BOE’s Guerrero not keen on alternative certification

The Public School System has yet to approve the alternative teaching certification that was signed last week as a means to certify bilingual teachers for PSS.

The memorandum of agreement, entered into by executives of the Office of Indigenous Affairs, the Office of Carolinian Affairs, and the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, sets a proficiency exam as an alternative teaching certification for Chamorro and Carolinian teachers.

Board of Education member Herman Guerrero is disappointed with the MOA, saying that PSS was not consulted on the issue.

“I don’t know where they are coming from. The [acting] commissioner [Janice Tenorio] may be there but it was not indicative of any support from the board,” he said.

“The committee [The Language Policy Commission] recommended something but I am not sure…they have the mechanics within those office…. I know they want to help but just because they want to issue certification does not necessarily mean that the board will recognize it,” Guerrero added.

Since 2011, the number of bilingual instructors in the CNMI has been dwindling. From 60 instructors in 2011, that number has dropped to nearly only 30 bilingual instructors, including Rota and Tinian

“What [the Board of Education] has recommended through the commissioner is to take back the proposals that she put forth and that we [the board] are going to identify people within the community who are considered to possess mastery in the language, culture and all those things,” Guerrero said.

“The board will basically endorse the people and these are the same people who perhaps have done professional developments for our Chamorro Carolinian Language Heritage Studies teachers….I don’t know who they [Language Policy Commission] are going to contact because they are not a university or Northern Marianas College that we will acknowledge their degree,” he added.

Many proficient Chamorro and Carolinian instructors are unable to pass the rigid requirements to become an accredited instructor. The purpose of the MOA signed by OIA resident executive Roman Tudela, OCA executive assistant John Tagabuel, and DCCA Secretary Robert Hunter is to establish an alternative route to address the shortage of bilingual instructors.

The current prerequisites to certify an instructor are passing score in Praxis 1 and in Praxis 2, and 24 credits from an accredited college.

“The board has its own certification process and requirements. Hopefully, the commissioner will identify someone in the coming days, people…from the three islands…who are masters in those crafts,” Guerrero said.

“If our staff takes training from these people, they take credits and it counts toward or in lieu of Praxis 1,” he added.

According to Guerrero, the board is willing to listen to the commission. “Have they ever taught CCHLS course? If not, have they taken training? Those things are critical questions because it asks if they have the credentials for it.”

“We are working with the commissioner’s staff on the masters list. It’s not a definitive list. We can keep adding on and we have a good list of people in the system that have a mastery of the language,” he said.