Now there is more proof that the students, teachers, staff and parents on Tinian deserve better leadership over the junior./high school. There are only two questions that need answering, what will it take for the stakeholders in the Jr./High school to get relief from their principal and when will it ever happen?
I’m related to a student who was subject to the same ridiculous expectations by the principal and this is personal for me because I know how hard she worked because I advised her on her research paper. The public needs to know that students were being asked to perform a task within an unrealistic time frame and the requirements for these papers were unrealistic. For example: The student I helped was doing a paper on the CNMI Constitution BUT the student could not use the NMI History textbook in any way even though it one of the most authoritative resources on the Constitution and it is the board adopted textbook for NMI history — duh! In addition the student was required to apply TEN different sources but the only problem was there aren’t ten different resources on the CNMI Constitution and the student had to result to personal interviews just to meet this requirement. I applaud the expectation for students to produce good quality research papers but to place unrealistic parameters of time and resources stinks in my opinion. These students were not being treated fairly and they deserve some form of relief and justice.
Kudos to the Commissioner for stepping end to guarantee the students and parents on Tinian some form of due process because it is obvious to me they were mistreated. But the bigger problem should also be addressed — some form of real governance system over all principals. Its not that we have a lot of bad principals but the fact that we do have a few bad principals and there should be a system in place that guarantees accountability. It is obvious PSS doesn’t have a governance system over principals in place because the concerns of the students and parents on Tinian would have been addressed and the COE wouldn’t have to play sheriff. Students and parents should have been able to file formal complaints with a “fair and impartial” body with the power to review and dictate the necessary and proper action. Too often I have seen this scenario of a controversy at schools and the COE is the only person who can resolve the matter which too often ends up in the principal’s favor. The devil is in the details because I only know of one principal in my seventeen years with the system to be reprimanded and then they didn’t loose their job, in fact they got promoted away from the school. So will the students and teachers get complete relief from their present principal or will the problem be brushed aside only to be manifested again in a different form.
The commissioner is the executive officer and she alone cannot adequately police all the principals and the entire school system by herself and still perform her other functions – it’s common sense. The commissioner will still have to turn the Tinian matter over to some form of review panel which is why we need a formal governing body for a complete check and balance on all activities within PSS. The recent event on Tinian is just another wake-up call that we need to improve and extend the governance system within PSS to hold principals accountable to the students, teachers, staff and parents as principals are obligated to work with and work for the stakeholders – its really common sense. One people one direction for a governance panel (or) review board legislation within PSS.
AMBROSE M. BENNETT
Kagman, Saipan
