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All private schools invited to open membership meeting
The Commonwealth Coalition of Private Schools is inviting all private schools in the CNMI to attend an open membership meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 3:30pm at Mount Carmel School’s faculty lounge. The purpose of the meeting will be to allow current and prospective members of the coalition to submit required items for membership, as well as to move forward with several initiatives.
The CCOPS was founded in the late 1990s when the CNMI Board of Education eased its regulatory oversight over CNMI private schools and allowed private schools to self-regulate. Upon formation, the CCOPS set forth a mission to protect the right to autonomy and self-government of its member private schools; safeguard the representation of its member schools’ interests in the consideration, development, and implementation of government laws and regulations; encourage and promote the wide diversity and variety of educational services offered by private schools; safeguard parents’ rights to choose the educational program that would fulfill the unique needs of their children; and ensure that high academic standards are maintained by member schools.
Since its founding, the CCOPS has represented private schools on the CNMI BOE by electing a non-public school representative to the BOE who is then appointed by the CNMI governor to the BOE. The CCOPS has also facilitated a number of interscholastic events among members, namely athletic competitions.
In recent years, the CCOPS has discussed numerous ways to ensure that minimum standards of educational quality are upheld by member institutions, including the possibility of requiring accreditation with an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Private schools on Rota and Tinian may also participate in the CCOPS meeting via Google Hangouts. For more information about the CCOPS, contact the CCOPS president, Galvin Deleon Guerrero, at galvin.deleonguerrero@gmail.com. (CCOPS)
