The lack of aid and response to the needs of the Puerto Rican people after Hurricane Maria has been inexcusable and shameful. Yet, the response by U.S. Secretary of Education DeVos and the PR Education Secretary Julia Keleher, to shutter one third of the island’s public schools appears to be calculated and swift. Both secretaries are proponents of charter schools and the closings appear politically motivated as an attempt to privatize public schools.
Last year the island’s governor Ricardo Rossello and Education Secretary Keleher closed 167 public schools. Now the plan is to close 273 more. Among the public schools being closed, 56 received an excellent rating from the Puerto Rico Department of Education, 245 are elementary schools and 15 are distinguished Montessori schools.
The closures are said to be in response to the decrease in population. However, the population has decreased by 9 percent over the past seven years, while 35 percent of the schools will be closed. The schools set to receive students from the closing schools are said to be too far away, and some have problems with facilities and lack of clean water.
I was able to visit some of the impressive public schools in Puerto Rico. In November 2007, as the Orange County Public Schools Service Learning Coordinator, I participated in an exchange with Florida and Puerto Rico’s Learn and Serve Programs. We visited four schools in beautiful Barranquitas, Puerto Rico.
The students led the tours for the Florida teachers, explaining their service projects and providing hands-on activities for us. We visited a high school with a construction project where students refurbished homes of elderly residents. We visited a house to show where students were busy framing doors and windows. At a middle school on the mountain, we learned about their recycling project and an impressive gardening projects, including a hydroponic garden where they grew food for the community. At a high school, students asked us to join them in their river clean-up project. They showed us how they tested the water and explained how they didn’t just clean the river, but educated the community on keeping it clean. We also visited a high school with computer repair and auto repair projects. I learned that at least one of these schools is targeted to close. My heart breaks for the students, parents and communities where public schools are closing. Public education is the cornerstone of our democracy and public schools are community anchors. How can anyone think that this is a good decision?
More than 6,000 educators, 60,000 students and countless family members will be impacted by these school closings. Puerto Rico educators, parents, teachers, mayors and community members are protesting this ill-conceived plan. Will you stand in solidarity with our sister union and with the people of Puerto Rico to protest these public school closings? Please join me in signing the petition today at this link.
We also need to stand with the Puerto Rican teachers, students and families who have evacuated to Orlando. Last week I demonstrated with Senator Victor Torres, Vamos4pr and Puerto Rican evacuees who asked Governor Ricardo Rossello to request an extension to the FEMA deadline for temporary housing. Thousands of families who came to Central Florida post-Maria were scheduled for eviction from their hotel rooms. (Learn more here.) An extension was granted to May 14th but with stricter requirements. Many families want to stay in Central Florida where there are schools and jobs.
I invite you and your families to join me next Saturday, April 28th to stand with our Puerto Rican sisters and brothers by marching with CTA in the Puerto Rican Parade. The theme of this year’s parade is ‘A New Beginning’, which is a hopeful refrain for many who have come to our community seeking jobs and a secure future.
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