THE Public School System worked with education experts from the Regional Education Laboratory Pacific in conducting an early reading intervention training session on Thursday and Friday at the PSS office on Capital Hill.
Facilitated by four of REL Pacific’s experts and researchers, the training focused on “Understanding Current and Desired Early Reading Intervention Practices (Coaching).”
It was specifically tailored for kindergarten to third graders. Education experts consider these grade levels to be the most critical learning stage during which students develop their literacy foundation.
“We are working closely with [PSS] in figuring out ways to build the culture of data use among schools,” said Erin D’Amelio, one of the principal researchers of REL Pacific.
“What we have [observed] is [that existing research and practices] are aligned very well with the priorities of the system and the goals that Commissioner of Education [Dr. Alfred B. Ada] has set out for public schools to improve…academically…,” D’Amelio said in an interview.
The Oct. 13-14 training was the first of six in-person sessions that REL Pacific will initiate. For nearly three years, previous training sessions were held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With D’Amelio were REL Pacific experts Dr. Christina Tydeman and Natasha Saelua as well as adviser for the CNMI Leo Pangelinan, who is also the executive director of the Northern Marianas Humanities Council.
The training participants included Commissioner of Education Ada, PSS Senior Director for Curriculum and Instruction Jackie Quitugua, Senior Director for Accountability, Research and Evaluation Dr. Rizalina Liwag, Project Director for the State Longitudinal Data System Annette Pladevega-Sablan, Chamorro and Carolinian Heritage Studies Program Director Jonas Barcinas, English Language Arts Coordinator Amy Blanco, Principal Representative for Elementary Schools Paulette Tomokane, and Principal Representative for Middle Schools James Sablan.
The PSS Offices of Curriculum and Instruction, Accountability, Research and Evaluation and Student Support Services helped facilitate the training.
More training sessions
REL Pacific will conduct five more training sessions, D’Amelio said.
The sessions are “focused on early literacy and how we use data to support decision-making related to intervention and instruction.”
She said PSS receives technical support from REL Pacific and, in turn, PSS provides training to its educators and other stakeholders to help improve student learning.
Another REL Pacific researcher, Natasha Saelua, said the training will help PSS “provide support to students who may need to increase reading literacy.”
D’Amelio and Saelua praised PSS’ initiatives that support student learning and success. These include professional development for teachers and intervention programs that support learning.
PSS has also developed an Early Warning System for Reading designed for students in kindergarten to second grade.
This system is a project of Pladevega-Sablan who recently completed her two-year fellowship at Harvard University.
The REL Pacific training will both support and complement PSS’ Early Warning System for Reading, which provides targeted intervention strategies that support educators and classroom teachers.
REL Pacific, which has been providing technical support assistance to PSS since 2012, is one of the 23 comprehensive centers created in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Education.
These centers assist schools and school districts across the U.S. to ensure that every student receives high-quality education.
REL Pacific also serves Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and Palau.
Experts from Regional Education Laboratory Pacific, seated front row, from left, Natasha Saelua, Dr. Christina Tydeman and Erin D’Amelio, right, and REL-Pacific adviser for the CNMI Leo Pangelinan, third left, standing, pose for a photo with Commissioner of Education Dr. Alfred B. Ada, Senior Director for Curriculum and Instruction Jackie Quitugua, Senior Director for Accountability, Research and Evaluation Dr. Rizalina Liwag, Project Director for the State Longitudinal Data System Annette Pladevega-Sablan, Chamorro and Carolinian Heritage Studies Program Director Jonas Barcinas, English Language Arts Coordinator Amy Blanco, Research and Evaluation Program Manager Trini MacDuff, Principal Representative for Elementary Schools Paulette Tomokane, and Principal Representative for Middle Schools James Sablan.
Senior Director for Curriculum and Instruction Jackie Quitugua, standing left, and Senior Director for Accountability Research and Evaluation Dr. Rizalina Liwag, standing right, participate in a REL Pacific training session at the Office of the Commissioner of Education.
