Kagman High School opened in January 2002. It now looks like this:
Photo by Mark Penaranda for Marianas Variety
Complaints of leaking roofs in 60% of the classrooms! I've heard complaints that the walls are riddled with betelnut stains, too.
And they need good teachers... The news article is silent about how many of the teachers at KHS have made the grade (passed PRAXIS, gotten "highly qualified" ratings). But it does tell us that the student-teacher ratio right now is at 37:1 (with last year's ratio being 33:1).
When the power goes out, they'll be relying on a bio-diesel back-up generator, paying for that fuel. How many classrooms will that power up?
But compare and contrast: Saipan Southern High School opened half a year later, in August 2002.
Photo by Mark Penaranda for Marianas Variety
They have no serious concerns about the physical state of the school because they have a good maintenance program. The campus is clean and well-maintained, and the students are required to be respectful of the physical plant.
There's the possibility of learning, too. 26 of 29 teachers are highly qualified. Student-teacher ratio is 24:1.
And looking ahead to power outages, SSHS will have windmill power available in approximately November, saving on the cost of utilities.
So now all we need is for the Board of Education to figure out what it did right at SSHS and what it did wrong at Kagman High School.
My take:
The PSS BOE needs to empower its principals and resist the temptation to micro-manage. Because when it allows GOOD principals to act, as at SSHS, the situation works to the benefit of all.
But the BOE also needs to stop the politicking in appointments of principals (and the Commissioner?). And when a principal fails, as obviously is the case in Kagman High School since it's opening in 2002, the BOE needs to demote that person and put in someone who can do the job.
Our students all deserve good schools like SSHS. And if SSHS can do it, there's no excuse for any of the others.
