La Fortaleza touts initiatives tied to new school year

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón toured Felipe Gutiérrez Elementary School in San Juan on Tuesday, where she met with teachers and school administrators finalizing their preparations for the start of classes. (Facebook via Jenniffer González Colón)

By The Star Staff

With the new school year commencing today, the island government provided an update Tuesday on the initiatives it has implemented to welcome students back to classes.

At a morning press conference, Public Affairs Secretary Hiram Torres Montalvo, along with Roberto Lefranc Fortuño, executive director of the Office of Socioeconomic and Community Development (ODSEC by its acronym in Spanish), Health Secretary Víctor Ramos, Housing Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña and Transportation & Public Works Secretary Edwin González, provided a summary of the projects and campaigns implemented for the “Back to School” event.

The ODSEC executive director noted that his office made a significant delivery of school supplies to more than 4,000 children in numerous municipalities across the island, with an investment of $251,125.

The initiative, part of ODSEC’s strategic efforts to strengthen child well-being and promote education, reached communities in the following municipalities: Orocovis, Fajardo, Toa Alta, Ponce, Las Piedras, Camuy, Yauco, San Germán, Florida, Las Marías, San Lorenzo, Gurabo, Cataño, Aguas Buenas, Yabucoa, Naguabo, Vega Alta, Lajas, Caguas, Coamo, Culebra, Sabana Grande, Río Grande, Naranjito, Santa Isabel, Patillas, Maunabo, Manati, Ceiba, Arroyo and Villalba, among others.

“Every child deserves to begin the school year with the necessary tools to learn and grow,” Lefranc Fortuño said. “This distribution represents our commitment to the most vulnerable communities and to the future of Puerto Rico.”

The distribution of school supplies included backpacks, notebooks, pencils and other essential items and was enthusiastically received by parents and community leaders.

Housing Dept. & Public Housing Administration promote back-to-school and municipal development initiatives

In preparation for the new school year, Housing Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña, along with the Public Housing Administration (PHA), has launched a series of initiatives aimed at supporting students and school communities across the island. As part of the effort, the two agencies have collaborated with 12 schools located in the municipalities of Carolina, San Juan, Ponce, Mayagüez, Guayama, Caguas, Aguadilla, Arecibo, Humacao, Bayamón, and Vega Alta.

Teams from the Housing Department and the PHA have visited each school to clean, paint, and refurbish green areas. In addition, athletic facilities, playgrounds, and recreational spaces have been renovated, including water fountains, basketball hoops, school cafeterias and gardens. The initiative directly impacts 3,288 students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

At the same time, the PHA has developed activities in public housing projects to prepare children and young people for the return to school. Over the past two weeks, more than 15,000 students in the 328 public housing projects have benefited from the distribution of school supplies, backpacks and other materials. In collaboration with government agencies, school transportation services, therapy, medical appointments, and the processing of vaccination certificates (green papers) have been coordinated.

“Today, thousands of students and teachers face the same structural failures, staff shortages, transportation disorganization, and security problems,” said Héctor Ferrer Santiago, center, the Popular Democratic minority leader in the island House of Representatives.

In partnership with community and council leaders, organizations were able to offer haircuts and preparation services for the new school year. Likewise, the Housing secretary noted, the PHA continues to strengthen education through agreements with non-profit organizations to offer tutoring to students in their communities. Currently, 211 housing projects have Technology Centers that allow residents to search for information and complete schoolwork.

Municipal agreements for community development

In another effort to strengthen direct service to citizens, the Housing Department signed agreements with the municipalities of San Juan and Yabucoa to transfer land to house community structures. In San Juan, the transfer of Lot 178 in Parcelas Hill Brothers in Sábana Llana was formalized, ensuring the continuity of the Head Start Center and the Community Center. In Yabucoa, land where another Head Start center operates was transferred, reaffirming the commitment to the development of future generations.

Health Dept. strengthens preventive efforts ahead of school year

In anticipation of the return to school, the island Health Department intensified its preventive and educational efforts as part of the “Salud Eres Tú” (Health Is You) initiative, with the goal of ensuring the well-being of the school and general population. The health secretary reported that, as part of this campaign, a total of 454 medical evaluations have been conducted, including: 75 pediatric vaccinations for the return to school, 45 doses of pVAc 3 (a Green Sheet requirement), 112 adult vaccinations, 31 mammograms and 33 HIV screening tests.

PDP denounces failures in school startup, accuses governor of breaking promise for a ‘perfect’ year

Popular Democratic Party (PDP) legislators, meanwhile, charged on Tuesday that the start of the school year was once again marked by infrastructure problems, staff shortages, security deficiencies, and transportation delays.

“In January, the governor assured us that the start of the school year would be ‘perfect,’ but once again, she lied,” said Héctor Ferrer Santiago, the PDP minority leader in the island House of Representatives. “Today, thousands of students and teachers face the same structural failures, staff shortages, transportation disorganization, and security problems.”

The lawmaker pointed to serious situations in schools in Vega Baja, Morovis and Manatí, such as classrooms without electricity, exposed circuit breakers, unplugged generators, and vacant positions for teachers and support staff.

Rep. Lilibet “Lilly” Rosas highlighted that in her region there are schools with roof leaks, a lack of special education assistants, custodian hours cut, poor pest control and a lack of security guards. She also noted that school transportation remains unresolved in several schools and that in many cases the Department of Education has not followed up on the reported problems.

Rep. Reinaldo “Rey” Figueroa, the PDP spokesperson on the House Education Committee, presented examples in Isabela and San Sebastián, where some schools lack Spanish and English teachers, and suffer from insufficient security, electrical problems, leaks and damaged bathrooms. He noted that at Ceferina Cordero School, the infrastructure is deteriorating, with broken fences, flooded parking lots, and an urgent need for electrical improvements.

The minority lawmakers also documented deficiencies in schools in Vega Baja and Morovis, such as classrooms without electricity, unusable water fountains, a lack of custodians and teachers, unmaintained green areas, and disconnected generators.

“While the governor promised a smooth start, our schools continue to struggle with the most basic needs: safety, access, cleanliness, teachers, and transportation,” alternate minority leader Domingo Torres García said. “It is unacceptable that we continue to improvise with something as fundamental as public education.”

The PDP House delegation demanded an immediate action plan from the Department of Education and La Fortaleza to address the deficiencies.

“Public education cannot continue to be administered based on patches and headlines,” Ferrer Santiago said. “Children cannot continue to be held hostage to the incompetence, improvisation and politicking of the NPP [New Progressive Party].”