3-5 year contracts for PSS teachers?

The Board of Education and the Public School System is looking at extending the contracts of public school teachers from the current two-year term to three- to five-year contracts.

BOE member Herman T. Guerrero said the proposal is in lieu of the tenure proposal the PSS is considering in order to maintain highly qualified teachers that are under two-year contracts.

He said the board would be discussing this matter further in its next board meeting.

“This move would maintain good teachers in the CNMI,” he added.

A special board meeting will be held this afternoon at the Garapan Elementary School library. Guerrero said the extension of contract issue might be further discussed today.

In her analysis of BOE teacher representative Ambrose Bennett’s tenure proposal, Commissioner of Education Rita H. Inos instead proposed a system of teacher certification that aligns the contract length with the type of certificate earned for two, three, and five years and a system that offers mentoring, focused professional development, and performance-based compensation.

Hopwood Junior High School Jim Brewer said he backs the proposal to extend the contract of teachers who have shown dedication and passion and are considered highly qualified under the federal requirement.

Brewer, who was part of the committee that analyzed Bennett’s tenure proposal, said the alternative is the right thing to do in rewarding teachers.

“But I believe that the teachers should rely on their expertise and not on contracts,” said Brewer, adding that the proposal to extend contracts based on performance is possible. Hopwood currently has 62 middle school teachers.

In related news, the public school teachers in the CNMI are once again being reminded to take time to comment on the tenure proposal of Bennett.

The tenure proposal and the PSS Focus Group analysis of the tenure proposal are available online at the PSS website under the BOE heading entitled “Tenure Proposal.” The PSS website is at http://www.pss.cnmi.mp.

The BOE Committee on Fiscal, Personnel and Administration had earlier asked Commissioner Inos and the Public School System Focus Group to submit an analysis of Bennett’s proposal.

Guerrero earlier said the BOE aims to gather feedback from the teachers themselves since Bennett’s proposal and report have not shown plausible data that the proposal has the backing of public school teachers.

Guerrero added that such proposal should be aligned with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the teacher certification requirements by the federal government.

All comments from all 612 public school teachers should be in no later than April 21. Teachers can post their comments through e-mail to the BOE officers and staff: tenoriop@pss.cnmi.mp, guerreroh@pss.cnmi.mp or htgpan@gmail.com.

Teachers can also fax their comments to 664-3711 or drop it off at the BOE office located at the 2nd floor of the NMI Retirement Fun Building in Capitol Hill. For further details, contact BOE special assistant Perry Tenorio at 237-3027.