THE Public School System spent the summer months preparing for the new school year which starts on Monday, Aug. 22.
PSS has over 10,000 elementary, middle and high school students including Head Start/Early Head Start, Early Intervention and Special Education children on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
“Our preparation has been ongoing especially amid the Covid-19 pandemic,” Commissioner of Education Dr. Alfred B. Ada told Variety in an interview.
“We were able to incorporate changes that will further improve and complement our existing programs and initiatives, which are critical and essential to the learning, safety and well-being of our students, staff and personnel and the community as a whole,” he added.
“While it is far from perfect, our preparation will continue to engage all of our stakeholders, and they include our hardworking bus drivers, support personnel, classroom teachers, instructors, school counselors, school administrators and all the other critical personnel of PSS. They will ensure that we reopen our doors to an eager and excited group of learners,” Ada said.
Work continues at all PSS facilities and classrooms to ensure that they are ready to welcome back students and staff, he added.
Associate Commissioner for Administrative Services Eric Magofna, Interim Facilities Development and Management Director Martha Kintol and her team spearheaded the preparatory work.
Kintol was appointed last week as interim FDM director. She is the former principal of Chacha Oceanview Middle School.
Her interim successor at Chacha is former Francisco M. Sablan Vice Principal Carla Sablan.
For their part, Senior Directors Jackie Quitugua (Curriculum and Instruction), Dr. Rizalina Liwag (Accountability, Research and Evaluation) and Dr. Yvonne R. Pangelinan (Student Support Services) have been working with PSS Human Resources Director Lucretia Deleon Guerrero on the scheduled series of training and professional development sessions for PSS personnel and staff before the reopening of classes.
Masks no longer mandated
Effective Aug. 22, the wearing of face masks will no longer be mandated, ending nearly two years of the stringent health and safety protocols implemented at PSS facilities.
In a memorandum issued on Aug. 8, the Commissioner Ada said PSS “worked hard to mitigate the Covid-19 situation in our school communities.”
“Last year, we launched a strong vaccination campaign and we are pleased to report that our schools and departments are now at a 90% plus vaccination rate,” he added, as he acknowledged their successful partnership and collaboration with local health and other agencies.
In addition, PSS now has four school nurses and 15 school monitoring and outreach specialists as well as the necessary equipment and other resources to prevent the spread of Covid-19 on campus.
Bus drivers
Close to 50 Saipan, Tinian and Rota bus drivers, including those with the special education department, are undergoing a five-day refresher training at Marianas High School, PSS Office of Pupil Transportation Director Shawn San Nicholas said.
Their training includes on-the-field loading and unloading protocols, emergency evacuation and bus room management.
San Nicholas said PSS bus drivers also undergo annual training.
Sheltered Instruction Protocol
At the Pacific Islands Club, over 30 English language teachers are undergoing a three-day Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol or SIOP training.
Senior Director Quitugua said SIOP is a research-based instructional framework that PSS teachers can use when planning, teaching and reflecting on their lessons.
“This is primarily for our English language teachers and what strategies they can use to support our students,” Quitugua said.
Frank Blanco of the Texas-based SAVVAS Learning Company facilitates the training.
“We make sure that our children are getting adequate support from their teacher in the classroom,” Quitugua said.
Professional development
For two days next week, PSS will hold a CNMI-wide professional development session.
This will be first time in about three years that a CNMI-wide professional development will be held after Super Typhoon Yutu and the pandemic temporarily halted the staging of the annual training, which PSS has been conducting for 20 years now.
This year’s training will be held on Aug. 15 and 16 at Marianas High School.
Technology, furniture
All 20 public elementary, middle and high schools in the CNMI have received upgraded furniture and technology as part of the ongoing PSS preparation for the new academic year.
The upgrades are funded by the PSS share of the American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Education in 2021, according to PSS Interim Federal Programs Officer Jacqueline Che.
“The delivery, the ‘tagging’ and the setting up of the furniture and technology are in full swing as we work alongside all our schools in ensuring that our children and all stakeholders of public education are welcomed back with optimum learning support,” Che said.
The brand new furniture, learning tools and equipment include flex-space balance ball seats, activity tables, four-legged triangular chairs, stack chairs, student desks, tablet armchairs, bean bag chairs, STEM student desks, mesh back office chairs with tilt control, outdoor boards, common area chairs with tablet arm, computer workstations, and school desk barriers.
To further support student learning, brand new iPads and iPad keyboards have also arrived to replace those that were damaged.
“San Vicente Elementary School received 300 iPads and iPad keyboards and we are very appreciative because these ensure that all classrooms, from kindergarten to 5th grade, are equipped with functional iPads and keyboards,” said school principal Paulette Tomokane.
Commissioner of Education Dr. Alfred B. Ada and Senior Director for Curriculum and Instruction Jackie Quitugua pose for a photo with the Public School System’s Rota, Tinian and Saipan school administrators, English classroom teachers, and programs officers, at the ongoing three-day Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol training facilitated by the Texas-based SIOP expert Frank Blanco of the Savvas Learning Company.
The Public School System’s Office of Pupil Transportation’s bus drivers, bus mechanics, dispatchers, among other personnel, are participating in a five-day training program in the Marianas High School library.
San Vicente Elementary School Principal Paulette Tomokane, right, and a colleague, show the brand new iPads and iPad keyboards for students.
Kagman Elementary School Principal Dr. Ignacia Demapan shows the brand new, age-appropriate and student-safe-and-friendly classroom furniture that will be used by the 20 public elementary, middle and high schools when the new school year opens on Aug. 22.
The ongoing refresher training for the Public School System’s Office of Pupil Transportation personnel will further strengthen student safety protocols.
