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MCS board moves forward
From left, Bishop Ryan P. Jimenez, board secretary Joe A. Pangelinan, board chair Vicente “Ben” Babauta, board vice chair Jacqueline Che, outgoing chair Joe Taijeron, and board treasurer Will Hunter.
(Contributed Photo)
Building on the momentum of continuing enrollment increases for five years now, Mount Carmel School’ board of directors is moving forward with some key initiatives.
This past summer, the board elected AlumKnight Vicente “Ben” Babauta to serve as its new chair. In accepting the position, Babauta expressed gratitude to outgoing chair, Joseph L.G. Taijeron, for his accomplishments. Under Taijeron’s leadership, the school launched several important initiatives. Headed by a leadership change four years ago, the school reversed a decade of enrollment decline, going from about 250 students to current enrollment projections of over 500. The school also improved its financial situation, rose scores on standardized tests, and switched to a new accreditation model. On top of that, Taijeron led the school board to give faculty and staff the first significant salary increase in over a decade.
One of the board’s first priorities has been to relaunch the Save the Stage campaign, which will renovate and redesign the school’s historic stage, where the CNMI Covenant and Constitution were deliberated and signed. The campaign was placed on hold last school year as the school recovered from the devastation of Typhoon Soudelor. Now, the board is finalizing a request for proposals for the stage renovations, which will be released in the coming weeks.
The board is also excited to be working with the recently reconvened AlumKnight Association, chaired by AlumKnight Charles Cepeda. The board aims to present designs and architectural renderings to the association’s annual Night with the Knights Gala scheduled for Catholic Schools Week 2017.
In addition to relaunching the Save the Stage campaign, the board has also prioritized the development of a five-year strategic master plan, which it intends to launch by 2017. Based on current work on the strategic master plan, it will cover six areas: Catholicity, school finances, teaching and learning, student support, facilities and resources, and supplemental programs.
The board is also focusing on ensuring the smooth transition of Sister Remedios Early Childhood Development Center into Mount Carmel School, which started this school year. (PR)
