. Let’s all think that every time we get into this type of journey with our Public School System, what we always envision is what is there for student success: How will the students continue to thrive? What quality of environment and safe space for students do we have? But if we don’t have it, we need to push forward and we will not stop until we get it. We want to make sure that [students] are provided with that type of environment. So students, congratulations, this is a gift to you and the community.”
When the school district chose to rebuild Hopwood on the same site, Andrew L. Orsini of Saipan, the most senior member of the Board of Education, said the odds were against them.
“Many people didn’t believe the school could ever be rebuilt. [Yutu] was so destructive that many people said we were foolish to think about returning to this site. But we, the Board of Education, listened to the students, the parents, and the community around this school whose dream was just to rebuild what was lost,” Orsini said.
In his remarks, Governor Palacios said “it was a struggle…but make no mistake… we stood up, persevered, and worked together. Being persistent paid off…with today’s unveiling. Today is a beautiful day. We have to be proud of ourselves.”
He said “somehow, we overcome those challenges and whatever bureaucratic obstacles that we had to overcome…and we are here today to celebrate the community around this community. Yes, indeed, this is one of [our] milestones.”
In a statement, Hopwood Middle School’s leadership said, “After years of sharing classrooms and managing the challenges it brings, our new classrooms mark a significant milestone in our commitment to providing a high-quality education for all students. These state-of-the-art learning spaces will enable our teachers to deliver instruction more effectively, our students to learn more comfortably, and our school community to thrive.”
Timeline
After Yutu, Hopwood relocated to the FEMA-built temporary classrooms at Koblerville Elementary School’s soccer field. In 2023, Hopwood students returned to their old campus after 19 classrooms were temporarily repaired/renovated.
In 2020, FEMA announced that it had awarded funds for the repair and replacement of Hopwood buildings. Of the amount, a portion was set aside for modular classrooms as requested by PSS through its Federal Programs Office.
With PSS’ ARPA funding support, the CNMI Public Assistance Office, led by Patrick Guerrero, collaborated with a PSS team — including the Federal Programs Office and Facilities Development and Management — to launch the reconstruction phase, which involved installing modular classrooms. The contractor is CJ Innovation.
“It was the Governor and the Commissioner [of Education] who got this project done — a milestone indeed,” Guerrero said.
Officials said the “bigger journey” is rebuilding a new campus, and “we intend to work together to achieve it.”
On Friday, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang joined the CNMI Public School System and the Board of Education for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Hopwood Middle School, which unveiled its new, federally funded modular classrooms. In his remarks, Governor Palacios celebrated the occasion as a proud milestone, marking a significant step forward as the community works toward rebuilding a permanent campus.
Office of the Governor photo
Gov. Arnold I. Palacios delivers his remarks.
Education Commissioner Lawrence Camacho, left, talks with Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang.
Hopwood students, education officials and other government officials listen to Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, back to the camera, as he delivers his remarks.
Students, teachers, and staff were given the opportunity to inspect and tour the newly opened Hopwood Middle School modular classrooms.
From left, Board of Education member Andrew L. Orsini, Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, and Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho. Also in photo, partly hidden, are Saipan Mayor RB Camacho and BOE Teacher Rep. Dr. Dora Miura.
PSS photo
The commemorative key to the newly opened Hopwood Middle School modular classroom building is handed to BOE Secretary-Treasurer Antonio L. Borja, right, by BOE member Andrew L. Orsini. The commemorative key was made from metal salvaged from the original school structure, which was destroyed by Super Typhoon Yutu.
PSS photo
The façade of the new modular classroom building at Hopwood.
The new building’s entrance.
