Praxis exemption for bilingual teachers mulled

Bilingual Program teachers in the CNMI have found an ally in their fight to have their ranks exempted from taking Praxis I and II.

Rep. Cinta Kaipat said she and her staff are studying how Guam has implemented a non-Praxis requirement for their own Bilingual Program teachers and whether that setup could be applied to the CNMI.

“We will see how we can help our own bilingual teachers,” said Kaipat.

Last month, some 30 bilingual teachers and parents of students went up to Capital Hill and served notice to the Legislature that they are challenging the Board of Education’s requirement for Bilingual Education Program teachers to take the Praxis 1 and 2.

They argued that the federal requirement should be waived for teachers like them, “as there is no appropriate benchmark standard requirement related to Chamorro and Carolinian content in any part of the tests.”

Kaipat said the Legislature has always been supportive of the PSS’ bilingual program, citing the $10,000 that was appropriated for the proposed Bilingual Program classroom at Koblerville Elementary School.

Representatives from the Chamorro and Carolinian Bilingual Educators and Teachers Association, led by Ronnie Aguon, submitted last month the “CCBETA Resolution 001-06,” a two-page document that “requests and recommends the swift enactment of required funding and curriculum for Chamorro and Carolinian Bilingual Language and Cultural Education from Head Start to high schools in the CNMI.”

Kaipat, together with Senate Committee on Education and Youth Affairs chair Jude Hofschneider and House Committee on Health Education Welfare chair Jesus Lizama, listened to what the Bilingual Program teachers had to say. Sen. Pete Reyes, Reps. Frank Dela Cruz, Absalon Waki, and Vice Speaker Justo Quitugua also attended the meeting.

Kaipat said it was her first time to hear about the dilemma of Bilingual Education Program teachers.

“I felt really bad to hear their stories,” she said, referring to how the Bilingual Program teachers would use pushcarts and shopping carts to bring their bilingual books and materials in search of vacant rooms.

“It’s difficult for students to learn,” she said.

Since then, Kaipat has pledged full support to the program.

She said that maintaining the Chamorro and Carolinian languages would mean preserving the identity of the local people. “If you lose your native tongue, you lose yourself.”

Among the group’s other complaints is that bilingual education teachers are categorized as substitute teachers, but are not paid as such.

According to PSS regulations, substitute teachers should get at least $100 per teaching day. The Bilingual Education Program teachers are only paid by the hour. Each Bilingual Education Program teacher reportedly earns from $5 to $9 per hour but most of them earn the minimum only.

The CCBETA members said they should be treated equally at PSS because they also perform the same tasks as regular teachers.