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Old 09-26-2013, 05:32 PM
 
396 posts, read 362,917 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boricuarosa View Post
She cannot afford private school education at the moment. So, she's looking for a good public school in the northern region, not San Juan. Would schools in wealthier areas be any better, like Dorado, Condado, parts of Guaynabo, etc? Or is it only those in the worst neighborhoods attend public schools? She'll have elementary and middle school aged children attending. Thank you again. Your honesty and insight are both very helpful.



if her kids don't speak any Spanish and they will be going to elementary and middle school and ALL the classes are in Spanish except the English class which is a joke and probably her kids would speak better English than the teachers the question is which PUBLIC SCHOOL has a good BILINGUAL system for ENGLISH ONLY speaking students and the answer is NONE that I can think of. Im trying to look in San Juan but they are private.


The classes in the public schools in P.R are over-crowded to begin with, unless they offer some professional tutoring one on one during school and after school, I have no idea how are they going to keep up with the classes of Math, advance Spanish, Science, Social Studies, Biology, History in a language they don't understand.....the only guarantee is they would ACE is the English class which is very basic and dumb down and is taught as a second language which her kids don't need.

That's like taking my kid in 9th grade and putting him in all French school and expecting him to keep up with the french kids.


Im being honest here so your friend wont be shock when she faces reality when she gets down there and her kids are put in the Twilight Zone.
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Old 09-26-2013, 06:24 PM
 
396 posts, read 362,917 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by clip314 View Post
Just let me put in my 2¢ before I'm accused of hijacking this thread. LOL To repeat what I said, "good public schools in the U.S. are dependent on the tax base of the community, the higher the tax base the better the schools". There might be one or two public schools that are pushed by the media thus having us believe that all is well, but world statistics on American education don't lie.

Public schools in Puerto Rico do not depend on the tax base of the community, thus in a way they are more democratic. However a lot of schools depend on Federal transfer funds that are highly controlled by a political class who siphones funds to other things.

Charter schools are a mixed bag, some are good, some aren't ( watch movie waiting for Superman, all parents with school age children should watch it). The best Charters have a lotto system, the mediocre ones are dime a dozen.

I don't want to discourage Boricua Rosa , but as most posters here have agreed, quality public education in Puerto Rico is difficult, but not impossible to get. However if you still insist, the best way to find if a school meets your standards is asking parents how they feel about so and so school. Ask the teachers where they send their children.

Bottom line: We all have different standards about education. Some people have standards that are similar or different from ours.

.





1) Clip, I disagree with you again. More money doesn't always equal better schools. Puerto Rico public school system is a fine example of this. That's the far left liberal mentality, that throwing more money to the problem that will make it better. Its how the system is control and manage and the fact is the more control the parents, teachers, local school administrators and how involved the community is at the local level the better the system is.



2) I have traveled all over the United States coast to coast from Virginia, Florida to small towns like Astoria, Oregon and Washington State and I have been to many SMALL TOWNS that you would label "MAYBERRY" type of towns that have low taxes and not a lot of money and they have one of the best school systems in the country.




3)
Quote:
Public schools in Puerto Rico do not depend on the tax base of the community, thus in a way they are more democratic.
and who's fault is that? is not like the central government and municipals don't collect any tax. They tax everything that moves and they have NOTHING to show for and the public school system being "democratic" is a joke, there is nothing democratic about a centralized public school system that is run by political bureaucrats and cronies who fill their pockets at the expense of the communities.

Democracy is having the locals by counties have control and decisions of their public schools. Democracy is giving the locals the power to vote school administrators directly in and kick them out when they are not doing their jobs and have control of what kind of education they want in their communities not from a centralized system that is controlled and run by the politicos far away and they are looking for the best interest of their political parties and careers.


4) The fact is Puerto Rico pays more local taxes and hidden taxes than any small town in U.S. and the small towns here have a better school system overall and they spend way less.....so the question is, what are they (Puerto Rico's Central government) doing with all their revenues? You and I know the answer to that and the answer is not to throw more money.



5) Charter Schools are not all perfect but is a better option of not doing anything in the inner cities where the public schools have failed and the local political bosses and the unions don't want any reforms because they don't want to lose any control of all the money and they don't want accountability or anything that will mess with the status quo.
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Old 09-26-2013, 07:09 PM
 
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I think the question regarding the public school system might be a reflection of the turmoil being a commonwealth and not a state has caused. There is this love/hate relationship with the US and PR seems to be in a state of limbo...neither fully Latin American nor fully Estadounidense (US). This leaves those who believe English is the better language and those who believe Spanish is better. Since the US has had a hand in how the schools are run here in PR history, both PR and the US must be to blame.

