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PSS teachers are still suffering, says ACT rep
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Posted on Jul 25 2008
[B]By KRISTI EATON[/B]
[I]kristi_eaton@saipantribune.com
Reporter[/I]
Reporter[/I]
Public School System teachers who are not Praxis-certified are still unfairly suffering, a teacher representative told the PSS Board of Education Friday at its regularly scheduled meeting.
Sam Joyner, a representative for the Association of Commonwealth Teachers and a teacher at Kagman Elementary School, said he believes the board should have taken action by now to help those teachers who got salary cuts in light of not being Praxis-certified.
Joyner first spoke to the BOE in January about the plight many teachers were facing after their salaries fell from around $42,000 to around $28,000.
“We are penalizing teachers. We are punishing teachers. [The message to teachers is] ‘You didn’t pass the Praxis so we’re going to penalize you,’” he told the board.
The BOE required the Praxis I and II test in July 2004 to meet the “Highly Qualified Teachers” requirement set by the No Child Left Behind Act.
Joyner said the non-certified teachers are hardly able to live on their reduced salaries.
He said some teachers are telling him, “How can I pay my credit card? How can I pay for my kids’ college? I don’t even have the money to pay for the Praxis exam.”
Joyner said he first approached the board in January and was under the impression the salaries would be restored.
“Everyone supported me for restoration of the salaries,” he said. “I left the meeting with the general feeling everyone was in agreement for restoration. They said they would not let the issue die out. They only needed a funding source.”
Board chair Lucia Blanco-Maratita said the board would re-examine the issue.
BOE did not think it would take some teachers several years to pass the test, she added.
“We’ll take a look at those teachers still trying to become HQT and how the board can help,” she said.
Blanco-Maratita said PSS is compensating teachers for the test and practice sessions.
“So we’re doing out best to help teachers get to that point,” she said.
PSS has a total of 507 public school teachers. As of September 2007, 141 teachers had not passed the Praxis I exam.
