by Krystal Paco

Guam - Only the second day on the job and new Department of Education superintendent Jon Fernandez hits two more schools to see what he'll be working with for the next three years of his contract. It was yesterday Fernandez visited Simon Sanchez High School and F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School.

Students at Southern High School were a lot more vocal about what was wrong with their campus when approached by Fernandez this morning. The Santa Rita school was once coined the "Jewel of the South" when it first opened its doors back in 1997. From what Fernandez gathered at today's visit, trash bins are used to collect water from leaking ceilings, air conditioners continue to breakdown, students are without textbooks and the list goes on.

"The kids will tell you exactly what the problem is. We have a school facility that doesn't work a pool that's dry an auditorium that's closed a gym that's falling apart. I don't need to talk to a lot of people to understand that - the kids are telling me. I just want to see for myself," he shared.

According to Fernandez, DOE can no longer make excuses for providing inadequate education to over 30,000 of the island's public school children. At least, not under his watch. He said, "There are a lot of problems and ways to use these things as excuses and its not that I don't find these things to be serious issues. But what I want to tell people is that if we don't fix these facilities overnight if we don't fix procurement or our budget, etc. We all know that we still need to work on behalf of these kids we can't just use these as excuses. I need to be held accountable for doing whatever we can to make sure they're achieving what they can to their potential."

During his visit at Oceanview Middle School, Fernandez directed his conversation with students on the importance of planning for the future. Fernandez was impressed to hear what they wanted to be when they grow up. Some wanted to be forensic scientists, others physical therapists. "My belief is that at middle school you have to have these kids talking about college and career in order to start that conversation with them and inspire them and to make sure that they're on the path so when they get to high school that's where they're going," he said.

Fernandez also took notice of special needs students in the classrooms he visited. His belief is that these students should be integrated, not isolated from the school population. "Our kids with special needs ought to be given every chance every opportunity with their classmates in traditional classrooms," he said.

Fernandez's school visits continue Thursday at Liguan Elementary School and John F. Kennedy High School and again on Friday at George Washington High School and both Untalan Middle School's campuses. Fernandez has yet to meet with the island's leaders, but is confident that once he develops his vision for the department, they will stand behind him.