School principal Vanessa Q. Hocog, in an interview yesterday, said both positions are crucial for effective student learning.
Sinapalo expects to again have 230 students in its classrooms on Sept. 8, the first day of school year 2008-2009.
As of yesterday, about 200 had already enrolled and more are anticipated to register in the next three weeks, Hocog said.
Without a vice principal and school counselor, she is being assisted by an administrative support staff member and a teacher.
Hocog said the school also needs a reading resource specialist.
But despite these challenges, she said Sinapalo’s 16 classroom teachers are ready for the opening of classes.
Sixty-three percent of the teachers are highly qualified — they have degrees, are certified and have passed the Praxis tests.
Hocog said they have enough teachers to maintain a student to teacher ratio of 20:1.
The school was built some nine years ago and two of its classroom buildings now need to be renovated to ensure the safety of students, Hocog said.
The renovation will cost $200,000 but the CNMI government has yet to find a funding source.
Last school year, the school received $12,000 from the government for its operational budget which was mainly used to buy instructional materials for teachers and students.
Hocog lauded the continuous support of their PTA as well as the business sector on Rota.
Last year, the school received educational tax credit donations amounting to about $10,000 while the PTA helped parents pay for the students’ school uniform.
Hocog said Sinapalo has 16 classrooms which include the rooms for the bilingual classes and the reading resource center.
But, she added, they need to build a restroom for the special education program, a storage room for maintenance tools and materials, and a bus shelter for students.
Since summer, school staff members have been conducting minor repairs, repainting the classrooms and preparing the instructional materials.
Hocog said funding will remain their main challenge this year, but they will continue to “provide quality educational service to students.”
“We have a lot of expectations and aspirations for this new school year,” she added. “We want to be able to reach our goals and the Public School System’s goals and we want students to feel that learning is not only gained through academics but also through personal and social aspects.”
Sinapalo was granted a six-year accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges in 2005.
