The Peluhs in Guam!

P o h n p e i Department of E d u c a t i o n Fast Facts

 Best of luck to our Spelling Bee students The Peluhs in Guam!

 MHS Career Explora- tion Week is March 5 -9 Sendai Ikuei Gakuen International  March 23 is a speech contest for 7th and 11th grade High School: Our Sister School  The Peluhs will be one We hope that our partner- School (PICS High School) year old next month Sendai Ikuei Gakuen Inter- ship lasts for as long as our in the afternoon. On Feb- national High School, one two countries exist. ruary 20th, a farewell cere-  NDOE and each State of the largest and most mony was conducted by DOE are developing renowned high schools in 10 students and a chaper- PDOE in the Governor’s improvements to the Japan, recently signed a one visited our island from FSM Accreditation Conference Room. The Process Memorandum of Under- February 15th to February Lieutenant Governor, Reed standing (MOU) with 20th, with the MOU signed Oliver, presented the fare-  We’re Hiring! Pohnpei Department of by the Directors of both well remarks. Education (PDOE). The parties on February 16th at MOU signifies that PDOE PMA Studio in Ninsei, Ko- All of this was made possi- Inside this issue: and Sendai Ikuei Gakuen lonia Town. ble thanks to the collabora- International High School tive spirit and work of the COMET 2 have a formal relationship On February 18th, the Pohnpei Rotary Club— in the form of sister-school PDOE provided transpor- who we can also thank for programs, student ex- tation for the group’s sight- their countless contribu- Monthly Thought 2 change programs, Educa- seeing tour at Nan Madol tions over the years for tion Advice programs, post and Kepirohi Waterfall. other educational projects, Thank You PMA! 2 -secondary preparation and to include the annual readiness programs, and On February 19th, the vis- SCRIPPS Spelling Bee. more. iting students went and We’re Hiring! 3 performed their cultural Thank you, Rotary Club— The PDOE is humbled drums and dances at Nan- and welcome to our island and honored to partner pei Memorial High School and our family, Sendai IQBE 3 with Sendai Ikuei Gakuen in the morning, and Ikuei Gakuen International International High School. Pohnpei Island Central High School. Kapingamarangi 4

Accreditation 5

Pictures 7

Mwoakilloa: 1967 10

Student Interview 11 P a g e 2 COM Entrance Test

February 5th to 9th was COMET jects necessary, 100% of Upward week, with high school seniors Bound students and 100% of SDA across Pohnpei State taking the Col- School students last year were De- lege of Micronesia Entrance Test. gree-Bound.

Historically, there have been large Stakeholders can expect a lengthy discrepancies between public piece in the next issue of The Peluhs school programming and private analyzing our state’s COMET scores Our jobs exist for school or extracurricular program- over the past years and what our one reason: to ming. For example, while PICS has attempts to the improve those serve children about 30% of its students become scores look like. Degree-Bound i.e. no remedial sub-

Thought of the Month Got a story f o r T h e Micronesians basically have of FSM. Considering the ur- P e l u h s ? three choices upon completing gent needs of the nation, it

We want to school: to enter the town job would be wise to focus on re- h e a r f r o m market, return to the village alistic educational objectives y o u ! subsistence and semi- that will result in a solid gen- Call us at subsistence economy, or emi- eral education .—Father 320- 2103 grate in search of jobs outside Francis Hezel, 1995

Pacific Mission Aviation: Thank You! Pacific Mission Aviation recently The Pohnpei Department of Educa- donated a dozen+ high quality tion would like to formally thank teacher chairs to Sekere Elementary PMA for its generous donation to School. one of our schools. We appreciate it more than words can say. One of Sekere They couldn’t have come at a better School’s New time. Most of the teachers at Sekere Thank you, Pacific Mission Avia- Chairs Elementary School were using old tion, for your assistance and for and worn chairs that were falling your kindness. apart.

