MCS names new principal; renews president’s contract

Mount Carmel School recently appointed master teacher and two-time Teacher of the Year Frances Taimanao as its new principal. The school’s board of directors also renewed the contract of school president Galvin Deleon Guerrero.

An instructional leader
Taimanao brings a wealth of classroom and administrative experience to her new position as principal. In addition to retiring as a vice principal at San Vicente Elementary School, Taimanao was also appointed by the late Dr. Rita Hocog Inos to open Kagman Elementary School in 2001 as its acting principal. Taimanao has also served on Mount Carmel School’s board of directors as a faculty representative and has led in other ways as an accreditation chair and an adviser for the school’s first ever National Elementary Honor Society, which she helped found.

When asked about how she feels about the new position, Taimanao said: “I am very excited and I look forward to continuing the positive relationship with the MCS family and creating an excellent educational environment for every child.”

“Being at MCS for almost nine years, I have built a strong relationship with my fellow colleagues. We have built camaraderie and support each other when things get hard. I consider everyone at MCS my second family,” she added.

Board chair Joseph Taijeron commended Taimanao for her leadership and instructional quality. “Mount Carmel is lucky to have Mrs. Taimanao, a master teacher who thrives in the classroom,” he said. “Taking her out of one classroom places her in a position to help every student in every classroom.”

MCS president Deleon Guerrero echoed Taijeron’s sentiment. “As someone who has mentored numerous other teachers as a master teacher for Northern Marianas College’s School of Education, Mrs. Taimanao is the perfect leader to help all our teachers improve in curriculum, instruction, and assessment,” he said.

President’s contract renewed
Taimanao will be joining school president and 1991 AlumKnight Galvin Deleon Guerrero, whose contract as school president was renewed by the school’s board of directors. Deleon Guerrero also brings a wealth of leadership and educational experience with him, having served on both the Public School System’s Board of Education and the Northern Marianas College’s Board of Regents. Deleon Guerrero also served as the college’s accreditation liaison officer and director of Institutional Effectiveness and as an education adviser for the Office of the Governor. Deleon Guerrero possesses a master of arts degree in Catholic School Administration from the University of San Francisco.

On his contract renewal, Deleon Guerrero said: “I love this school and appreciate this opportunity, again, to serve her. With Mrs. Taimanao coming on board, I look forward to working with her to continue the great momentum the school has gained in the past three years with our enrollment increases, our technology upgrades, and accreditation work.”

This summer, Deleon Guerrero will continue his commitment to lifelong learning by pursuing his passion to make films as part of New York University’s summer film program, for which the school’s board expressed its full support. As Taijeron put it, “The board fully supports the president’s efforts to participate in this prestigious film program. He’s leading by example and showing our students that learning is a lifelong process. Every school administrator should inspire students to keep learning. As a chairman, I’d be worried if he didn’t believe in continuing education.” (MCS)