According to the school’s principal, Ibuuch Tomoichi, the school held its 1st PTSA meeting earlier in the school year and though there were a significant number of parents who participated in it, “issues pertaining to particular grade levels were inadequately addressed due to lack of time.”
Soon after the 1st PTSA meeting, the principal and PTSA officers decided to hold separate PTSA meetings for grades 9 to 12. Hence, on November 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th, the school held a series of its 2nd PTSA meeting for grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 respectively.
The number of students enrolled in each particular grade at the school is as follows: 241 freshmen; 207 sophomores; 187 juniors and 133 seniors.
Tomoichi said that less than half of parents for each grade level showed up for the scheduled PTSA meetings, which were announced publicly.
The sum of PHS parents who showed for the four meetings is 332. This, according to Tomoichi is not good.
The number of parents who showed up for the meetings is indicative of who among the students is likely to succeed, Tomoichi implied. Students, she said, have greater chances and opportunities to be very productive and successful in school when their parents or guardians are involved in their educational pursuits.
“We need parents to be involved in their children’s education,” she said. “We cannot ensure the success of students without the support of their parents.”
Tomoichi further added that a significant number of student report cards have not picked up yet. Moreover, she said, the number of parents who showed up for the 2nd PTSA meetings (136 9th grade parents, 72 10th grade parents, 77 11th grade parents, and 47 12th grade parents) shows that more than half of our students’ parents do not know how their children are doing in school.
Tomoichi said that she, the teachers, and counselors aim for all of the students to complete high school successfully. However, the students need to see and be aware of positive presence and involvement of their parents in any and all school activities during the course of the school year.
“Palau High School’s success is measured in terms of the number of students who successfully graduate at the end of four years,” Tomoichi said. “The success of each student during each of the four years is dependent on the people who look after the well being of the student. I want every student of Palau High School to be successful and we need the support of parents.”
Tomoichi said that student report cards that were not picked up are at the school office. Parents and guardians are urged and encouraged to pick up the report cards and dialogue with teachers and counselors to find out how their children are doing in school. The report cards could be picked during working hours – Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
