The Board of Education and Public School System in the Northern Marianas have agreed to allocate 2.5 million US dollars to the professional development of public school teachers and counselors.
The money will come from the U.S. President's stimulus fund.
The goal is to further enhance the capabilities of teachers and counselors so they would be better equipped to provide quality education to students.
This includes making sure that 80 percent of public school students are reading at or above grade level this school year and scoring at the 50th percentile or higher on the Stanford Achievement Test by next school year.
Come 2014, Public School System and the board hope to see 90 percent of students scoring at proficient or above on the standards-based assessment.
