During the regular board meeting on Jan. 14, Dr. Yvonne Pangelinan, Public School System association commissioner for student and support services, said FEMA has obligated $1.7 million for either the renovation or construction of a new Da’ok building.
PSS is now in the process of deciding how many classrooms are necessary for Da’ok, she added.
Besides classrooms, Da’ok also needs an office for administration, restrooms, and a common area that will double as a cafeteria, she said.
The building of Da’ok Academy at MHS was destroyed when Super Typhoon Yutu slammed into Saipan and Tinian in October 2018.
Da’ok Academy recognizes its nine mid-year graduates at Kanoa Resort on Tuesday. Also in photo are Board of Education Chairwoman Janice Tenorio, BOE Vice Chairman Herman Atalig, BOE members MaryLou Ada and Andrew Orsini, Education Commissioner Dr. Alfred Ada, Northern Marianas Technical Institute chief executive officer Agnes M. McPhetres, and Da’ok Academy principal Jonathan Aguon. Photo by Lori Lyn C. Lirio
Currently, the 45 students at Da’ok are attending classes at the Northern Marianas Technical Institute in Lower Base.
Pangelinan said NMTI has provided four classrooms to the Da’ok students. “They have to vacate NMTI at the end of the instructional day because other programs need to run,” she added.
BOE vice chairman Herman Atalig, who chairs its Capital Improvement Projects Committee, moved for the construction of a new building for Da’ok Academy at MHS.
The board members unanimously approved the motion.
Da’ok Academy caters to students who are at risk of not graduating from high school.
