“ECONOMICALLY challenged” students of William S. Reyes Elementary School who finished their 6th grade recently were advised by teachers to focus their attention in getting a college diploma to improve their situation in life.
WSR, the oldest public school in the CNMI, is home to an undetermined number of students whose parents are working in garment factories and other non-professional occupations—if not for federal welfare assistance, they could barely make both ends meet.
“I told them that in the long run it’s college that matters. So many of our students here are economically challenged. A lot of their parents did not graduate from high school and some did not finish college and so they work in the garment sector and they struggle,” said Christine Halloran, a 6th grade teacher at WSR.
Halloran told the 6th graders, particularly her class of 26 students, that finishing sixth grade is “just a baby step.”
“We told the kids to keep their eyes focused in getting a college education. This is just a very baby step for them. My job is not really to give them good grades but to prepare them for 7th grade,” she said.
But she expressed confidence that the WSR students promoted to junior high school would do well in their studies.
“I know that they are going to do really well in the 7th grade because they did really well in their exams,” she said.
Monica Pangelinan, another 6th grade teacher at WSR, expressed hope that all WSR students would continue their secondary education.
