Today marks a week since school’s been out for public school students due to Typhoon Sinlaku. The Guam Department of Education now in its assessment phase, which will tell us how soon students, faculty, and staff will be back in the classroom.

How great was Sinlaku’s impact on public school campuses, three years after recovering from Typhoon Mawar? That’s what education officials are still assessing over the weekend into Monday, as students remain out of the classroom due to a lack of utilities at some schools.

Damen Borja, GDOE public information officer, detailing the main criteria for reopening and what has been observed so far, said, “The main criteria that we’re looking at is one: is there power and water? Those are the two big things that we need at DOE schools to function. After we’ve done that, we assess the facilities. Can you inhabit them? Is it safe for them to come in? Like a roof isn’t going to fall on a student’s head, or they’re not going to slip on some puddle of water and get injured.”

Borja noting that officials are also inspecting for mold, a dominant issue that plagued schools after Mawar. As KUAM News previously reported back in 2023, experts initially estimated mold mitigation to cost the department millions of dollars if growth was recorded in 30% of GDOE's facilities at the time.

“With that estimate," said acting superintendent Dr. Judi Won Pat, "they were quoting us about $13 million just to mitigate that.”

As the assessment process continues, Borja says GDOE will soon have a better grasp on the dollar amount needed for any necessary repairs or cleanup. This as GDOE officials continue to iron out whether or not students, faculty, and staff will return to the classroom by Tuesday.

“I would say about 70-80% of the schools are ready to be reopened. There are just some of those schools that were affected a little harder than most and are still maybe waiting on water or power issues. Other than that, we might be able to see the schools reopen by either the end of this week or next week," Borja said.

This case-by-case basis will also inform whether a contingency plan is necessary, should some schools require prolonged closures, as makeup days are also currently in discussion.

As of newstime, the Guam Department of Education announced that 27 schools are cleared to reopen on Tuesday, April 21, while 13 campuses are not ready to resume operations until further notice due to lack of water and power.

In the meantime, GDOE says it is actively working on addressing the issues, completing sanitation efforts, and securing required safety clearances. Students will be provided with learning packets, prompts, and/or virtual instruction during the closure period.

Grab-and-go meals will also be available from 10am-1pm at designated school sites.

Parents and guardians are encouraged to stay up to date on reopening timelines and site-specific guidance on official GODE communication channels.

The following schools will remain closed until further notice:

Elementary Schools

• Ordot-Chalan Pago Elementary School
• Merizo Martyrs Memorial School
• Daniel L. Perez Elementary School Head Start Program
• Wettengel Elementary School
• Juan Q. San Miguel Elementary School
• Juan M. Guerrero Elementary School
• M.U. Lujan Elementary School
• Liguan Elementary School

Middle Schools

• F.B. Leon Guerrero Middle School
• Inalahan Middle School
• Vicente S.A. Benavente Middle School

High Schools

• George Washington High School
• Okkodo High School

READ GDOE'S ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE 27 SCHOOLS REOPENING