The Peluhs P a g e 3

PDOE IS HIRING! with the ambition and the one with expertise in our Do you dream of a career ability to make our stu- native lokaiahn Pohnpei oh where you get to touch dents’ dreams come true. pil tiahk en Pohnpei, who and inspire the minds of can ensure our children in our future leaders? We need a Mathematics grades 1-12 have a back- Specialist. Someone who ground in character, lan- Do you dream of a can not only implement guage, and culture. Want to make a Pohnpei where children our curriculum, but fine- difference? can read and write in their tune it further for optimal We need classroom Call the PDOE at 320- native language and in student learning outcomes. teachers. Someone who 2103, 320-2104, or 320- 2105 English, with perfect flu- can inspire our youth to OR ency in both? We need an English reach their potential and Submit your application to Language Arts Special- the Office of Personnel, beyond—who loves chil- Pohnpei State Government Do you dream of a ist. Someone with a pas- dren and wants them to Pohnpei where our math sion for reading and writ- succeed in every possible scores are the envy of the ing, guiding our teachers in way. Openings are at world? using the best pedagogical Pohnpei Island Central practices and assisting us Do you dream of a School (PICS), Nanpei in developing the finest Memorial High School Pohnpei where scientific tools for our context. experimentation and criti- (NMHS), Salapwuk Ele- cal, creative thinking lead mentary School, Ohmine We need a Science Spe- Elementary School, and us down the path of sus- cialist. Someone who tainable self-sovereignty? Kolonia Elementar y questions everything and School. consistently yearns to take Do you dream of making our children beyond recit- a child smile every day? We need janitorial staff. ing what we know to ask: NMHS needs a staff who The Pohnpei Department what don’t we know, and wants to maintain NMHS’ of Education is now hir- how can we know it? reputation as the most ing, with plenty of posi- beautiful high school cam- We need a Pohnpei pus on Pohnpei. tions available for those Studies Specialist. Some-

IQBE: What is it? If you’re chatting with a teacher or Basic Education—is an NDOE intended outcomes, such as 50% friend at the Pohnpei Department program funded by Asian Devel- minimum competency in the of Education or National Depart- opment Bank (ADB), working in NMCT FSM-wide by 2023, an ment of Education, you might be tandem with the State Depart- FSM-wide implementation of the hearing the term IQBE recently. So, ments of Education throughout Lead Teacher program, and the what is IQBE? What does it mean? the FSM. creation of a Parents as Partners Program. IQBE—Improving the Quality of The project includes a number of P a g e 4

Restarting Kapingamarangi The Peluhs Public Information

Every Friday at 5pm using their radio, Kapingamarangi School discusses the goings-on at their school, including the results of their weekly meetings. Below is a highly condensed snapshot of those updates. February 2nd: Principal Mideon Andrew began today’s conversation by discussing several of his teach- ers’ requests for assistance with SLOs, particularly in Social Studies and Science in grades 6-8. The School Liaison advised he would write some reading passages and handouts that accompany the SLOs requested, as the school doesn’t have the required resources or capacity to access the internet. “When will DOE fix the solar system?” the principal asked. The School Liaison and PDOE didn’t have a satis- fying answer. (We still don’t.) February 9th: “Amyleen Tom prepared a presentation on assessment,” the principal advised. “Our school has problem with making measurable assessment that ties into the lesson objective.” Student at- tendance and teacher attendance were an issue this week, with a dozen students coming a few minutes late and two teachers arriving at 8:21 and 8:23 respectively on Thursday. Instruction begins at 8:15. The principal advised that the staff and some PTA members discussed how perhaps an issue is that not eve- ryone takes the rules seriously because the rules were not developed collaboratively. “Maybe if we make the rules together, and have everyone agree on what is right, we can make it happen.” February 15th: “Everything is fine, we’re doing great” said the principal. “Monday to Wednesday, we were doing our schedule on tutoring. Thursday we had basketball, and for our Friday meeting we dis- cussed the curriculum, and had a mini workshop,” he continued, advising that the workshop was about unpacking benchmarks and student learning outcomes to develop superior objectives. When asked how many students are in tutoring at the moment, the principal advised “We have four students in grades 1 and 2, two students in 3rd grade, three students in 4th grade, two students in 5th grade, five students in 6th grade, and four students in 7th grade and four students in 8th grade. Each of these students are in the tutoring program either because they have a low GPA, of less than 2.0, or for their classroom or community behaviors.” The staff meeting this week also included discussion on developing school poli- cies. “We want to have strong policies so we can then do school and community trainings—like a train- ing for student ethics and like a manual for students.”

February 23rd: The meeting this week began with a discussion on the new Kapingamarangi Atoll Pub- lic Elementary School Rules & Regulations, a collaboratively built document developed by the teachers, students, and PTA of Kapingamarangi School. The document is a combination of adopted practices per Principal Mideon Andrew’s promises to the people of Kapingamarangi in the school’s Restart Plan, with additional regulations and procedures for how to deal with various potential scenarios e.g. how to iden- tify, record, and reward/punish early/late attendance, etc. At 5:20pm, Sapwuahfik School joined the conversation, speaking at length with Kapingamarangi School and its School Liaison until well after 6:00pm, primarily with questions about the accreditation process.

