Training a success despite power outages

Despite the power outage scheduled in the afternoons this week, the two-day statewide professional development and training for public school teachers was deemed successful.

Power outage affected the presentations conducted in some classrooms at MHS, forcing participants to get out of the classrooms and continue discussions outside.

Marianas High School vice principal Joseph Borja said hosting the event for about 90 percent of teachers in the CNMI was again a great achievement for the school in terms of the tight security and smooth flow of traffic going into and out of the school. He said the school prepared for the training by ensuring security and cleanliness in the school.

“I would like to commend our custodian and security people for doing an outstanding job,” he said.

The two-day training is part of the four-day professional development training allotted for the CNMI public school teachers each year, said Education commissioner Rita H. Inos.

She said the training aims to equip the teachers to be more informed, more knowledgeable, more skillful and more supported.

Inos said the training is part of the PSS’ four strategic priorities that include high student performances, quality personnel, safe and orderly schools, and effective and efficient operations. These are “guideposts and cornerstones” of the education system’s planning and delivery of services to the CNMI community.

The training started Thursday with the topic on PSS Strategic Priorities in the morning. The teachers were divided into small groups in the afternoon attending smaller sessions with different subjects related to the strategic priorities.

Oleai Elementary School’s Roxie Lamar said she and her co-teachers are grateful for the training, adding that it had been very rewarding for them, learning what they need to know about the school system from the sources themselves.

The training at MHS included certified and non-certified staff training on: Accreditation, Behavior Management, Basic Computer Navigation and Maintenance, Classroom Assessment, CNMI Ethics Act – Do’s and Don’ts for Public Employees, Drama in the Classroom, English Language Learners, Human Resources on review of policies and procedure, PeaceBuilders, Standards Based Academy, Using PowerPoint in the Classroom, CPR Training, EMO Disaster Preparedness, Fiscal and Budget: What You Need to Know, EEO Sexual Harassment, Procurement and Supply and Workers Compensation and Group Health and Life.

The following workshops and seminars were also held simultaneously during the professional development training this week: accreditation workshop held at Aqua Resort Club, Defensive Driving at Hopwood Junior High School, Math Mentor at Saipan Southern High School, Middle School Math at Marianas High School, Reading Renaissance at Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School and Chacha Oceanview Junior High School, SPED-Instructional Materials at Marianas High School and We the People at the Pacific Islands Club.