Meet the Montessori Education Assistant Secretary

Marlyn Rodríguez Fernández grew up in the town of Vaqueros de Bayamón, but she also had her field days in Utuado and Naranjito, where her parents were born. Although she likes the beach, the countryside and mountains are her favorite spots.

Marlyn studied K-3 education at the University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras Campus, she is Jerezana, although she has two master's degrees, one in School Library Administration and another in Educational Technology Instruction System from other educational centers.

If we were to describe Marlyn we would say that she is a deep and simple person, studious, she lives in love with her work with the students, is familiar and warm with everyone, children and adults. Appreciate the countryside and nature of our island. She is distinguished by the respect she has for the other, by her high expectations when it comes to the education of her country, by her commitment to the public school of our island, her hard and consistent work, and her responsibility for the common good. It is distinguished by its tranquility in the face of crisis and difficult moments. She does not lose the north, nor the peace, and always, always, have a smile.

Her first experience with Montessori was in her high school years at the UPR of Río Piedras when she was able to observe a Montessori school and carry out a research project on its pedagogy. As a result of her participation, she was offered to be an assistant at Casa de Niños, thus having her first experience as a children's teacher. It is there were, seeing the commitment of the teacher-guides, the order and freedom that this educational model provides, the integration of families, and the healthy relationship between staff, family, and community, she fell in love with the system and made it part of her life.

Marlyn came to public school in 2001 when she was hired to be the librarian for the first public Montessori school in the country, the Juan Ponce de León school. She tells with joy and mischief that she read about the project this school was starting, saw the announcement for special recruitment, and when no one else showed up, she obtained the place of Librarian. She became the architect of the library of the Montessori school that was born and later would serve as a model for many other schools. She quickly joined the Juan Ponce de León school collective, of which she has been a part ever since.

Working in Juan Ponce Marlyn witnessed order, freedom, the richness of the Montessori curriculum and after a few years of working with the school guides, she fell in love with Taller I and decided to get certified at this educational stage in 2005. Since then, has served hundreds of children, and has work hand in hand with the faculty of Casa del Niño and the Montessori elementary school in the construction of a library that is in harmony with the Montessori curriculum, with the stages and interests of the kid. The library became a “magical” place for students of all levels. At times, they had to make special plans for recess and noon hours to accommodate the huge number of students who wanted to read in their free time. Marlyn worked as Taller I Coordinator at the beginning of the INE. In 2014, along with three other Montessori guides, she founded what we know today as the Montessori Assistant Secretary for Education. Under her leadership in that office, the number of schools in the project multiplied from 25 to 45 schools. In 2018 she returned to the Juan Ponce de León library. From there, during the pandemic, she led the "Montessori en Casa" project that made it possible for thousands of students to continue their “school” from a distance.

‘’Faced with the right that we all have to a good education, Montessori provides an education of dignity and excellence. To make this available to all of Puerto Rico, I understand that it’s necessary and an extraordinary task, ’’ said Marlyn about the Montessori public school project in Puerto Rico.