This year’s venues for the two-day professional development workshops were Garapan, Tanapag and Gregorio T. Camacho elementary schools.
Special training sessions were also held at Marianas High School and the Pacific Islands Club.
Sablan urged the PSS workforce to do their task for their over 11,000 students.
“Invest your time to refocus, reenergize, and refresh for the start of the year,” she said, adding that students are their priority.
“The sole purpose of our task during the school year is the 11,000 plus children and youth that come to our school campuses on Rota, Tinian, and Saipan,” she added.
According to Sablan, the intent of the staff development sessions is to allow educators and support staff to “collaborate on effective teaching practices supported by research and assist in attaining school-wide strategic priorities.”
They are reminded that working together in partnership will ensure efficient and effective school operations.
“This is also an opportunity to meet with presenters from our region and the U.S. mainland as we focus on what is most important to all of us: quality teaching and learning for our students and teachers, safe schools, and effective and efficient operations,” Sablan said.
For PSS veterans, she added, that workshops help create “dynamic learning” communities.
Sablan said staff development serves as a “pathway and learning tool” that highlights research, trends and best practices.
She encouraged PSS personnel to make use of the workshops to “gain new knowledge, refresh existing teaching strategies and engage in meaningful conversations with colleagues and leaders.”
Board of Education Chairwoman Lucy Blanco-Maratita, in her message, said despite the many challenges confronting PSS, “especially the incessantly annoying power outages, the scanty, meager resources, and mounting utilities costs that eat into our meager budget,” student achievement gains continue.
“The board recognizes and appreciates the many contributions of our educators, leadership and support staff that make things happen at our schools. We will continue to find ways to support your efforts as we focus on what is in the best interest of our children’s education — Students First,” she said.
At GES yesterday, over 200 PSS personnel, mostly teachers attended 10 different sessions.
At Tanapag, five workshops were held; at GTC, four.
Special education training was conducted at PIC, fire prevention in Lower Base while sessions for the Troops to Teacher, AmeriCorps and JROTC programs were held at MHS.
