The Chuuk State  School System (CSSS), formerly known as the Department of Education for the State of Chuuk made a decision two years ago to turn the 2-year junior high schools in the outer islands into 4-year high schools without additional resources. While the decision was understandably based on the lack of  qualified teachers in the entire State, it has become a major equity issue for the outer island students. The decision now means that fanapi students are kept out on the fringes of academic and social opportunities found in the high schools on Weno. Yet they are expected to be college-ready by the end of their elementary and secondary education out in the outer islands.

The Fanapi College Preparatory (FCP) is a yearlong charter school for the most academically advanced students from the outer island high schools (Pattiw, Weipat, Pafeng) to prepare them for the academic and social demands of college life. Located on Weno, FCP will enable fanapi graduates who have a strong aptitude for college success to take college-level courses while being provided with academic support services and other hands-on workshops that prepare them for college.

The FCP academy will start with month-long Summer Bridge Program on the Xavier High School campus in collaboration with the Jesuits of Micronesia, Jesuit Volunteers International, the Mercy Sisters, University of Guam, and University of Hawaii-Hilo. Participants will live on campus and undergo a rigorous academic program using the Xavier High School curriculum taught by a team of volunteer faculty with bachelors degrees or masters degree. In addition to rigorous coursework and academic support services, the FCP summer and yearlong academy will include a series of workshops including but not limited to:

•  College Success
• How to Choose the Right College for You
• How to Get a Job in College.
• How to Successfully Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• Managing Peer Pressure in College
• Managing Your Budget
• How to Write College-level Research Papers
• Understanding the Legal System in the United States
• How NOT to become Homeless, etc.

An educated citizenry is the key to breaking the cycle of disempowerment among the people in the Northwest region in Chuuk. No single issue deserves top priority in the outer islands today than the ensuring of adequate education for our children. It is imperative that our young generations of outer islanders are given all the available resources to survive in a globalized and fast-changing world. Without adequate education, the future of our State and its place in the global community will further decline into hopelessness.

Programs

• Support the Northwest Educational Service Center by providing help in the areas of curriculum development, funding allocation, staffing, leadership development, and strategic development. The Foundation will use its resources to ensure the State’s educational reform plan for the Northwest region is successful.
• Start a year-long Fanapi College Preparatory charter school on Weno to prepare academically ready high school graduates from the outer islands to participate in academic, social, and leadership training at Xavier High School and College of Micronesia.
• Fund scholarships for teachers to get their certification and credentials and return to teach in the outer island schools.
• In FSD schools that lack qualified teachers, recruit American college graduates to come out and volunteer in our schools until we have enough local teachers to take over our own schools.
• Engage the sons and daughters of the Northwest living overseas for their help in program development, curriculum implementation, funding sources, and other needs of the children.
• Instill an innovative community-based public school system that engages the goodwill of the island community, church groups, youth groups, clan system, and all aspect of the community.
• Build key partnerships with international organizations such as Guam-based Cuthbert Project, One Laptop Per Child (www.one.laptop.org/), Room to Read (www.roomtoread.org) and humanitarian organizations to help with all aspect of the school system especially in technological advancement of the schools with regards to computer technology, textbooks, libraries, scholarships, and school needs.
• Utilize the key strategies in the Chuuk Reform Plan – Vision 2020 to improve education in the outer islands.
• Have a systematic and transparent approach to awarding scholarships for highly qualified and needy students from the Northwest region to attend high schools on Weno and college.
• Partner with College of Micronesia, University of Hawaii, University of Guam and other institutions of higher learning for teacher training and certification programs for teachers and administrators from the Northwest.