Over a hundred parents participated in the forum organized by PSS to hear their concerns.
U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary Carl Harris, discussed the “Blueprint for Reform” of President Obama and the critical role parents play in their children’s lives.
He said parents should think about their children’s education before they are born.
“I want you to clearly understand that you are the first teachers of your children. There is great power in being a parent.”
He said the first years of education start at home.
Parents should not wait until their child is old enough to be enrolled in school in order to have him or her educated, Harris said.
“We expect more from our students today than we have expected from them in the past. If we want our students to be competitive and we want them to be prepared to live in this twenty-first century, we must make sure they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills. But we will not ask our students to do any more than they have the capacity to do.”
Harris mentioned the four criteria in the Blueprint that the U.S. Department of Education will focus on:
• Improving teacher and principle effectiveness to ensure that every classroom has a great teacher and every school has a great leader.
• Providing information to families to help them evaluate and improve their children’s schools, and to educators to help them improve student learning.
• Implementing college-and career-ready standards and developing improved assessments aligned with those standards.
• Improving student learning and achievement in America’s lowest-performing schools by providing intensive support and effective interventions.
“No longer will we accept the fact that we have schools that do well and some schools that are not doing so well,” Harris said.
He added that Obama’s goal for America is to have the most college graduates in the world by the year 2020.
Board of Education Chairwoman Lucia Blanco-Maratita, for her part, encouraged parents to always know how their children are doing in school. “Parents, get involved. Your presence here is a step in that direction. It shows your true involvement,” she added.
Parents expressed their concerns about limited school facilities.
“There are thirteen hundred children in Hopwood Junior High School with a cafeteria that can hardly accommodate one-hundred fifty! So, how is it if there is to be a PTSA meeting? Can the twenty-six hundred parents fit in this cafeteria? Is there a way we can have extra facilities?” a parent asked.
Education Commissioner Rita Sablan said there is money to build these facilities. She noted that there is a $15 million interest-free bond sitting in Washington.
“The CNMI government has not been able to identify our revenue that will allow us to borrow this money. We’ve even asked the 17th Legislature to support this because this $15 million will build facilities such as gymnasiums, cafeterias, and additional classrooms.”
Sablan asked the parents to help PSS obtain the bond.
“Will you be willing to do that with me?” Sablan asked and the audience roared with an enthusiastic “Yes!”
