By The Star Staff
Terestella González Denton, the Popular Democratic Party candidate for mayor of San Juan, presented her proposal for education in the capital city on Sunday.
“Few citizens of San Juan know that there is a consolidated budget for education of $46.3 million, as presented in the budget for fiscal year 2024-2025,” González Denton said in a written statement. “San Juan’s education budget is larger than the total budget of just over 90 percent of the municipalities in Puerto Rico. Are the results being achieved? No. Can more, much more, be done? Yes, I’m coming to that.”
The candidate said that currently, the Municipality of San Juan impacts a tiny number of children and youth in San Juan, only 900 kindergarten students and 1,200 older students in three schools, and 450 students in San Juan University College, for a total of 2,500 students with a budget of $46 million.
“That translates to $18,040 per student. Let’s compare that: only six jurisdictions in the [mainland U.S.] invest more: New York, District of Columbia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and Vermont. However, academic achievement could be much better,” González Denton said. “Why? Because the curriculum is inadequate and outdated. It does not positively challenge the capabilities and skills of our students.”
In her presentation to the media, González Denton proposed an approach known as Municipal High-Performance Transformative System (SMART by the Spanish-derived acronym), where schools are more connected to the realities of communities, to students with functional diversity, and above all, to the educational and technological challenges of the current 21st century.
Among the proposals, she outlined the creation of the “Municipal Administration for Education” program, which aims to guarantee equitable and quality education for all students. Partnerships would be established with the 59 private schools and resources would be optimized in 31 municipal schools, including the implementation of extended hours. In addition, 101 public schools would be transformed into specialized high schools in areas such as STEM, technology, languages and arts. Vocational schools would receive support with innovative programs in leadership, technology and entrepreneurship.
The “Family at the Center” program would encourage community participation in decision-making, and an education based on community values would be implemented. The San Juan University College would become a first-class university center with new programs and resources, and the Education Mile, an educational corridor that would connect the educational institutions of San Juan would be created, improving infrastructure and promoting collaboration and academic enrichment.
“Today, San Juan does not have an effective measurement, a reliable compilation of educational services in the capital” the candidate noted. “We are going to implement measurement strategies that offer true transparency in all processes, with performance rates, school dropout data, grades and scores, and student, parent and teacher participation.”
“There is no doubt that education is the cornerstone of sustained and dignified social and human development,” González Denton said. “This is why we are proposing this series of initiatives that I just mentioned, which we have called the SMART Municipal Education Plan. … It is a pillar project aimed at improving the quality of education at the municipal level and focusing on the implementation of innovative and personalized strategies that promote the comprehensive development of students.”
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