THE Covid-19 pandemic taught the CNMI education community a lot about safety and technology, Board of Education member Andrew Orsini said.
During the pandemic, Orsini said he made sure that every student was given internet access and an iPad or laptop for online learning.
He said the BOE and the Public School System also ensured that all schools had plexiglass in their classrooms and face masks for all students, as well as digital submission of learning materials. Laptops, iPads and mifi devices were provided to students who had no internet access.
“We also provided hand sanitizers and thermometers for all classrooms,” Orsini said.
“Everybody talks about the pandemic so casually now because we’ve overcome and survived it. But, at the time, we were only thinking about the safety of every child and every family,” he added.
Orsini said the pandemic transformed the PSS especially in terms of sanitation.
“It is our constitutional mandate for education to continue, no matter what, so I want to thank all the teachers, bus drivers, maintenance and support staff who built a safe and loving place for students to return to after the pandemic,” he added.
“The pandemic really shook our system — for better or worse. It taught us that safety is the number one priority, that technology has to be incorporated for preparing students for the future, and, most importantly, it taught us that the relationships students develop in the classroom help them learn more because academics are not all that matters but also a child’s social and emotional health,” said Orsini who is seeking a second term as a BOE member.
Andrew Orsini