ATTENTION NDOE and FSM National Government: we really need your help to get a patrol boat to bring Kapingamarangi’s solar batteries down so we can fix the system. It’s a component of Kapingamarangi School’s Restart Plan and School Improvement Plan that monthly updates on the school’s progress are published in The Peluhs. P a g e 5

FSM Accreditation Visits The Peluhs Public Information

The FSM Accreditation Procedures are being implemented this February through May, with formal visits from Feb- ruary 19th to April 30th. Two weeks in May, before graduation, act as contingency planning dates and tentative visitation dates for last year’s Level Four and Level Three schools. Stakeholders may justifiably be wondering: how does Pohnpei Department of Education (PDOE) implement the FSM Accreditation Procedures? What can a school expect to happen, what kind of reporting can a school expect to receive, and what does it mean for our is- land?

The PDOE implementation of the FSM Accreditation process involves a thorough visitation from a team of spe- cialists. These teams’ members include:

1. One principal interviewer, using standardized questions based on each of the measurable statements within the Accreditation Procedures Manual and transcribing the answers. The completed document is one piece of evi- dence to support the school’s score.

2. Two classroom observers, using the FSM Accreditation Observation Form, observing lessons complete with a running record and formal scoring checklists. These completed documents are an additional piece of evidence to support the school’s score.

3. One or more Classroom Checkers, using a PDOE Classroom Checklist form ensuring classrooms have learning centers, principal expectations, walls that teach, student work, up-to-date lesson plans, grade books, and atten- dance logs, drinking water containers, and more. Every classroom is formally checked using this tool, and the completed documentation serve as additional evidence for a school’s score.

4. One Data/IT Specialist, who confirms that the school’s data is consistent with the PDOE’s database, that atten- dance and performance reports are thorough and on-time, that school records are comprehensive, centrally lo- cated, backed up, and carefully filed, and that student records are complete and thorough in accordance with the FSM Accreditation Process and the Education Act of 1999.

5. One SPED Specialist, who confirms that the school is compliant with the IDEA (a US law that funds our spe- cial education program), and that student IEPs (individual education plans) are regularly consulted, up-to-date, and carefully filed.

6. One Superintendent or Chief or equivalent, who observes the interview, and confirms that financial records are thorough, complete, transparent, and accurate.

PTA Members, parents, Board members, members of the PDOE legislature, and other interested stakeholders are welcome to attend any of the accreditation visits to ensure that the process is transparent.

On or before May 15th, schools can expect to receive various documentation to support their overall scores in their School Data Form B aka Accreditation Report Card. These documentation include the complete Principal Inter- view record, all classroom observations, all classroom checklists, photographs, teacher and student surveys, and a written report with justifications for each criterion.

Have any questions, comments, or concerns about the FSM Accreditation Process? The PDOE Core Team members are Richard Clark ([email protected]) and Pressler Martin ([email protected]) P a g e 6

FSM Accreditation Visits The Peluhs Public Information

Each FSM Accreditation visit begins shortly before school starts. Schools can expect that the team arrives at the school sometime before 8am, with the team confirming the school’s roster and then randomly selecting (via an MS Excel script) a minimum of two teachers to be observed. The principal knows who is observed when the team knows who is observed.

The principal interview can range from 5-8 hours depending on the size of the school, the clarity of responses, and the organization of information. This year for example, the shortest visit so far has been at Temwen Elemen- tary School, with the team arriving at 7:40am on February 27th and completing their work at 1:30pm. The longest visit so far has been at Ohmine Elementary School, with the team arriving at 7:20am and completing their onsite work at 4:36pm.

The classroom checklists can range from 3-8 hours depending on the size of the school, the number of teachers, and the number of classrooms present. A small school like Temwen Elementary School (a 1st-5th grade school) requires only one single staff member to complete this task, in approximately 2-3 hours (~30-40 minutes per classroom). A large school like Ohmine Elementary School requires multiple staff members to complete this task.

Classroom observations are for one full class period, but observers remain in the classroom for additional periods to ensure that transitions, bells, etc. are proper and in order. For this year’s process, the PDOE has selected prin- cipals from across the state to assist with some of the observations. For example, Wapar Elementary School— observed on February 28th 2018—had one observation conducted by the principal of Rohi Elementary School, and ESDM Elementary School—observed on February 19th—had one observation conducted by the principal of Awak Elementary School. The PDOE has found that by using principals from other schools for this process, it enhances the quality of FSM Accreditation visits by making the process more accountable. It also allows an op- portunity for principals to see how other schools function.

