Widespread Devastation in Puerto Rico in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria
1 2021-12-17T16:21:43-05:00 Joel Paulson 4d6c5f686dd11906452a016926c982c7e099c170 19 3 Defense Visual Information Distribution Service plain 2021-12-17T16:26:56-05:00 Defense Visual Information Distribution Service Joel Paulson 4d6c5f686dd11906452a016926c982c7e099c170This page is referenced by:
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School Closures Map in Puerto Rico
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Hinojosa, J., Meléndez, E., & Serevino Pietri, K. (2019). Population Decline And School Closure in Puerto Rico | Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños. Center for Puerto Rican Studies. https://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/research/data-center/research-briefs/population-decline-and-school-closure-puerto-rico
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As previously mentioned, the Hurricane and its path through Puerto Rico caused a large number of school closures. Closures that then remained in effect after the Hurricane had passed and clean up had already been underway. Because of this, students have been faced with longer travel distances, as well as having to navigate such distances around hazardous terrain, as the clean up and infrastructural shuffling continues. The above image depicts the extent to which the educational system faced school closures. Few areas of the country were spared the closures.
At the end of the 2016-2017 school year, then Secretary of Education for Puerto Rico Keleher, ordered 183 schools to be shut permanently. That information came from the Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico, the island's teachers' union and the biggest for to Keleher. Shortly after this, Hurricane Maria struck the island. In addition, of the roughly 1,100 public schools left in Puerto Rico at the time of Hurricane Maria, more than 250 of them simply did not open again. Most of the schools that were shuttered were elementary or middle schools leading to the above issues for children still trying to attend school. (1) As we have discussed in class, Humanitarianism and its principles has incorporated the idea that all students should have access to Universal Primary school education, as outlined in the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (2). The closure of so many primary schools not only makes this nearly impossible for some children, it makes attempting to access this right dangerous, both mentally and physically.
