Ministry of Education has standard operating procedures addressing complaints against teachers, said Minister Dr. Dale Jenkins in response to an inquiry into an incident involving a teacher and student at Koror Elementary School.
The incident reported by the parents referred to what they saw as a lack of empathy and willingness to work with parents to improve a first-grade student’s learning and behavior in the classroom. Parents reported that their child’s learning improved greatly after their child was moved to a different teacher.
The process, Minister Jenkins explained, was first to “meet with the school administrator to see what has happened and what has been done. Second, meet with the teacher and parent (and student, depending on age and issue) to hear all sides of the story. Third, make a plan to improve the student’s learning environment. Fourth, depending on the results of the meetings in #2 and #3, take remedial action to provide what is best in the student’s interest. Lastly, have the school administration follow up on the plan of action and provide updates.”
Minister Jenkins added that should their investigations and meeting reveal that the teacher is causing the difficulties, “we meet with the teacher to determine the problem and develop a program to help that teacher. If those do not result in an improvement to the teacher’s skills, then we may continue with the appropriate actions following civil service regulations.”
Parents of the affected child said they were happy with the school’s actions to remedy the situation, but they wanted to share their story to inform other parents and the schools to be aware that this can happen and to be vigilant and proactive in their response.