NMC scraps 5th to 8th grade programs

The Northern Marianas College Laboratory School will start the new academic year on Monday without 5th to 8th grade classes.

Geri Lynn Willis, director of the NMC School of Education, said the college decided to cancel the fifth to eighth grade programs due to the lack of enrollees. “Parents wanted to look into other options, and they decided to enroll the students in other schools,” she said.

The status of the existing lab school was put in the balance amid reports that NMC is planning to merge with the Public Schools System in operating the school. Last month, NMC president Tony Deleon Guerrero announced that the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade programs would be cancelled if they fail to recruit at least 14 students before the new school year begins.

Eleven students have enlisted for the 6th to 8th grade class as of July 10. But apparently, the parents did no want to take the chance and decided instead to enroll their children in other schools.

One such parent is John Griffin, father of a 7th-grade student. “We couldn’t wait any longer for the administration to make up its mind. We had to make a move,” he said.

He related that his son would not have had a school to attend this year, if he waited longer. Only two slots were left at the Saipan Community School’s 7th grade class when he enrolled his son, he said.

“The problem at the lab school was not the number of students, but the fact that [the administration] did not give us enough additional teachers. We needed three; we could have survived with two—but they gave us only one,” Griffin said. “We could have filled the classes. But they’re phasing out the lab school, and we did not want to take the risk.”

Nevertheless, the preschool, kindergarten, and 1st to 4th grades will start having classes on Aug. 9, Willis said.

Kathy Plaza will be conducting the 1st and 2nd grade class, while Donna Aguon will handle the 3rd and 4th grade program.

Willis reported that NMC has now made an offer to an applicant for the position of K4/K5 instructor.

In related news, the college has also hired a new instructor for the School of Education. The successful candidate is Rachel Teregeyo, who has worked as vice principal at Garapan Elementary School for several years.

“She has a strong background in reading and language arts. She will be teaching three courses and she will be an assistant for the [Western Association of Schools and Colleges’s] senior accreditation commission. We’re really fortunate to have her on board,” Wilis said.

Citing economic reasons, Deleon Guerrero earlier announced plans to transfer the lab school to the Tanapag Elementary School, starting next year. PSS would take care of day-to-day operations while NMC would control the academic curriculum.

He said PSS is receptive to the idea, as it will foster the NMC and PSS’s “mutual interest in continuously improving the educational program for teachers in training.”

“The only reason the lab school exists is because [on-the-job training] is required for the baccalaureate degree in education. Its main purpose is to provide a facility for NMC teachers in training,” Deleon Guerrero maintained.