IT and SPED Specialists’ work varies in time depending on the size and scale of a school. For a larger school like Nanpei Memorial High School, the IT Specialist may require virtually the entire day to confirm that records are consistent and complete. At a school like Seventh Day Adventist (SDA), which has all of its lesson plans, student records, and attendance electronically available via a database called RenWeb, this can take an IT Specialist only a few hours to confirm that information is accurate, comprehensive, backed up, etc.

All accreditation team staff members take photographs.

On selected report writing days, the team collect their information, digitize it, write an overall report for the school, insert photographs, and prepare the final score for the Director to sign and for the school to review.

If schools find that they disagree with the scores given to them by the PDOE, per the FSM Accreditation Proce- dures Manual the school will have one full month to submit—in writing—a dispute. If the dispute is determined to be significant, the team will return to the school.

Have any questions, comments, or concerns about the FSM Accreditation Process? The PDOE Core Team members are Richard Clark ([email protected]) and Pressler Martin ([email protected]) P a g e 7

Pictures = 1,000 Words The Peluhs Public Information

Top Photo: Upward Bound Cultural Day. Middle Photo: NMHS Basketball Court. Bottom Photos: NMHS students in class, at play, and picking up trash P a g e 8

Pictures = 1,000 Words The Peluhs Public Information

Top Photo: Ohmine School ECE Center. Middle Photos: Ohmine students playing a game in class, and an SDA class Bottom photos: SDA’s playground and ESDM School’s morning assembly. P a g e 9

Pictures = 1,000 Words The Peluhs Public Information

Top Photos: Temwen Elementary School students hard at work. Middle Photo: Madolenihmw High School’s new computer lab! Bottom Photo: Sekere School’s morning assembly P a g e 10

Mwoakilloa School in 1967 The Peluhs Public Information

Sometimes you’ll hear that things never change on our islands, as days drift and blend into one an- other. But things do change, and rapidly enough that over the course of a lifetime your home might become unrecognizable—for better or for worse. These days, every boat in Mwoakilloa Atoll is fiberglass. Local boats cannot be seen in the atoll anymore. But when you could see them, they would look like what you see to your left. Beautiful craftsmanship and ele- gant design. What role should the Pohnpei Department of Education play in bringing this knowl- edge to our youth, before it’s lost? Let us know what you think. And in the meantime, enjoy some photographs of Mwoakilloa School from 1967.

What role should the Pohnpei Department of Education play in preserving our cultural knowledge and cultural traditions? Dear Reader,

Do you know what a stakeholder is? A stakeholder is someone who has a stake—that is, an important interest—in something. Students want to learn; therefore, students have a stake in edu- cation. Parents want their children to succeed; therefore, parents

have a stake in education. Businesses and Governments want people to make and spend money, something education can help Office of Public Information, with; therefore, businesses and governments have a stake in edu- Pohnpei DOE cation. Do you have a stake in education? Contact the Department of PO Box 250, Pohnpei FM 96941 Education Central Office with any questions, comments, or con- Phone: +691-320-2103 cerns you may have. Everything we do is for our children. E-mail: [email protected] Vocabulary This Issue:

[email protected] Discrepancies [noun, plural] lack of compatibility or similarity between two or more facts Visit Us on Facebook or Subsistence [noun] supporting oneself, especially at a minimal level pohnpei.doe.fm Contingency [noun] circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted

Strengthening Our Schools! Equivalent [adjective[ equal in value

T h e P e l u h s Student Interview

STUDENT is a student at Nanpei Memorial High School. He/she was interviewed on very good. When we don’t have STUDENT: Like my teacher. February 22nd, two days after the accredita- books, they can print stories Strong, smart, kind. tion visit. The interview has been edited for from the internet or have us clarity/brevity. PELUHS: On a scale of 1 to write and share. For math, I 10—10 being the best—how PELUHS: How’s school? really like my math teacher. She would you rate NMHS? is very good at what she does. STUDENT: Great! Everything is She makes me want to be like going great. STUDENT: 8. her one day. PELUHS: What’s your favorite PELUHS: What would you im- PELUHS: What do you like subject? prove at the school? about her? STUDENT: I like each of my sub- STUDENT: Books for every STUDENT: She makes it very jects. class and books for the library. clear what we are learning. And Do you know Achieve 3000? PELUHS: Oh yeah? Tell us more. she makes class fun. PELUHS: I do! STUDENT: Well for English, I PELUHS: What do you want like English because I can learn to be when you grow up? STUDENT: Everyone should how to speak it. The teachers teach get to use it—it’s great.