It's really hard to believe that out of an entire island, not one regular public school is good??? Unless it is connected to a university or specialty (like the Arts, Technology, etc). Those public schools are all high schools. What about the elementary and intermediate level schools? Is there any hope for my friend? Plus, I've always taken education, public or private, as good as the parent's involvement. Parents must be involved and in support with PTA, homework, preparation, etc. Would the schools fair better if parents were demanding better and more involved? Would a small Catholic or Church school that's inexpensive fair any better? Somehow I doubt it.

Last edited by boricuarosa; 09-26-2013 at 07:32 PM..
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Old 09-26-2013, 08:03 PM
 
396 posts, read 362,917 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boricuarosa View Post
I think the question regarding the public school system might be a reflection of the turmoil being a commonwealth and not a state has caused. There is this love/hate relationship with the US and PR seems to be in a state of limbo...neither fully Latin American nor fully Estadounidense (US). This leaves those who believe English is the better language and those who believe Spanish is better. Since the US has had a hand in how the schools are run here in PR history, both PR and the US must be to blame.

It's really hard to believe that out of an entire island, not one regular public school is good??? Unless it is connected to a university or specialty (like the Arts, Technology, etc). Those public schools are all high schools. What about the elementary and intermediate level schools? Is there any hope for my friend? Plus, I've always taken education, public or private, as good as the parent's involvement. Parents must be involved and in support with PTA, homework, preparation, etc. Would the schools fair better if parents were demanding better and more involved?


sorry but the federal government was NEVER set up to take control of the public school system. Those powers were always left to the states and territories to manage and control.

Im not a big fan of the federal government taking over for what is the responsibility of the states but in this case in Puerto Rico is to a point of no return, I would make the exception for the Feds to take over the public school system in the island just like I would love the FBI to take over all violent criminal cases in the island from the local inept police to bring down the high crime rate but that's not a reality. The federal government is not set up for that under the constitution.



you asked:
Quote:
I've always taken education, public or private, as good as the parent's involvement. Parents must be involved and in support with PTA, homework, preparation, etc. Would the schools fair better if parents were demanding better and more involved?
yes, it would work if the system was control by the locals and counties and take the politics out of it, like it was meant to be. Its a lost cause in Puerto Rico because every decision is being made or ignore from the Central building in San Juan by the party cronies and to get anything done you have to be part of the party committee of the party in power or have connections within the party. Its nearly impossible to fire bad teachers and bad administrators because of the teacher's Union that have block any reform and accountability from them and the political parties that protect their cronies sucking the system dried.

To get anything done in Puerto Rico from the public sector you have to belong to one of the 2 main parties and have political connections. To get any promotion within the government agencies is based on party affiliation and loyalty to the party. Im not making this up, that's why my grandparents and parents gave up and moved to the states. Its that bad. I have never seen anything like it.


now your friend better be prepared for this if she plans of living down there and rely on government agencies in the island and deal with the public school system.
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Old 09-26-2013, 09:13 PM
 
Location: On a Long Island in NY
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I believe public education on the island should be decentralized with the state Dept. of Education only handling standardized testing, administration of Federal educational grants and the like - you know like how it works elsewhere in the US. Each municipo would have a popularly elected school board that would handle the more local matters. I also believe the Education Secretary should be a non-partisan position independent of politics.

Of course this will never happen and political hacks in San Juan will continue to control everything.
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Old 09-26-2013, 09:40 PM
 
396 posts, read 362,917 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WIHS2006 View Post
I believe public education on the island should be decentralized with the state Dept. of Education only handling standardized testing, administration of Federal educational grants and the like - you know like how it works elsewhere in the US. Each municipo would have a popularly elected school board that would handle the more local matters. I also believe the Education Secretary should be a non-partisan position independent of politics.

Of course this will never happen and political hacks in San Juan will continue to control everything.

Agree..........I would add reform the English education which is mediocre. Not because of statehood or independence but because of the global economy and mastering the English language is no longer an option but mandatory to have a good career and compete in the market.


