CNMI top teacher recaps busy year of highlights

Paul Miura, the 2014 CNMI State Teacher of the Year, recapped a busy year of highlights at a Board of Education meeting yesterday.

He spoke of his journey, relaying some of the highlights and insights on education policy and the teaching profession he gathered while attending conferences across the nation.

Teacher of the Year Paul Miura reads from the Public School System’s proclamation approving the CNMI PSS Indigenous Heritage Celebration Month. The month is dedicated to the continued revival of the indigenous Chamorro and Refaluwasch culture and language. (Dennis B. Chan)

Another question was: “How do we retain our best teachers?”

Miura attended his first conference in January at the National Teacher of the Year program conference where he got to meet other TOYs from the states and U.S. territories.

Through them, he said, he learned of his role and purpose as a Teacher of the Year for the CNMI.

“We learned that our primary role was to promote the teaching profession and education as a whole,” he said, adding that he discovered an “amazing network of teachers” at the conference

“There are so many resources out their for teachers and we just need to access them,” he added.

Other highlights of his year include a Teacher Recognition Week in April where Sean McComb was named National Teacher of the Year.

He learned that the NTOY award goes to a person who is “passionate and is planning to stay in the classroom,” considering that many successful teachers move on to administration. The NTOY is also someone who impacts the community outside schools.

In June, Miura attended the Education Commission of the States National Forum, which he said is “excellent” for policy makers and encouraged those present to attend. There was a lot of discussion on 21st century classroom as well a push for pre-kindergarten education for all students.

“I am pleased to announce that here in the CNMI we are up to speed with some of the top states in the nation,” he said.

Other highlights this year include the National Network of State Teachers of the Year conference, where topics such as education policy, teacher leadership, and student success were discussed.

He said teachers were treated to an open forum with Education Secretary Arne Duncan where a central topic was how to retain the best and brightest teachers in the profession.

“There was a lot of talk about creating different career paths within the teaching profession so it’s not just one path that you would take and end up in administration,” he said.