Blogger Steven Singer reports that parents and children of a school in Puerto Rico are fighting to protect its contents and to persuade the government to reopen the school.
For more than 80 days, about 35 parents and children have been camping out in front of their neighborhood school in the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico.
The Commonwealth government closed the Jose Melendez de Manati school along with more than 150 others over the last 5 years.
But the community is refusing to let them loot it.
They hope to force lawmakers to reopen the facility.
Department of Education officials have been repeatedly turned away by protesters holding placards with slogans like “This is my school and I want to defend it,” and “There is no triumph without struggle, there is no struggle without sacrifice!”
Officials haven’t even been able to shut off the water or electricity or even set foot inside the building.
The teachers union – the Federación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (FMPR) – has called for a mass demonstration of parents, students and teachers on Sunday, Aug. 23. Protesters in the capital of San Juan will begin a march at 1 p.m. from Plaza Colón to La Fortaleza (the Governor’s residence)….
Unfortunately, things look to get much worse before they’ll get any better.
The government warns it may be out of money to pay its bills by as early as 2016. Over the next five years, it may have to close nearly 600 more schools – almost half of the remaining facilities!
Right on cue, Senate President Eduardo Bhatia is proposing corporate education reform methods to justify these draconian measures. This includes privatizing the school system, tying teacher evaluations to standardized test scores and increasing test-based accountability.
“Our interest is to promote transparency and flow of data through the implementation of a standardized measurement and accountability system for all agencies,” Bhatia said, adding that the methodology has been successful in such cities as Chicago.
Chicago? Really? As usual, there are moguls and captains of industry behind the machinations, ready to sacrifice the education of children in Puerto Rico so the bond holders are repaid.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thank you so much, Diane, for mentioning my story on your blog. This is getting zero coverage in the mainstream media. Your advocacy means so many more people will get to see it. Solidarity with those brave teachers, students, parents and community members marching today in San Juan against school closures and corporate education reform.
I also must thank Aixa Rodriguez for bringing this story to my attention and Mercedes Martinez for talking with me about what’s happening in her home. Also thanks to Gus Morales and Wilma de Soto for your strength and encouragement.
Sigue la lucha.
Like all the manufacturing companies before them, suddenly we will turn around and wonder where all the public schools went. Like all the jobs that disappeared with the companies, we will also wonder were all the teachers and students went. And when we look back and wonder how we all got so uneducated and subservient…oh wait we won’t look back and wonder because we won’t remember or understand what we are missing because we won’t be able to make educated decisions. Isn’t that the real plan?
I hope we continue to hear about the corporate raid on Puerto Rico. It looks like they are developing a strategy that they can “scale up” and use anywhere in the world that their greedy little hands can suck in local accomplices. The story in Puerto Rico is sordid, and it brings new meaning to the term “ugly American.”
No kidding!