The Public Montessori project grows in Patillas

This school was born in 2012 when Olga M. Morales, a Casa de Niños Montessori guide, with its director Frances Rivera, set up the first environment to serve 3-6-year-old boys and girls. 

This school is located facing the sea and has beautiful green areas, gardens, and orchards. The school, which serves as a refuge for its neighbors, has water cisterns and solar panels that were brought thanks to Frances and Mercy Corps after Hurricane Maria.

The school is a model of healthy coexistence and a culture of peace, an example of hard work and a high bar. Frances, the school director, celebrates the transformation of her school into an environment of peace and joyfully recognizes as one of the great changes of the school the real participation of families in the school's social and academic project: “the parents began to empower themselves from the school. The parents learned to contribute to the school, to talk at school.''

That story brought to her mind mothers who started as volunteers, then were assistants and today are Montessori teachers, as well as mothers who are now assistants, which has become a source of income for many. Until this year, the concern for many families was: what they would do with their children after sixth grade?

Currently, the Guillermo Riefkohl Montessori School has two Casa de Niños,  two Taller l and one Taller II in process, which means that Olga is no longer alone, now the school offers all elementary levels in Montessori philosophy and methodology. Until this year, the concern for many families was what they would do with their children after sixth grade. 

This concern quickly became a dream and action. Very close to the Montessori school in Patillas was the Lamboglia Middle School which had been remodeled and after two years of use, it was closed without a reason. 

Following this, parents and the Montessori school community saw an opportunity to use the campus as an extension of the Montessori project. They worked hard for three years to get that building.

They managed to contact the new mayor of Patillas, Maritza Sánchez Neris, in her first few days in office, to present her with the proposal to use the Lamboglia school as an annex to the Guillermo Riefkohl Montessori school.

When presented the proposal the mayor immediately agreed and gave her full support.

Frances shares that they will be able to serve Taller II students graduating from elementary this year, and students who dropped out of school last year and are not satisfied with their experience at other middle schools.

This school’s community plan is to work hard this summer to get the school and classrooms ready for back to school in August. The abandoned green areas have already been cleaned and the letter from the Department of Education is expected, where it authorizes the reopening of the school and OMED can enter to fix roofs, install what is necessary, and the community can begin to assemble the classrooms. 

In addition to offering the Montessori model for young people, the school will have a community library and space for older people to take courses and receive essential services without leaving their community. This "community center" is developed in partnership with the mayor.

This story is one in development, so we invite you to follow us on our social networks to learn about and follow the work of this community towards its opening in August of this year.