SAN JUAN – The United States Department of Education delivered this Friday $275 million dollars in funds from the American Rescue Plan (ARPA , in English) to meet the needs of students and teachers in public schools in Puerto Rico.
The announcement was made by the heads of Education for the United States and Puerto Rico, Miguel Cardona and Eliezer Ramos , respectively, during a visit to the Dr. Manuel de la Pila Iglesias High School in Ponce (south), one of the most affected by the tremors that occurred between the end of 912 and beginning of 2020.
The $275 millions of dollars will help meet the needs of students and educators and can be used to offer mental health services, academic remediation, professional development of educators, and partnerships with the community and families, according to a press release.
ARPA funds have also been used to increase the salary of teachers in Puerto Rico since this current month of July, in which educators have received a salary increase of $1,000 dollars per month.
This increase increases by 30 % the salary of the average teacher in Puerto Rico.
Dr. Manuel de la Pila Iglesias High School has been closed for more than two years due to extensive damage caused by earthquakes last year. several years.
For its reconstruction, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has granted more than $700,000 dollars to the Department of Education.
“Schools are a central part of the socioeconomic development of Puerto Rico, and that is why we are allocating funds for the facilities where our future leaders will be trained,” said José G. Baquero, coordinator federal of FEMA disaster recovery in Puerto Rico.
“With the funds allocated to these schools, not only will they rebuild better, but the risks of future natural disasters will also be mitigated,” he assured.
Earlier this year, the Department of Federal Education also approved the use of ARPA funds by the local Department of Education for the repair of short columns in schools affected by natural disasters.
This funding accelerates repairs so that schools and classrooms are safer and more accessible to teachers and students.
Since Secretary Cardona’s last visit to Puerto Rico in July 2021, more of 275 schools have completed the repair of short columns, as reported in the release.
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