Back to Montessori school in Toa Baja

Since the beginning of 2020, the directors (principals) of Montessori public schools have been meeting every week dreaming of the return to school safely.  

The director Aracelis Cruz Caraballo of the school Ernestina Bracero Perez, was on board with other directors of the project to return and preparing to receive her students, but something that led her to reaffirm that the opening was necessary was to listen to her grandson say Covid-19 had taken away his friends.

  For Aracelis, another reason to transition from virtual classes back to in-person was that '' we at schools were the eyes, the arms, we were the ones who observed, investigated, referred, but when that student is already at home, we can't. The same person who is committing the abuse is not going to say I abused '', this is referring to the rise in child abuse on the island, an issue that worries her greatly.

Puerto Rico’s students have been taking virtual classes from home since March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

So with the objective that the children return safely, the process and protocol that was established in the school Ernestina Bracero Perez was one where the entire school community participated, teachers, families, faculty, the Department of Education, and the administration of the town of Toa Baja.

For Aracelis the key was the preparation they carried out since early 2020 and the integration of all the parties. This allowed the school community to know what to do before the government's notice of reopening schools.

A safe return

The school opened on March 10th, 2021. The school entry time was staggered for the students starting at 7:40 in the morning. Upon arrival at school, students had their temperatures taken and their hands disinfected. There, classroom assistants were waiting to take them to their class environments, where their teacher would receive them.

That was the case of school teacher Paquita Cuevas Santos and classroom assistant Diana Medina of Casa de Niños, who received four students Monday and Wednesday and another four Tuesday and Thursday. On Fridays, the school would be thoroughly disinfected so no students or staff were on received.

The students arrived with their traveling box, where they carried their materials that they would use for their school day. Upon reaching their class environment, each student had their own shelf, table, and chair.

Paquita accepts that the children surprised her during the three weeks they went to the environment because none of them cried, they followed the entire protocol of distancing and the use of masks, so she had no problem with them

"It was a super gratifying experience," she said.

The teacher recognizes her own happiness to see her students arrive to the class environment and see their happy faces.

For this "Casa de Niños" teacher, a return to the environment was and continues to be a necessity. She regrets that other students in her class, who were to participate in phase 2, were unable to join the school due to the most recent closure.

I think we took a step forward and are ready for August, because we have the protocols in place already, and it was possible to practice with the children who came, '' the teacher mentioned, referring to these three weeks of class

The teacher, as well as the principal, are in accordance with the rigorous protocol that their school and class environments used, and they remain hopeful that the schools can open soon.

Paquita expressed having felt very comfortable in the environment with her students.

As an anecdote, she tells us that by delivering the "Cajitas Viajeras" (Montessori school supplies) a mother let her know that her daughter, who is new to the Montessori environment and attended the three weeks that the school was open, asks every day when she will return to school.