Senator, Education secretary-designate meet over Guayama school needs
By The Star Staff
Looking ahead to the start of the new 2023-2024 school year, which begins on Aug. 11, Guayama District Sen. Héctor Santiago Torres met with Education secretary-designate Yanira Raíces Vega this week to address first-hand several issues that afflict the school community of the district he serves.
“During this first meeting, I had the opportunity to express to the secretary-designate the concerns that the mayors, parents and teachers of the 15 municipalities that make up our senatorial district of Guayama have sent me about the preparations prior to the start of the school semester,” Santiago Torres said.
The meeting covered issues such as the lack of janitors, the lack of school counselors, the loss of school security guards and the refurbishing of schools, among other issues.
Among the issues that Santiago Torres emphasized and that he said must be addressed as soon as possible are the Residential Centers of Educational Opportunities (CROEV by its Spanish initials) schools and the Óscar Porrata Doria Specialized School for Languages. The CROEV school in Villalba faces problems of low enrollment and a lack of communication between the director, the faculty and the parents of that community. The Óscar Porrata Doria School in the Río Hondo neighborhood of Comerío, meanwhile, has requested the construction of four classrooms, since when young people reach eighth grade they have to move to a regular school because the specialized school does not have space to offer grades 9-12.
The latter school offers courses in Spanish, English and French, is among the top 10 schools on the island and has full enrollment.