SPECIAL Education Program Director Donna M. Flores’ appointment as interim commissioner of education was praised by a visiting U.S. Department of Education senior risk consultant.
Christine Jackson, who visited Saipan for three days last week, said Flores’ federal counterparts in the Special Education Program attest to her “genuine connection to students.”
As the “eyes and ears” of the USDOE in the territories for the last 20 years, Jackson said she was on Saipan to look into the Public School System’s “sudden leadership change,” which was a cause for concern for the federal department.
The Board of Education appointed Flores as interim education commissioner effective Sept. 1 following the resignation of former Commissioner Dr. Alfred B. Ada due to health reasons.
Flores has been the Special Education Program director since 2020, and had been with SPED for nearly 14 years now.
SPED is one of the two largest federal programs of PSS.
During her courtesy meeting with Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, and in the presence of Northern Marianas College and Northern Marianas Technical Institute officials, Jackson said: “Having someone with a heart as interim commissioner, I am confident of this leadership. Kudos to that. You have good education leadership in the CNMI. Donna Flores is going to be a good leader. I am confident in her leadership because I have worked with her folks in…[the federal] Special Education Program and they told me about her,” Jackson said.
“I mean to be honest — every time our Special Education folks complement someone, it definitely speaks well because they are very particular about folks following Special Education rules and regulations. And it was great to see that someone from that office is taking on the leadership role, even if it’s in the interim state, because she has genuine connection to the students especially to students with special needs. The fact that she is there now, I’m sure that it’s definitely going to be a great stint of leadership because she understands what needed to happen both on the board [level] and the staff that work with her at the central office and at the school level,” Jackson said.
She added, “She is one who wants to make sure she is accountable for federal funds.”
Jackson also praised the appointment of Jacqueline “Jackie” Che as PSS federal programs officer. She succeeded her mentor, Tim Thornburgh, who retired last year.
Che served as federal programs officer until her appointment in July.
Thornburgh hired Che two years ago as the Federal Program Office’s director of internal control and evaluation.
“There is a solid system in place for federal programs,” Jackson said. “As you know, we have been working with Tim Thornburgh for a long time and he has successfully passed the baton to Jackie Che.”
Jackson added, “I think both [Special Education and the Federal Programs Office of PSS] are under very good leadership. I feel very comfortable that they are going to achieve all the goals that are in their approved [federal grant] applications.”
Jackson said she has “spoken to everyone leading these efforts and they are all working together. There is no splintered leadership. Everyone seems to work very well together to make sure that they have a common goal so that CNMI PSS looks good and is operating effectively. I was happy to see that.”
Donna Flores
