MORE than one-third of Hopwood Junior High School teachers are of Filipino descent. The vice principal was also born and raised in the Philippines. Next school year, all six teachers in the school’s mathematics division, though already immediate relatives of local residents or American citizens, are full-blooded Filipinos.
Hopwood Vice Principal Jerryson S. Jordan could not hide his feeling of elation over the fact that 24 out of 66 Hopwood teachers are of Filipino descent who are actively helping many students in the CNMI.
“Of course, they were not hired because they are Filipinos. They were all qualified to handle the job thus they became teachers of Hopwood. But I can’t help but feel proud about it,” Jordan said in an interview yesterday.
Even Hopwood Principal David M. Borja takes pride in having many teachers of Filipino descent who are helping him improve the quality of education in the school.
“Although their hiring is irrespective of ethnicity, I also feel proud that we have Filipino teachers. I am somehow connected with Filipinos because my son-in-law is a Filipino too,” said Borja.
Jordan said his teachers in the mathematics division have helped many students to harness their skills and compete in national math competitions.
“Before, we were just mere partcipants. But this has changed now. Students already compete in national math competitions such as the Mathcounts and the Math Olympiad,” he said.
Jordan is now helping the division set up a mathematics laboratory. He said the project will help improve the numbers skill of students through the use of computer technology.
