‘Donna Flores steered PSS competently with her steady leadership’

With Dr. Lawrence Camacho taking over today as the new Education commissioner of the Public Schools System, CNMI education leaders and policymakers are united in praising and thanking Donna M. Flores for ensuring that there was continuous and stable school district leadership in the last five months as interim PSS chief.

“We are very fortunate that we live and work in a community where education is important, and this has continued on uninterrupted in the last five months when our current Special Education Program director, Donna Flores, has led, guided, and gave her heartfelt commitment and leadership to [PSS]…,” said Board of Education chair Antonio L. Borja.

Borja thanked Flores for stepping into the interim role following Dr. Alfred B. Ada’s resignation for health reasons.

“Along with our public education stakeholders, I am grateful to…Flores for stepping up at a time when we need a leader who can continue to steer PSS with its initiatives and programs, work with all our schools, with our parents and community. Quite frankly, her service to our school district couldn’t be more emphasized by how she displayed a remarkably high level of professionalism, respect, and steady leadership that hears and listens to her peers,” Borja said.

BOE secretary/treasurer Gregory Pat Borja, who also chairs the BOE Fiscal, Personnel and Administration Committee, described Flores as “very competent” who took her additional responsibility “very seriously.”

“I think Ms. Flores was very competent at what she did. She took her responsibility very seriously. She helped look at the system from a very big picture point-of-view, to see what changes are needed to help [PSS] run more efficiently, and I think she covered that,” Borja said.

“I thought that she did a great job. I’m really thankful to her for stepping into that position: I know it was a challenge…coming into a position…when things or some uncertainty is on the line. But again, she basically filled her own shoes. I think she’s going to be leaving those shoes for someone else to fill now,” Borja added. “We’re sad to see her go. However, to me personally, I’m happy to see her return to the Special Education Program because she is needed there because she has wealth of experience and expertise in that field as well. All in all, I want to thank her because she did a great job.”

Expertise

School leaders recognized Flores for her ability to communicate with all stakeholders because of her breadth of experience.

“Her biggest strength is her willingness to listen to people and not to judge immediately. To listen is to let the schools run schools, and let the principals run the program,” said Vince Dela Cruz, the high schools’ principal representative and current Saipan Southern High School principal.

Dela Cruz describes Flores as “a down-to-earth person who understands the schools’ situation.”

“She knows her role… as a support system. Although she is the leader of the system, she understands that she is there to support the programs and the schools,” adds Dela Cruz.

Middle Schools principals representative James A. Sablan, who has worked with Flores for many years now, describes her as having a “high level of professionalism” and as a “strong leader.”

“She was able to steady the ship. There was no chaos during her time, nothing had changed. She succeeded in continuing the current trend,” said Sablan, who is also the principal of Dandan Middle School. Her “calmness and willingness to listen” ensured that schools operate continuously without interruptions. “She held it up very well because of her strong sense of professionalism and work ethic. She has worked with us [for the past five months] to make it easier for us to run our public schools.”

Elementary Schools principal representative Paulette Tomokane said, “Mrs. Donna Flores is well-recognized for her unwavering support throughout her term as interim commissioner of Education. She played a crucial role in supporting our educational system to move forward with the least disruption. Her leadership, expertise, and collaboration inspired trust and confidence among the school and central office leaders. Her collaboration and trust-building efforts ensured that all stakeholders felt valued and included, leading to improved outcomes. Her willingness to listen and approachable demeanor are qualities I truly appreciate as a principal and elementary school principal representative.”

Tomokane is also the principal of San Vicente Elementary School.

Respect

In her last key management meeting last Friday, Flores thanked the school system leadership and the BOE.

“Thank you for all your support, for giving me respect and respect for this office. We are all here to serve our children and the community. I couldn’t have done it without respect for the job that I do, and for what we do, as a PSS community. I would have done it for you.” Flores told PSS’ key management.

She added, “Let’s welcome Dr. Camacho. He is excited and is looking forward to working with all of you.”

The BOE is the policymaking and governing body of PSS. The BOE hires and has the supervisory authority over the commissioner of education.

Camacho will formally assume his post today as Education commissioner.

Flores currently serves as the PSS-SPED director. The BOE unanimously selected her as interim Education commissioner last Sept. 3, 2023.

She did not apply for the position when the BOE announced the application process for the commissioner of education, who also serves as the chief state school superintendent.

The SPED Program is the single largest program under PSS, with its stakeholders accounting for about 11 % of the overall PSS student population. Its employees, for their part, represent 21% of PSS’ total workforce. (PR)