PSS’ State Personnel Development Grant’s ‘Project Higai’ stakeholders hold engagement
Key stakeholders, including educators, advocates, and community leaders, convened last Sept. 6 as part of Project Higai, a State Personnel Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Program of the Public School System, to continue the ongoing conversation about how to enhance CNMI’s online professional development system for professionals and families in order to improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities.
In Chamorro, higai (pronounced hee-guy) means “woven palm leaves” used in traditional thatched roofing. Project Higai was founded to serve as the catalyst for crafting meaningful professional development by weaving in various nationally-recognized resources and expertise with local stakeholders and expertise to create relevant, useful, and sustainable special education content for providing special education and related services in CNMI’s island communities.
In October last year, the U.S. Department of Education’s Special Education Program chose the Public School System’s Special Education Program’s pioneering initiative, Project Higai, as one of only five in the nation to have been awarded with the five-year state personnel development grant. The PSS-SPED Program is led by State director Donna M. Flores.
During last Friday’s stakeholders gathering, 35 key leaders from various sectors were in attendance. Among those in attendance were key PSS management led by Education Commissioner Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho, school administrators, and teachers, PSS Parent Advisory Council, Special Education State Advisory Panel and parents, agency partners, and community leaders, and the CNMI Parent Training and Information program administered by the CNMI Division of Youth Affairs.
Project Higai national partner American Institutes for Research PROGRESS Center’s Dr. Tessie Bailey and Sara Evans, with regional partner University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service’s June De Leon joined the PSS-SPED Program team on site the whole week of last week, to continue its support of project’s development of Implementation Support Practitioners. The ISPs are comprised of special education teachers and the development of the project’s first special education distance learning course/modules for professionals and families. Their support included the Sept. 6 engagement that featured the ISPs and an online course.
Project Higai’s coordinator is Jerry Diaz.
The Sept. 6 “Engaging Stakeholders in Professional and Family Learning” included sharing and gathering input on progress of Project Higai goals, objectives, and activities, specifically related to strengthening PSS’ professional development system. The session featured the project’s first online special education course and engaged stakeholders in one of the course activities facilitated by the ISPs to illustrate the different types of activities incorporated into the course design. The engagement included stakeholders providing feedback on how the course can be improved to be more responsive to the cultural context of the CNMI. With feedback gathered on Sept. 6, the project’s first online special education course will be updated and piloted with the ISPs and other special education teachers this Fall 2024.
Educators, advocates and community leaders gather last Friday at Aqua Resort Saipan’s Project Higai, an ongoing initiative of the Public School System’s Special Education Program that was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education as one of only five in the nation.
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PSS-SPED State director Donna Flores and University of Guam’s CEDDERS’ June Deleon discuss with the members parent training and information and parent advisory council group.
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Education Commissioner Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho, center, listens intently with community stakeholders, leaders and education advocates.
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Lead representative for Project Higai’s national partner, the American Institute for Research PROGRESS Center, Dr. Tessie Bailey, left, Sara Evans, second right, June De Leon, right, of the University of Guam’s CEDDERS, and Special Education Program State director Donna M. Flores, second left.
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The members of the project development’s Implementation Support Practitioners with SPED Program State director Donna M. Flores, and partners Dr. Tessie Bailey, Sara Evans, and June De Leon.
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State director for PSS Special Education Program Donna M. Flores expresses her appreciation at the closing of Friday’s stakeholders convening, as UOG-CEDDERS’ June De Leon and Project Higai lead coordinator Jerry Diaz listen.
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Education Commissioner Dr. Lawrence F. Camacho and his group discuss ways as part of Project Higai’s first online special education course activities.
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