Dr. Algaier is MHS’ most outstanding educator this year

 Dr. Chas Algaier was adjudged as Marianas High School’s most outstanding educator and was bestowed the prestigious Teacher of the Year award this school year.

Algaier has been an educator in the CNMI for 17 years, the first 10 at Northern Marianas College. This year marks his seventh year with the Public School System and his first time to be conferred the honor.

He described the recognition as an honor, knowing the selection was made by his equally deserving colleagues. “I am not expecting this and I feel honored and lucky that my colleagues selected me,” he told Saipan Tribune, adding that he was among the school’s three finalists for the award.

Algaier obtained his bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Kansas and his master’s degree in International Studies at Ohio University. His doctorate is in leadership studies, obtained from the University of San Diego.

For the past seven years, Algaier has been mentoring students in AP Linguistics, AP World History, and AP Psychology.

When asked what prompted him to pursue a career in teacher, Algaier recalled-with tongue firmly in cheek-being motivated by the idea that teachers have long vacations. “That was probably my prime motivation in college: I could see growing up that teachers had long vacations,” he laughed.

He quickly turned serious, however, saying that, as he got into education, “I found that I enjoyed working with students, transferring knowledge, giving students the idea that they could be successful. I think failing in school is also a great motivator for teachers. If you fail as a student and later learn to succeed, you will understand the link between failure and success. If you embrace teaching, you can become very successful in helping students to understand the link themselves.”

Each day, Algaier attends to about 110 students from all grade levels. Besides his busy classroom schedule, he is also an active member of the school faculty and chairperson of the Social Studies Department. He was key to the establishment and operation of the AP classes at the school and instrumental in bringing related summer institutes for teachers to Saipan. Algaier was also the chairperson of the school’s accreditation team.

Interactions with students are the most enjoyable and memorable part of his job. To become effective, Algaier believes that a teacher must understand the individual student’s needs so he can provide a proper response. His current AP class in world history, for example, is mostly composed of freshmen who may lack both procedural and content knowledge when compared to their junior and senior classmates.

“So I remind myself and consider what is like to be a freshman in a college level class. They have different needs, they are still mastering the ability to think at a college level, and they have to learn how to get to that point. Their needs force me to examine and refine my teaching methods and focus.” he said.

Among the many lessons that Algaier has learned from his students are: “Don’t make assumptions about students. Don’t assume things because your assumptions will often be wrong. Don’t have confidence of what you think you know because that confidence may often be misplaced. You have to learn new things every year to best understand what the students are thinking and of their needs.”

Other awardees

MHS conferred its Teacher Aide of the Year honor on Dominic Fitial, who has been with the school’s special education program since 2005 and was also accorded the same honor last school year. The 43-year-old employee said he finds satisfaction and fulfillment in caring for special children and vows to continue doing his best.

Tita Gabredo was adjudged as the school’s Support Staff of the Year. She started working for MHS in 2005. This is her second time to be given the award; the first was in 2009. This mother of two handles the school’s time-keeping, performs administrative work, and assists students and staff, among other tasks.

The Maintenance of the Year awardee is Emory Fitial, a PSS employee for 21 years. He first served William S. Reyes Elementary School for 10 years before moving to MHS in 2000. This year marks his 11th year of service to the oldest high school on island. He was also the school’s Maintenance of the Year awardee last school year. More than any awards and recognition, Fitial said that just by knowing that all students and staff are safe and secure on campus is enough reward for his hard work.

MHS conferred its Counselor of the Year honor on Janice Muña, who has been with PSS for seven years now. She started as a classroom teacher at WSR in 2004 and became a counselor at Chacha Oceanview Junior High in 2006 until she moved to MHS in 2009. This is her first award from PSS. Like the other awardees, Muña was elated to receive the recognition and shared the honor with fellow employees whom she said all do a good job for the students. She considers seeing the direct impact of counseling on students as the most rewarding part of her profession.

Patty Aguon-Cruz was hailed as the school’s Librarian of the Year. She was first conferred the honor in 2008 and was chosen for the overall title that same year. Aguon-Cruz attends to about 150 students every day. Because the library is the heart of every school, Aguon-Cruz emphasized the importance of making available all reading materials and references that will help students learn.

MHS’ Instructor of the Year is Ernest Torres, who is with the school’s JROTC program. This is also his first time to be honored with the award.

MHS principal Cherlyn Cabrera said they are very pleased with the performances of all the seven awardees. “One thing I can say is that they are here for the right reason. They care about our students, they believe in our students, and they are very involved with our students. We’re truly proud of them,” she said.

MHS is home to 1,371 students and 68 personnel.