But the forces of the PPD and PIP will block it and kill it any time but they will send their kids to the private schools and to the states to get a 1st rate education in English.
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Old 09-27-2013, 02:59 PM
 
12,030 posts, read 9,276,266 times
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I once attended public schools in PR for a few years. However, my mom was a school teacher and my aunt was the "Principal". This was convenient because my mom did not have to drive me anywhere.

I mostly hang with the kids of other school teachers and we were placed in the better classes at all times. We received preferential treatment 24/7. This was way back in the early 1960s when things were not as chaotic as today. Nevertheless, the school was filled with low class tugs, criminals, and druggies. Today these schools are probably a 1000 times worse. It would be suicidal to place a child in these schools.

I suspect, the OP is a US resident and he has no clue about how bad it really is. It was really bad 50 years ago and I was heavily sheltered by the teaching staff and my mother and aunt who were there all day long.

There were a few good kids here and there, but that was 50 years ago---------a completely different era. Sadly, OP does not know the situation.
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Old 09-27-2013, 03:47 PM
 
396 posts, read 362,917 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Julian658 View Post
I once attended public schools in PR for a few years. However, my mom was a school teacher and my aunt was the "Principal". This was convenient because my mom did not have to drive me anywhere.

I mostly hang with the kids of other school teachers and we were placed in the better classes at all times. We received preferential treatment 24/7. This was way back in the early 1960s when things were not as chaotic as today. Nevertheless, the school was filled with low class tugs, criminals, and druggies. Today these schools are probably a 1000 times worse. It would be suicidal to place a child in these schools.

I suspect, the OP is a US resident and he has no clue about how bad it really is. It was really bad 50 years ago and I was heavily sheltered by the teaching staff and my mother and aunt who were there all day long.

There were a few good kids here and there, but that was 50 years ago---------a completely different era. Sadly, OP does not know the situation.




LOL....when most of the public schools in P.R. have barb wire fences and a huge IRON GATE to enter and exit and the school have to be on lock down during business hours, you know they have some serious security issues.



In the states especially the districts where they have a large population of Latino and Asian immigrants, they have a bilingual system so those students won't be set up for failure. They have trained teachers for that and programs.


In Puerto Rico public school system , they don't have that for students coming from the mainland who only speak English. The reasons are they don't have trained teachers fort that, they don't have the budget and lets be honest, there is not a wave of English only speaking students moving to Puerto Rico to go to the public schools........the majority that come to the island because their parents are on business , work for the federal government or military, they send their kids to private schools where they have those programs and qualified teachers.


Any parent that puts their English speaking only kids in the public school system in P.R. is setting them up for failure.
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Old 09-28-2013, 06:01 AM
 
107 posts, read 300,386 times
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We are referring to the lack of a strong English program, however, I believe the condition of the schools is the most troubling. Why are some schools nicely maintained and look new with huge lots of land and others look like prisons with barbed wire and appear to have never been maintained in decades? There seems to also be a decrepancy with schools that are federal vs. community schools. I found the Escuelas Ecológicas in Dorado, Caguas, Culebra and I believe in the Cabo Rojo area as well. Since these schools are newer, might they offer more, have more resources, air conditioning? Are there any public schools with air coniditoning....maybe the School of San Juan? Would a more recently built school that has the space, green space, bigger classrooms and newer resources serve any better than an old, decrepit run-down school? Or, are all schools just about equal as far as what they are able to offer?
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Old 09-28-2013, 11:24 AM
 
12,030 posts, read 9,276,266 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by boricuarosa View Post
We are referring to the lack of a strong English program, however, I believe the condition of the schools is the most troubling. Why are some schools nicely maintained and look new with huge lots of land and others look like prisons with barbed wire and appear to have never been maintained in decades? There seems to also be a decrepancy with schools that are federal vs. community schools. I found the Escuelas Ecológicas in Dorado, Caguas, Culebra and I believe in the Cabo Rojo area as well. Since these schools are newer, might they offer more, have more resources, air conditioning? Are there any public schools with air coniditoning....maybe the School of San Juan? Would a more recently built school that has the space, green space, bigger classrooms and newer resources serve any better than an old, decrepit run-down school? Or, are all schools just about equal as far as what they are able to offer?
Like I said:

Many years ago there were a few schools that were not that bad. Life was a bit different back then. The problem is that your kid will go to school with la "ralea" 24/7. I saw that 50 years ago. Today is a 1000 times worse.
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