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SVES students, teachers honor retiring administrator
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Posted on Jun 12 2011
Students, teachers, and staff at San Vicente Elementary School gathered Friday in a special ceremony to honor principal Joaquina Salas, who will be retiring this month.
In what she thought was a routine field-day program, Salas was surprised by the school’s student council with a “special tree”—a kind of ornamental plant called Pink Tacoma—that was planted in front of the school’s center stage in her honor.
Salas, who has been with San Vicente in the last 30 years, started as a school teacher aide after graduating from high school in 1981. She was a classroom teacher for more than 20 years before becoming the school’s vice principal; she became the principal five years ago.
Salas wants to become part of her granddaughter’s first years in school and will be moving to Arizona this summer. However, she promised the students and teachers that she will return and pay them a visit once in a while.
“I’ve been an educator for 30 years…and my heart will always be with the students. Hopefully I can go back in the classroom because I want to continue serving children,” she told Saipan Tribune, adding that she will try to work as a teacher in Arizona.
Salas said the San Vicente school used to accommodate over a 1,000 students each year. The government later built two schools—Kagman and Dandan elementary schools—to ease the overcrowding. From over a 1,000 enrollees in the ’90s, San Vicente is now home to 655 students.
“In my 30 years here, I’ve seen a lot of good changes. I’ve witnessed a lot of growth in terms of student achievement as well as our teachers’ advancement in ensuring our students are really learning and becoming successful every year,” she said.
For teacher Valrick Welch, Salas can be likened to a Neem tree, which is noted for its drought resistance and for giving protection to some other plants. “She will surely be missed here,” he told Saipan Tribune.
