Students begin their school semester at their school in La Parguera

After the students of the Alejandro Tapia y Rivera school were relocated to the Montessori Urban School in Lajas in October by the Department of Education (DE), the community of La Parguera is now celebrating that the school is open and once again receives students. On January 31st the students crossed the gate of their school with joy and hope. 

The announcement of the reopening of the Alejando Tapia y Rivera school was made on Tuesday, December 21 at a community meeting with the Acting Secretary of the DE, Eliezer Ramos Pares. 

Both the community, SAEM and OMEP authorities from the Mayagüez area have worked hard, hand in hand to prepare the school campus and receive their students as they deserve. Today 56 students enjoy a space to develop, learn and contribute to our country. 

''I felt good and happy,'' said student Maria Laura Quiñones from Secondary, about the reopening of her school. The young woman shared that on the first day of classes the parents received the students with breakfast and then had a meeting in the dome, a day full of emotions.  

Maria feels comfortable, free while enjoying the nature and open spaces that this school offers. 

For this student, the fight for her school is an experience that she will always carry in her heart, and she feels satisfied and grateful with her family and the families of her classmates who fought day and night for them to have their school re-open. "We did it as a community." 

This school has the support of different community and local and international organizations. The school has the support of professors from the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus to make this the first Montessori school with a focus on marine sciences.  

Principal Dennis Villanueva, who arrived this semester, is pleased that students have safely returned to their school. As he expressed, he has had excellent communication with parents and faculty during this time. 

Villanueva wants the project to continue growing, and asks the pertinent authorities to give him the necessary support and comply with the agreements they made to the community. 

They celebrate to the sound of bomba and plena

The community celebrated its first week on campus to the sound of bomba and plena together with the Pleneros de la Cresta, a musical group from Ciales.

This space served to educate about our culture, but also to celebrate the history that they have been building from La Parguera community in Lajas.