While the Governor downplayed the resignation of nearly a dozen experts he had convened to decentralize and depoliticize the agency, the federal government asked him to put the community’s needs at the forefront of the initiative and ensure the right voices are seated at the table.
Limited resources, overworked teachers, and abandoned recreational areas are part of the challenges faced by an academic program that for years has been a source of talent and international medals for Puerto Rico.
More than 40 years ago, Alejandro Benítez began training athletes as a routine after teaching in a classroom from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. At 74 years old, and already retired from teaching, he is still a hammer and discus throw coach.
Educators have also not received the promised incentive for teaching classes on the island municipality.
Education canceled the contract or constitutive letter of what would be the branch of the South Bronx Charter School for International Cultures & the Arts (SBCSICA) in Puerto Rico. The termination of the agreement came after the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) ordered the agency “to show cause regarding the awarding of the contract,” 20 days after the CPI revealed that this charter had accusations from the Office of the Comptroller of New York and that an incorporator of the Neighborhood Association For Inter-Cultural Affairs–Puerto Rico (NAICA-PR), Richard Izquierdo Arroyo, pleaded guilty to embezzling funds from another nonprofit organization he chaired in New York.
The teacher prep period time is up. The bell rang and the students started coming into the classroom. The 50 minutes of preparation were spent calling parents who had not followed up on their children’s performance in school and completing referrals to the social worker. Those 50 minutes are the time teachers have available each day, in theory, to organize their class material, upload information about their students to the Department of Education’s (DE) digital archives, or get other tasks done. But the educator — who prefers not to identify herself — teaches five groups; at least 125 students in total.
