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• 1 2021-12-17T21:54:24-05:00 My Takeaways 2 My Takeaways from the Educational System in Puerto Rico and how to Fix it Following Hurricane Maria plain 2021-12-17T21:55:24-05:00 While much time and attention has been devoted to outlining what must be done to fix the educational system in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, many of the infrastructural changes and programs have not been put in place yet due to a variety of factors. The foremost being the ongoing problems; earthquakes, COVID-19 pandemic, and the latter being the withholding of government grants by the Trump Administration. However, the Biden Administration has outlined their steps to providing aid to Puerto Rico, and with the influx of money, the hope is that the island will begin to, not just truly heal, but make progress and be better than when the Hurricane first made landfall. The Biden Administration's plan is outlined as follows;
  
  • Safely Reopening Schools and Sustaining Safe Operations: In collaboration with the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH), the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE) has conducted three vaccination campaigns designed to increase vaccine awareness and trust. Vaccination is mandatory for educators and staff in public schools. As of September 2021, more than 96% of school personnel was vaccinated, more than 75% of students ages 12 through 15 years were vaccinated, and more than 85% of students 16 years or older were vaccinated. Furthermore, in September 2021, a collaboration agreement was formalized between PRDE, the Puerto Rico Department of Health, and VocesPR to promote the vaccination of students 12 years or older, through the initiative Vacu Tour Back to School. Additionally, the PRDH developed a vaccination plan to provide the vaccination through phases. Phase I included the pediatricians, hospitals, and pharmacies achieving the vaccination of more than 20,000 children. Phase II starts later this fall and is called the Vacu Tour Kids. Vaccination clinics will be coordinated between the PRDH authorized providers and school directors.
  • Addressing the Academic Impact of Lost Instructional Time: PRDE will use ARP ESSER funds to expand and extend tutoring services provided by the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), prioritizing students with disabilities among other groups of students most impacted by the pandemic. 
  • Supporting the Educator Workforce: These strategies include, but are not limited to, improving school environments; providing needed academic resources, materials, and equipment; providing stipends; recruiting necessary school and Regional Education Office staff who support teachers; providing internships; offering professional development with credit hours, including specialized professional development to support teachers; and targeting support related to accelerated learning. (1)
  In the end, the road to progress is long, but Puerto Rico is on the right path; "Starting in July 2020, the Puerto Rico Department of Education distributed computers to connect to classes and implemented the Microsoft Teams system as the official teaching system. However, the digital divide has remained."(2), it just has to deal with issues from three separate natural disasters at once. And while that is certainly not easy, the island of Puerto Rico is resilient.