DOE extends current school year by one additional week

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The local Department of Education is adding one more week to the current school year after public schools were closed for 8 school days before and after Tropical Storm Gita. ASDOE is also changing official graduation dates for the public high schools.

Public schools were closed Feb. 7 and 8 due to heavy rain and strong winds as a result of a monsoonal trough and continued to be closed Feb. 9 — after the announcement that Gita was heading to the territory. This was then followed by a week of closure with clean up being carried out and repairs, due to damage by the storm.

After consultations with ASDOE deputy directors, Education director Dr. Ruth Matagi-Tofiga said in a letter to the governor yesterday that due to the missed classroom time, the department would extend the school year for one additional week.

So — instead of Jun. 8 being the last day of instruction, it will be June 15, and this should make up for the lost instructional time.

Matagi-Tofiga also made an official public announcement in a separate statement, providing the updated graduation dates for public high schools:

Manu’a High School on June 15; Tafuna High School on June 18, Fagaitua High School on June 19; Samoana High School on June 20; Nu’uuli Voc-Tech High School on June 21; and Leone High School on June 22.