Double class sessions could continue in new school year

Schools that had double sessions last school year would continue to do so this coming school year—at least for a few months—until repairs to the campuses are completed.

In a short interview, Interim Education Commissioner Jackie Quitugua said that double sessions—when a school holds separate class sessions in the morning and in the afternoon—are still being discussed but these sessions are likely to continue when the school year begins this September.

“It is still an ongoing conversation because of many factors and we may, in this point in time, possibly continue with the double sessions but for just a few months maybe,” she said.

Typically, a class lasts from 8am to 4pm. A double session means that one group of students go to school in the morning and then another group goes to school in the afternoon.

Quitugua explained that a little more time is needed to break out of double or half-day sessions because of the repairs needed to be made to campuses following the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yutu last year.

“For now, we are not really sure [how long the double sessions will last.] It really depends on how much of the repairs have been done, so we will be updating the community, the parents, and we are working closely with the school administrators as well. Again, I just need a little more time to look into the details in how far the contractors are in the repairs,” she said.

At the end of last school year, four schools were still in double sessions: Oleai Elementary School, San Vicente Elementary School, William S. Reyes Elementary School, and the Francisco M. Sablan Middle School.

This year, the school year starts right after Labor Day, Sept. 3, for students who are returning. Teachers, however, return to campuses on Aug. 27 to start preparations.

“Schools are really ripe in preparing. We have what we call ‘school opening checklists’ and that’s what we are really recommending to our schools, that they really look into that and make sure those checklists are checked,” said Quitugua.

She assured that the Office of the Education Commissioner has already completed all the safety requirements needed before opening the schools to students.

“No. 1 is making sure that our schools are meeting the requirements of safety. So those have already been cleared through Bureau of Environmental Health, Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality, Department of Public Works, we’ve done all of that, the fire requirements, those have already been completed, so we’re grateful for that, especially the partnership we have with all these agencies,” she said.