Guam - When Department of Education superintendent-select Jon Fernandez arrives he will have his plate full with the array of ongoing plans for the agency. While the Guam Education Board has decided to change the schedule for high school students, another proposal to reform the entire school system is underway.

Aside from discussions on the new 4-AB schedule, DOE and the GEB are looking at the possibility of  restructuring all grade levels. Guam Education Board member Barry Meade said, "I've witnessed as a teacher in high school that students coming in from the 8th grade aren't ready for high school. So the thing is how do we fix that? Then we hear that students in middle school people that the kids coming out of elementary school, 6th graders aren't ready for that environment," he shared.

Meade added, "This would be district-wide. It would have to be looked at. I know there's a lot of people that would like to see junior high schools brought back, and a lot of people believe that bringing back junior high school 7th-8th-9th graders would better prepare the 9th graders to go to high school."

Meade says similarly the incoming superintendent has ideas for exit testing starting in the 3rd grade, and having a progressive testing process based on the curriculum and standards. The idea to restructure grade levels and change middle school to junior high hopes to address the learning weaknesses for students. It's a long-term plan for the department; however DOE management is already reviewing their options.

DOE's acting superintendent, Taling Taitano, said, "Before we make a decision to change and restructure the grades is that we allow discussion and look at the data and the research that's in place and thoroughly vet that before the board makes a decision if indeed the board is considering that."

No meetings have been set to discuss restructuring at this time. Taitano says the issue is being closely looked into, as some schools are better off with the status quo. "The concern at this point is that there are some middle schools that aren't following that concept. The idea of the middle school concept is that it's a school within a school so generally what would happen is you would assign an assistant principal to that grade and they would generally work with students in that grade," she added.

In the meantime, Legislative Committee on Education member Senator Tina Muna Barnes tells KUAM News a change of this size and scope requires full engagement of all stakeholders. She adds there has and continues to be a disconnect in this area, and emphasizes the need for transparency with all affected parties.