‘Pinocchio Award’ goes to…Ambrose

The Public School System is giving its annual “Pinocchio Award” to public schools teacher representative Ambrose Bennett for “once again misleading the public.”

PSS associate commissioner for administrative services David M. Borja, in a media release yesterday, said Bennett “truly deserves” the Pinocchio Award for his penchant of confusing his constituents, especially on the issue of the PRAXIS I and PRAXIS II tests.

“The truth is that all teachers are required to take and pass PRAXIS I and PRAXIS II,” said Borja. “There will be no exceptions and the portfolio tests are not an option. The requirement is PRAXIS I and PRAXIS II.”

Borja said that, as early as July 2004, Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos had reported to the Board of Education that 80 percent of CNMI teachers who have taken PRAXIS tests have passed the exam.

He said Bennett’s assertion, which he made public through a letter to the editor in the Saipan Tribune’s Thursday edition, saying that about 80 percent of the teachers who have taken the test didn’t pass it, was yet “another Ambrose whopper.”

Borja added that even Bennett’s suggestion that portfolio tests and teacher tenure should be the solution is “wrongheaded and does not comply with federal law or CNMI regulations as promulgated by the Board of Education.”

A quick review of federal law shows that what the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires of all elementary and secondary teachers, at a minimum, is that they should possess at least a bachelor’s degree, full state certification, and must be able to demonstrate core subject knowledge on a rigorous state exam—in this case the PRAXIS tests, Borja reiterated.

Borja, who is a former BOE teacher representative himself, said he is disappointed that Bennett has not done his homework on the requirements to be a highly qualified teacher as defined by the federal government and the CNMI Board of Education.

He said Bennett, if he already hasn’t done so, should set a good example by taking and passing PRAXIS.

“I do commend Mr. Bennett for urging all teachers to take and pass the PRAXIS tests. As a teacher rep to the BOE, he should be the first to take the tests. I have taken the PRAXIS tests myself and urge Mr. Bennett to do the same if he wishes to continue as a teacher next school year,” said Borja.

Borja also said that PSS is also encouraging Bennett to work with the BOE since he is a member of the board, “rather than being a silent member at board meetings and then pretending that the board does not listen to him or does not know what it is doing.”