Education in Puerto Rico

Instruction in Puerto Rico is compulsory between the ages of five and 18, which comprises the elementary and high school grades. Students may attend either public or private schools. As of 2013, the island had 1,460 public schools and 764 private schools; there were 606,515 K–12 students, 64,335 vocational students, and 250,011 university students. In 2021, the average public school size was 355 students. Because of damage caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017, a shrinking population, deteriorating infrastructure, and the Puerto Rican government-debt crisis, 283 schools were closed in Puerto Rico by 2018.

The literacy rate of the Puerto Rican population is 93%; when divided by gender, this is distributed as 92.8% for males and 93.8% for females. According to the 2000 Census, 60.0% of the population attained a high school degree or higher level of education, and 18.3% has a bachelor's degree or higher.

History

Early institutions

By 1509, Juan Ponce de León had requested aid in the diffusion of basic education from the General Governor of the Indies. It is unknown, but likely, that this led to the first school in Puerto Rico. The first school in Puerto Rico was the Escuela de Gramática (English: Grammar School). The school was established by Bishop Alonso Manso in 1513, in the area where the Cathedral of San Juan was to be constructed. The school was free of charge and the courses taught were art, history, Latin language, literature, philosophy, science and theology.

Education would be tied to the Catholic Church from the beginning, as an ecclesiastical license was required to teach. Pious men educated in these schools would be assigned to occupy several offices throughout the Spanish empire. Colonial governors named by the Spanish crown consistently adopted Eurocentric stances that led to a number of political clashes, frequently resulting in the denial of educational proposals, the closing of institutions and the intervention with teachers (which were interfered with, stripped of certification or even exiled). Ultimately, the role of the teachers was persistently monitored by the authorities, who were concerned with the benefit of the curriculum to the stances of the metropole. In 1582, a donation by Antón Lucas allowed for the organization of a grammatical school at Sanct Alfonso Hospital. Another was established at the San Juan Cathedral seven years later with the patronage of Francisco Ruiz. In 1643, Jorge Cambero created a grammatical school at the Santo Domingo Convent at San Juan.

The concept of public school wasn't used on the island until 1739, and even then it operated with loose connection to the government. The first attempt to create a local university dates back to 1750, when physician Nicolás Ruiz lobbied in favor. Fellow doctors Miguel de Mena and Francisco Manuel de Acosta attempted to establish the Universidad de Nuestra Señora de Belén at Santo Tomás Convent in 1770. This coincided with arrangements made by governor Miguel de Muesas to create one at Santo Domingo Convent. In 1788, Iñigo Abad y Lasierra noted his perception that more schools were needed. That year, a school of philosophy was established at the Santo Domingo Convent. In 1795, an unsuccessful attempt was made to move the Universidad de la Española to San Juan following the signing of the Paz de Basilea. Additional petitions in 1797 and 1801 met the same fate.

Higher education and official system

During the first half of the 19th Century, schools (both primary and secondary) founded by a number of individuals, including Carlos Martínez, Valeriano Sanmillán, Antonio Chiesa, Carlos Milano, Ramón de Carpegna, José María de Bobadilla, Juan Prudencio Monclova, Fulgencio Angla, Pedro García, Francisco Boneta and Julián Blanco, along a number of lyceums and other institutions. This also marked the debut of girls schools, beginning as early as 1802 with the one founded by Celestino Cordero. During the second half, institutions like the Colegio de San Juan and the Escuela Superior followed suit. Figures like Román Baldorioty de Castro also led private institutions. In 1809, the governor ordered the municipality of San Juan to take over public education. This marked a move towards a state regulated system.

Most of the students within the public system were divided by a dichotomy composed by the children of wealthy citizens (whose parents could afford education) and those that received aid from the regional governments. It wasn't until January 29, 1812, that black children were allowed by the Spanish authorities to attend, but segregation and state sposored discrimination were widespread. In other matters there was some progress, such as Salvador Meléndez Bruna bringing teaching material from Spain (including Catón Cristiano and Catecismo de la Doctrina Cristiana) and having it reprinted and distributed. The Governor also expressed his official opposition to physical punishment in schools in a piece dated August 17, 1813. The adoption of the 1812 Constitution brought with it orders to build elementary schools in all towns and maintain them.

