It saddens me that the College of Micronesia plans to withhold the COM Entrance Test (COMET) for students from Northwest High School (formerly Weipat) until Senator Otto has paid the $300 fees  which he apparently promised to the college during the campaign season to have the test administered to all the seniors. I think the senator’s lack of follow through is inexcusable, but the college’s decision to hold the students test results as a bargaining chip is equally wrong. What do you think?

Taking Action for COMET Results for Northwest High School Students

The following email was sent on March 23, 2013 to Senator Tony Otto (FSM Congress), Mr. Ringlen Ringlen (COM-FSM Vice President for Student Services), and Mr. Joey Oducado (COM-FSM Director of Admissions) to protest the College’s threat to withhold COMET results for Northwest High School students until Senator Otto has fulfilled his promise to pay all fees to the COMET office in Pohnpei.

Dear Senator Otto, Vice President Ringlen, and Director Oducado,

I trust that you are all well. My name is Vid Raatior (http://www.raatior.com/about/meet-vid-raatior/), FSM citizen and the education consultant for the Northwest Unified Schools (www.northwestunifiedschools.org) in Chuuk. I am following up on the status of the COMET results for students from Northwest High School (formerly Weipat). My understanding before the test was administered by Wilson Bisalen at NHS was that Senator Otto had promised to pay the $5 test fees for all the NHS students. Based on that verbal promise from the senator, COM-FSM had gone ahead and administered the COMET to students at NHS.

This week I was informed by NHS Principal Fr. Floren Akkin (and confirmed by Dean Kanto of COM-Chuuk) that COM-FSM is withholding the COMET results for NHS students until Senator Otto has paid the $300 owed the college. Is this true? I hope it is not the case, because it seems so utterly unjust and unfair to victimize the students by withholding their test results while COM-FSM and Senator Otto duke it out over a mere $300. I support COM-FSM in its desire to collect the fees promised by Senator Otto. I also plead to the good sense of the senator to pay up what he promised during the height of the campaign season. But while you’re all working out your financial matters, I plead to you as fellow educators to not hold the students hostage. It is simply unjust and shameful.

I’m sure the citizens of the Northwest (or anyone with a rational mind) can support me in asking that you all work out your issues without getting the innocent students involved; they had nothing to do with whatever verbal or written arrangements you all made with each other. I would have thought that the professional and right course of action for COM would have been to secure those fees up front from the Senator before sending their staff out to administer the test to the students. And the right and proper course of action for the Senator is to pay those fees as promised. Those students took the test based on all of your agreements. Withholding their results is holding them victims to your inabilities to work out your financial matters.

I would hope that Vice President Ringlen would do the right thing and release the COMET results immediately with no condition so students learning can continue. Likewise, we encourage Senator Otto to do the right thing by securing payments to the college as soon as possible. But while the financial disputes and transactions take their own due course, I plead to you to grade and release the Northwest HS students’ results.

Thank you all so much for your understanding and I look forward to hearing from any of you.

Vid

—
Vidalino Staley Raatior
Consultant, Northwest Unified Schools

Dr. Vid Raatior

Consultant at Raatior Ventures

Vid is an education consultant, web designer, social entrepreneur from Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). He earned his BA in communications from University of Guam, MA in school administration from University of San Francisco, and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D) degree from University of Hawaii at Manoa. Vid lives in Northern California and works at the College of Professional & Global Education at San Jose State University. Previously, he worked at UC Santa Cruz, University of Hawaii at Hilo, Santa Clara University, and Xavier High School in Micronesia.