Monday marked the beginning of Guam's inaugural Charter School Week. Guam Charter School Council chairperson Rosa Palomo told KUAM News, "Because it is celebrated throughout the nation, it made good sense that we celebrate it at the same time here on Guam."

Palomo said the goal of this week is to inform the public about charter schools and encourage them to consider founding schools of their own. Charter schools are unique in that they allow for different forms of instruction that might not be offered in the traditional school system. "For example, iLearn is technology-oriented," she explained. "They've selected the Achieve 3000 because the materials are all online, Guahan Academy has selected direct instruction."

These differences are important as every child has different interests and styles of learning. Author of the nation's first charter school law, former Minnesota senator Ember Junge, flew in to participate in this momentous occasion. "I could not believe that the law that I began to work on in 1991 has now helped to transform the lives in your beautiful island," said Junge.

Junge said chartering is about opportunity, innovation, and the freedom to choose. Since chartering became legal in1991, there are now over 3 million children in 6,700 charter schools throughout the nation.

Charter School Week will include many more events, including a legislative resolution, site tours to each of Guam's charter schools, and even a workshop this Friday titled "How to start a charter school."