Private schools group gets corporate status

A little over year after it first organized, the Coalition of Private Schools-CNMI met on Friday for its first quarterly meeting of the year, which became special because it was the first meeting as a fully recognized corporation.

Having tried unsuccessfully to become a non-profit organization, the Coalition had been working hard throughout the spring and summer of 2000 to get the Attorney General’s office to grant them corporate status.

The Coalition was officially incorporated on Dec. 18, 2000, and a big part of Friday’s quarterly meeting was taken up with discussion concerning its corporate status and with preparation for the year in areas of legislation, educational issues, and ways to better improve the overall education of children of the CNMI.

The Coalition of Private Schools-CNMI was organized to assure that member private schools were in compliance with all CNMI laws with regards to fire, health, safety, minimum core curriculum, and length of school days.

It was also organized to protect every private school’s right to self-government. This autonomy was granted by public law 11-32 which brought the private schools out from under PSS Board of Education policies and mandates.

It came to the attention of private school leaders early on that some people were concerned that because private schools were no longer under any regulatory body, the education of children in those schools might be jeopardized and that the overall safety of the children might be compromised.

But Scott Norman, president of the Coalition, said private schools in the CNMI have always provided an excellent education for the Commonwealth’s children and have given parents a choice in the education of their children.

Mr. Norman further stated that this is exactly why the Coalition was formed. “The public needs to know that the private schools are serious about their responsibilities to the laws of the CNMI and that the Coalition allows us a vehicle to ‘police’ ourselves in these key areas of concern,” the president said.

The Coalition is headed by an executive board of officers and a board of directors. Officers of the Coalition and members of the executive board are all from the private school sector. The officers include Scott Norman of Calvary Christian Academy–President; Mary Kinsella of Grace Christian Academy–Vice President; Margaret Dela Cruz of Mt. Carmel School–Secretary; and Ramiro Trinidad of Marianas Baptist Academy– Treasurer.

Members schools include Calvary Christian Academy, Grace Christian Academy (Saipan), Mt. Carmel School, Joshua Generation International Academy, Saipan Community School, Grace Christian Academy (Tinian), St. Joseph Catholic School (Tinian), Saipan International School, Marianas Baptist Academy, Grace Christian Academy (Rota), Eucon International School, and Whispering Palms School.