On May 10, 1821, Aróstegui Herrera requested reports on the status of education to the mayors. He also approached the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País about creating a school based on the monitorial system developed by Joseph Lancaster. The concept reached Puerto Rico within the year, when institutions opened under his philosophy at San Juan. Another would be inaugurated at Caguas in 1839. However, Ramón de Carpagna would later introduce the Wood philosophy to Landcastarian schools as well. The Asociación de Maestros de la Provincia was established, sponsoring the building of a warship named La Ilustración on behalf of the teachers. The teaching of foreign languages including Latin, English, German and French, were widespread throughout the 19th Century with initiatives of the church, schools and individuals. In 1823, experimental physics began being taught at the San Francisco Convent.

On March 4, 1823, the Cortes Nacionales authorized the establishment of a university in Puerto Rico. However, the French invasion and the Second Restoration prevented the materialization. The approval of a new constitution prompted Governor Juan Vasco y Pasqual to include the understanding of the document in the curriculum. The following year another approach was made to the king, meeting the same fate as its predecessors. In 1834, another proposals to create a university was drafted, but ultimately abandoned when the Estamento was dissolved. In 1838, the municipality of Guayama approached the governor about establishing a university at San Juan with an emphasis in medicine, jurisprudence and theology, which received the support of the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País and the Comisión Permanente de Instrucción Pública (both of which proposed additions to the proposed curriculum). Ultimately, despite being forwarded by the Junta Ordinaria de la Sociedad and the governor, the proposal was ignored.

Religious figures as well as authors such as Torcuato Tomo de la Riva, Ernesto Ollero, Juan Prudencio Monclova and, Ramón Martínez Gandía and José Ferrer de Cuoto, among others were responsible for the books studied throughout the island. Competitions in matters such as calligraphy and school festivities such as the Fiesta del Árbol were introduced. By this point, the requirements to be a teacher remained based on the royal provisions from the 18th Century in which candidates were subjected to numerous evaluations by political, religious and certified teachers, as well as profess the Catholic faith and be of "pure blood", with the municipal government leading the process that concluded with the approval of the governor. On December 20, 1838, municipal commissions were given power in the process. The process to fill vacancies or name substitute teachers also involved the government.

On May 12, 1839, black children were allowed in the same institutions as white children, tough separately. Following a racial clash involving teacher Francisco Boneta, governor Miguel López de Baños suggested reimposing segregation in schools. The municipal government considered this troublesome, threading lightly on the topic. On February 4, 1846, the Comisión Superior de Instrucción issued a disposition establishing a race line at schools. In some cases, such as a School at Mayagüez, the separation of students was not enough to prevent wealthy white parents from withdrawing their children from the institutions once black children enrolled. This, in turn, affected the income of the teachers. Multiple initiatives implemented during the following decade responded to ongoing class and racial struggles, with lines emerging between the average local population and the Peninsular and wealthier residents. Awards, were used to promote attendance and such as the First Class Award (established in 1841) given to the best student in Puerto Rico and the Second Class Award given to the next eight. Other recognitions were also given to emphasize matters like hygiene.

The Catholic Church continued its involvement with local education, with Bishop Pedro Gutiérrez del Arroyo beginning the efforts to build the Seminario Conciliar. The institution officially opened on July 2, 1832, with emphasis on religious education and theology, but also featuring scientific education that included mathematics, as well as philosophy and language. The inaugural enrollment was of 33 students, all of which were submitted to a number of religious and health evaluations, a number that increased systematically afterwards and included a dozen poor students. Among its graduates were José Julián Acosta and Julián Blanco Sosa. The Seminario passed to the Society of Jesus at the request of governor José de Lemery. Afterwards, the Jesuits renamed the institution to Seminario-Colegio. In 1848, a school for the deaf was established at San Juan.

