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Terestella González Denton, the top candidate for San Juan mayor, presented her proposal for education in the capital on Sunday.
“Few San Juan citizens know that the comprehensive budget for education in the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget is $46.3 million. San Juan’s education budget is higher than the combined budgets of over 90 percent of cities in Puerto Rico. Are the results in? No. Can more, much more, be done? Yes, and that is what I am here for,” Gonzalez-Denton said in a written statement.
According to the candidate, currently, the San Juan City Government affects only 900 child students, including 1,200 students in three (3) schools and 450 students in the University College, for a total of 2,500 students, with a budget of $46 million.
“That means $18,040 per student. Let’s compare: only six (6) jurisdictions in the American Union invest more: New York, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and Vermont. Yet, academic results can be much better. Because? Because the curriculum is inadequate and outdated. It does not actively challenge the abilities and skills of our students,” the popular candidate said.
In his speech to the media, González-Denton proposed the SMART (High Performance Municipal System for Transformation), whereby school campuses are more closely connected to the realities of the community, to students of functional diversity and, most importantly, to the educational and technological challenges of the current 21st century.
As part of his proposal, he proposed the creation of the Municipal Education Administration (AME) program, which will guarantee fair and quality education to all students. It will establish alliances with 59 private schools and optimize the resources of 31 municipal schools, including the implementation of extended school hours.
In addition, 101 public schools will be transformed into specialized high schools in areas such as STEM, technology, languages and the arts. Vocational schools will be supported with innovative programs in leadership, technology and entrepreneurship.
The Family Hub program will encourage community participation in decision-making and will implement education based on community values.
San Juan University College will become a premier university center with new programs and resources and will create Education Boulevard, an educational corridor connecting San Juan’s educational institutions, improving infrastructure and fostering collaboration and academic enrichment.
“Today, San Juan has no valid metrics and no reliable compilation of educational services in the capital. We will implement a measurement strategy that will provide real transparency in all processes, including performance rates, dropout data, grades and results, and the participation of students, parents and teachers. Education is undoubtedly the cornerstone of sustained and dignified social and human development. That is why we are proposing this set of initiatives that I just mentioned, which we call the SMART Municipal Education Plan, or the Municipal High-Performance Transformation System. It is a pillar project aimed at improving the quality of education at the municipal level, focusing on the implementation of innovative personalized strategies that promote the comprehensive development of students,” he concluded to the candidates for mayor of the capital.
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