HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Stakeholders of John F. Kennedy and Simon Sanchez high schools share not only a campus, but also the concern that double session is having a negative impact on students and their school life experience.
JFK students began sharing their campus with Simon Sanchez students at the start of the current school year, as the Simon Sanchez campus is closed and awaits the construction of a new institution.
JFK students begin school at 6 a.m. and end the school day at 11 a.m. to allow Simon Sanchez students to begin school at noon and end at 5 p.m. With the campus occupied from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., extracurricular activities at the school site are nearly impossible.
“They are becoming disturbed. They don’t know what’s going to happen to them. They already (have) been a victim of not being able to attend their prom, not knowing what a bonfire is, not knowing there’s just so much they’ve missed in high school,” Maria Martinez, mother of five Simon Sanchez high school students, said during the Legislature’s Committee on Education, Public Safety and the Arts northern community meeting on Tuesday at the Yigo Senior Citizens Center, hosted by the committee chair, Sen. Chris Barnett.
“Their sports, they can’t even use the facilities at JFK. Just like JFK, they can’t use their own facility. … I have a freshman, I have three juniors and I have a senior. They’re all being denied their high school education. Like they said, there’s nowhere to practice. My kids (are) cultural practitioners. It’s so hard in the school to even start a club,” Martinez continued.
JFK teacher Galvin Escalona was overcome with emotion when he spoke of the impact he’s seen the double session have on students, teachers and programs.
“I had this discussion with my students, it seems like this double session has really gotten to them because, for some strange reason, they like it, and they think that this is the norm. … Even more disheartening is that there are actually some teachers, too, that love the schedule, right? And as a teacher, it’s kind of disheartening because you see that, and you see all the program(s) being compromised,” Escalona said.
Escalona said he believes the double session “shortchanges” students’ educational experience.
Antonio Whately, a social studies teacher at JFK, had his freshman class write letters to the senators to share their opinions about double session. And while his students thought five hours of schooling was “great,” he was in agreement with Escalona, as he told senators that double session has denied students the full high school experience.
“They’re freshmen, so their mentality about this whole thing is, ‘Oh yeah, this is real. I get out of school early.’ But I think in reading that you’ve got to look at the subtext of it all and the sadness of it. They’re waiting about how much they love it, mostly because they don’t know what they’re missing out (on),” Whately said.
He said he feared the double session “builds complacency.”
“I don’t want them to grow complacent with the idea that school is a five-hour thing they go to, come home and that’s it. You know, we all remember after-school activities (and) after-school events. That’s part of the high school experience, and they’re being denied that experience. They don’t know any better. … I promise you if they knew better about all the great activities we used to do after school, I don’t think they’d speak so positively about the double session as they do now,” Whately said.
While JFK welcomed Simon Sanchez students with open arms, Escalona said, the question now is, “For how long?”
“School year 2024-2025 is just around the corner and there has been little to no communication to the JFK stakeholders regarding plans on how long Simon Sanchez will be in double session with our school community,” Escalona said.
The lack of communication from Guam Department of Education Superintendent Kenneth Erik Swanson has given way to speculation about the possibilities, as Escalona shared three scenarios during Tuesday’s meeting.
“First one, temporarily dissolve Tiyan High School and have Simon Sanchez utilize the facility until a new Simon Sanchez is built. The Tiyan students will revert back to their previous school districts prior to the opening of Tiyan. (George Washington High School) and JFK would have to absorb the increase in students and teacher reassignments would take place accordingly. (In) the second scenario, Simon Sanchez will double session with JFK until December, when renovations to (F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School) is projected to be complete. F.B. Leon Guerrero would move out of Okkodo High School and Simon Sanchez will relocate into Okkodo to continue double session for the rest of SY 24-25. (In) the third scenario, Simon Sanchez High School will remain at JFK High School until the school is rebuilt. Now it’s the last scenario that concerns me and the JFK community,” Escalona said.
Barnett addressed the rumors Escalona spoke of, stating, “I’m going to tell you why those rumors are circulating, it’s because the superintendent himself said in the Guam Congress hall during one of the oversight hearings that they were looking at consolidating and closing schools. And so once he put that out there, that’s all everyone started talking about.”
Barnett said that GDOE is moving forward with consolidation and closure of schools, which in his mind could open the door for a campus to be used by Simon Sanchez.
Barnett said it was unacceptable for the Simon Sanchez school population to be in double session until the campus is completed, as he referenced the reported delay in the construction of the new Simon Sanchez campus.
Simon Sanchez High School students enter the John F. Kennedy High School campus to begin their half of double session in Tamuning on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024.