Specialized schools emerged during the mid-Century. Rufo Manuel Fernández involved in a series of initiatives on chemistry and physics. On June 27, 1844, he led an initiative to create a university with the support of the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País, which also lobbied to create a college specializing on medicine. After money was collected throughout Puerto Rico, the group approached governor Juan de la Pezuela, who objected and forced the devolution of the money. Other practices such as drawing, mathematics, law, commerce, geography, chemistry, were sponsored by the Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País, operating along similar initiatives established by the crown, government, municipalities and individuals. In 1848, a Music Academy was created under Carlos Allard. Other initiatives included courses offered by the Casino de Artesanos de San Juan. On November 18, 1854, a school focusing on agricultural, commercial and nautical topics was established at San Juan. Military education saw emphasis in 1860 and 1876, with the establishment of the Escuela Militar and Academia de Ciencias y Preparatoria para Carreras Especiales respectively.

The Junta Superior Provincial de Instrucción Pública established by Miguel De la Torre in 1834 was replaced by the Academia Real de Buenas Letras by Pezuela in 1850. It was not until November 6, 1848, that the Comisión Superior Provincial de Instrucción Primaria received the power to evaluate teacher candidates through an exam that attended a number of topics focusing on religion, math and grammar. Governor Juan de la Pezuela created the Academia Real de las Buenas Letras in 1850, which in turn became responsible for recognizing teachers. That same year, an institute for candidates was established at Colegio de la Concepción by Manuel Sergio Cuevas Bacener. However, non-certified women were allowed to open schools for girls.

The number of poor children assigned to a single teacher at San Juan was reduced to 30. However, this change was short lived. By November 18, 1951, Governor Enrique de España and a couple of teachers attempted to reinstate the previous quota or, in defect, for the municipal government to create a new school. On August 5, 1853, the Comisión de Instrucción Primaria sponsored the introduction of the analytical system to the curriculum. On September 22, 1854, governor Fernando de Norzagaray lobbied for a project to have separate schools for black children universally created throughout Puerto Rico. On February 21, 1855, the Comisión de Instrucción Primaria expressed its support for segregation to the mayor of Loíza, even if this meant that black children would have to wait until institutions were specifically built for them. By October, the secretary of the Academia Real de Buenas Letras Martín Travieso proposed the creation of such schools at San Juan.

In December 1856, Ignacio Guasp favored the creation of black schools in all districts and took the matter to colonial governor José de Lemery, with no results. The matter was retaken years later by Governor Félix María de Messina, who requested the creation of these institutions. Criollo José Julián Acosta criticized the status of education in 1860. Despite this, the following year all graduate candidates from Colegio de a Concepción approved their degrees. On June 25, 1862, the municipality of San Juan established the age of eight as the requirement attend school. The following year, this was lowered to 7 years. On June 10, 1865, an Organic Decree lowered it to 6 years and made primary education mandatory. During the next two years, the authorities worked with both parents and mayors to meet this standard, though the working class presented notable resistance based on absence of resources. An official education system was created in 1865. At the time, attendance was compulsory until age 9. On January 4, 1866, a rule set was created for public schools, in which a weekly honor list was established and teachers were tasked with keeping track of attendance and be aware of enrolled students. Tough, information concerning the students had been submitted to municipal governments since the beginning of the century for evaluation. The simultaneous method was adopted for reading and writing. However, with the arrival of Julián Juan Pavía to the governorship, economic guarantees were no longer provided for teachers.

The Organic Decree of July 10, 1865, replaced the latter model with the Junta Superior de Instrucción de Puerto Rico, with municipalities having their own local boards. In 1872, the office of General Inspector was established to supervise schools, which only lasted two years before being revoked by the governor. During this stage there were 122 public schools and about 3,480 students. In 1869, the license for teachers changed from the "Escuela Normal" classification to another that allowed them to teach at any primary school if the regent was certified. In October of that year, Sanz allowed people with pertinent education levels to apply to become Superior Teachers without the need for an exam. However, on February 27, 1876, the Crown ordered the continuation of the tests. The following year, Adrián Martínez Gandía created a practice course for potential candidates at San Juan. Félix María de Messina pursued a reform of the system. Within ten years, the schools were noted to be relying on individuals without proper accreditation, with a curriculum that was insufficient and about 9,100 students. In 1874, efforts were made to emphasize the 1865 decree. Four years later, there were 12,144 students. A number of night schools for adults were established.

