Lab School council asks NMC to hire 3 teachers

Citing urgency, the Northern Marianas College Lab School’s Parent Advisory Council has asked the college administration to authorize the hiring of three teachers for the fall program.

Karen Buettner said that CLS, which offers kindergarten to 8th grade, has only two teachers so far.

“The class opening is just around the corner. And it’s certainly a concern for us parents to know that there are no teachers teaching our children,” Buettner, council treasurer, said in an interview.

CLS usually hires five teachers to teach two classes each.

Buettner said CLS currently lacks three teachers for the upper grade students.

Meantime, another Lab School parent, Jane Lizama, said she hopes that NMC “will reconsider its view of CLS as ‘just another program’ and see it for what it really is: an educational institution that not only models best practices for college level student teachers, but where children receive a great education.”

Lizama, a mother of six, said that her children have “received the best education I could have ever hoped to provide for them” from CLS.

First, she said that CLS has scholarship for students belonging to families with limited income; has a unique educational theory of integrated thematic instruction, and facilitates rare activities for students such as off-island travels.

“The instructional part of the school is one quality I admire, but the dedication of the teachers is another,” she said.

She said CLS’ small classroom size makes it a perfect learning environment for students.

Lizama said that without CLS, her family’s other option would be to send the children to the Public School System in her district, “which is already overcrowded with 25-30 students per classroom.”

Lizama expressed concern that if CLS does not get the needed teachers, her oldest son would have to attend another school and would lose an individual tutoring program.

Further, she said that if the plan to transfer CLS to Tanapag under PSS in August 2005 come to fruition, “I fear I will not be able to take advantage of the program in that location.”

“If I belong to one PSS district, will I be able to continue to enroll my children in the CLS/PSS program in Tanapag?” she asked.

PSS enrolls students in schools nearest them.

“Unfortunately, my choices will be forced to change and it will be my children who will pay the price,” said Lizama.

The council earlier said that parents have been meeting in efforts “to save the school and its unique educational program.”

The council noted that if funding is the main concern, the tuition and fees at CLS are actually “enough to cover the cost” for the annual rent of five buildings in Finasisu totaling $52,000, utilities, cable, housekeeping, and all other operational expenses.

Parents pay $200 tuition for each child a month.

The only thing that is not covered by the school fees is the teachers’ salaries, but NMC gets an annual appropriation from the government to pay them.

CLS offers up to 8th grade classes. Each teacher is tasked to handle two grade levels.