The Liberal and Conservative divide

The Instituto Civil de Segunda Enseñanza was proposed in 1873 by Nicolás Aguayo, facing immediate opposition by conservatives. Despite this, the institution opened in November of that year and included among its professors the likes of Agustín Stahl, José Julián Acosta and Pedro Gerónimo Goico. However, in 1874 governor Sanz removed them with the justification that the students were not being taught loyalty to Spain. Francisco S. Alfonzo and Román Baldorioty de Castro made separate proposals to establish institutions with features often attributed to universities. In 1879, the liberal provincial representatives approved a proposal to establish a university, facing opposition from the Partido Conservador which lobbied to have it ignored with support at the Cortes Nacionales. Another proposal was made before the end of the year, this time being disregarded in a Royal Decree.

An organic degree from September 12, 1880, created the Junta Provincial de Instrucción Pública. The teaching of geography was also added to the curriculum. On May 10, 1881, Eulogio Despujol suggested the establishment of free schools to the municipalities, elaborating on an Organic Decree issues the previous year. This faced the opposition of José Gaudier Font. By the end of the Despujol administration, there were 541 schools. In the process it had assigned the same responsibilities to private school teachers as their counterparts in the public system and allowed municipalities to raise the salary of teachers.

A vocational school, the Escuela Professional was inaugurated on November 28, 1883, instructing a number of careers. Three years later, the Escuela General Preparatoria de Ingenieros y Arquitectos was established with similar functions. On July 20, 1886, the National Courts assigned 1,000 for educational purposes in Mayagüez and Ponce along 2,000 for the escuelas particulares. Four years later, 4,000 additional pesos were assigned for the latter.

In 1885, Gabriel Ferrer Hernández lobbied in favor of creating a university, proposing that if the government refused again, then initiatives to send the students to Havana should be approved instead. A project supporting the latter was presented by José María de Caracens on April 5, 1887. The Partido Conservador succeeded in having it retired from consideration. Manuel Fernández Juncos, Gabriel Ferrer Hernández and Juan Hernández López pushed it again, but settled in an agreement to lobby in favor of establishing a local university. In 1888, Manuel Rossy Calderón tried to have a university established at the Ateneo Puertorriqueño in an attempt to fulfill the parameters of the Ley Sobre Enseñanza Privada, which led to a proposal completed with the collaboration of Manuel de Elzaburu Vizcarrondo. Parallel to this, more especialized programs continued being founded, like the fencing classes taught at the Liceo Militar. The Instituto de Música created at San Juan focused on artistic education.

The Institución de Enseñanza Superior was inaugurated on October 10, 1888 and featured instruction on Philosophy and Letters, Universal History, Literature, Law, Critical History of Spain, Medicine, Mineralogy, Sciences, Botany and Zoology, and Greek. During the following years, the institution expanded its curriculum. On February 9, 1891, the Instituto Provincial de Segunda Enseñanza was opened at San Juan. In 1893, the Peninsular courts assigned 7,000 pesos to fund secondary education. Public Education was organized into 500 centers by 1897 and within a year the Consejo Insular de Instrucción Pública replaced the previous format.

American administration

The Foraker act of 1900 established the commissioner of education in Puerto Rico and created the department of public education. The commissioner of education was appointed by William McKinley, President of the United States. The first commissioner 1900 – 1902 was Martin Grove Brumbaugh, who was the first professor pedagogy at the University of Pennsylvania, and was president of Juniata College. He reorganized the public school system, encourage both pupils and teachers to become bilingual in Spanish and English, and built a normal school for training teachers. Brumbaugh's education policies promoted Americanization, which followed the policies of Puerto Rico's two political parties, which both were committed to turning Puerto Rico into an American state. Samuel McCune Lindsay, appointed by the Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States served as Education Commissioner 1902 – 1904 continued the policy preparing Puerto Rico for American statehood. Laws passed in 1899 required education in Puerto Rico to consist of a public system for ages six to eighteen, to limit the student/teacher ratio to 50:1, and to be coed. The 1900 Department of Public Instruction became the Department of Education in 1989.

Julian Go argues that the primary goals of American policy were:

Under American control, Puerto Ricans and Filipinos would vote in free elections, take up office, help devise legislation, and administer the colony's daily affairs-first in local (municipal) governments and later in national legislative assemblies. The native officials would be given more and more autonomy as they moved through this system, slowly learning their so-called "object lessons" in American-styled governance. Local governments would be granted more duties and functions, the legislative assemblies would be allowed to devise laws "with less and less assistance," and in general American control would be slowly loosened. The underlying principle of political education was thus: "Free self-government in ever-increasing measure."

According to Go, in actual practice there was less and less local autonomy and more and more centralized control of education. The problem was that rich local elites based in the Federal Party had taken local control, and were not prepared to introduce local democracy against their personal interests. Go argues that the local elites were corrupt and used the system for their own personal benefit, including pocketing a slice of the local government budget.

The commissioner of education led efforts to introduce American culture in preparation for a democratic society that would be admitted as an equal state to the union. English-language instruction was dominant until 1939, when Spanish was made the official language of instruction. English is currently taught as a second language beginning from first grade and continuing straight through senior year of high school.

Following American principles of separation of church and state, public school education became independent of religious instruction. The teaching of US history, replacing Puerto Rican historical figures with American ones, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and the celebrating American holidays were means to Americanize students on the island. Americanization was meant to uplift the locals. The United States founded schools and trained both US and Puerto Rican teachers in education. Puerto Rican teachers were sent to the United States to receive training. In the island, US teachers would train Puerto Rican teachers. By 1913, the US government had invested 14 million dollars on public education in the island and 1,050 schools had been built in rural areas.

Protestants from the mainland arrived to build a non-Catholic educational infrastructure. Presbyterians were highly active and founded many primary and secondary schools. Presbyterian missionaries all spoke Spanish and were committed to supporting the local Hispanic cultural heritage.

Despite the dominance of Protestant and secular public education, Catholic schools also expanded during the early twentieth century. During the colonial era, there had been only three Catholic schools, but by 1917, there were twenty-seven. Another twenty-five had been founded by 1940.

Trade unions and reform

The adoption of Law 134 of 1960 and Law 139 of 1961 allowed numerous employees of all government agencies to organize and collectively negotiate. However, it was Law 45 of 1998 which allowed teachers and other central government employees the right to properly syndicate. In Puerto Rico, the main education unions are the Puerto Rico Teachers Association (AMPR), the Teachers' Federation of Puerto Rico (FMPR) and Educadores Puertorriqueños en Acción (EPA). The AMPR was created in 1908 as the Asociación Puertorriqueña de Maestros, being joined by the Asociación Insular del Magisterio a year later. In 1966, teachers from Escuela Vocacional Miguel Such created the FMPR as direct competition to the AMPR, eventually outnumbering it and affiliating with the AFT. Educadores Puertorriqueños en Acción (EPA) was created in 1977, as a platform to promote the continuity of gratuitous public education.

By 1980, a study conducted by the Interamerican University revealed that the public only gave a "C" grade to the education system. In 1988, a project known as Hacia el Logro de una Escuela Puertorriqueña más Efectiva was drafted, identifying a number of areas to work with including curriculum, evaluation, availability of personnel and incentives, among others. Proposals for education reform led to Law No. 68 of 1990 (or Ley Orgánica del Departamento de Educación), which attempted to improve the system. Law 18 of 1993 (or Ley para el Desarollo de las Escuelas de la Comunidad) and its amended version Law 48 of 1994, created the "Community School" and included autonomy on a variety of areas and promoted inter-sectorial participation. In September 1993, EPA proposed a protest against Law 18 (or Ley para el desarrollo de las Escuelas de la Comunidad) with the support of the Department of Work & Human Resources and the Health Department, believing that it represented a risk against the permanency of education employees. The strike materialized on November 3, after the organizations felt that the government was unwilling to negotiate. Ultimately, the project was amended and an evaluation period of 18 months enacted for the "Community Schools" that it proposed.

By the 2000s, the failure of Laws 18, 48 and 149 was considered evident by the teachers. In 1994, the CGE gauged the perception that the teachers had of the public system, of which 46% qualified it as "regular" and 40.5% "excellent" or "good". Two years later, the Department of Education queried secondary level educators on a number of matters, receiving an average of 2.4 (equivalent to a "C"). Law 149 of 1999 was approved as a new organic law for the Department of Education, including most of the points of its predecessors but also including the teaching of English.