A judge has denied a request by Julia Keleher, Puerto Rico's former secretary of education, to have her trial moved from the U.S. territory to the mainland.
The Puerto Rican government announced Jan. 17, roughly three weeks after earthquakes began hitting the island, that of the 561 schools that had been inspected for damage, 326 were deemed eligible to open.
In a federal indictment, Keleher is accused of using her position as education secretary to get a sweetheart deal on an apartment, in exchange for allowing a company to acquire public school land.
Puerto Rico's schools were closed Wednesday as the U.S. territory continued to take stock of damage caused by a series of earthquakes, and it's not clear when they'll reopen.
The former education secretary of Puerto Rico who was arrested on fraud charges last summer said the media environment and public awareness of her situation will make it impossible for her to get a fair shake on the island.
Schools that have welcomed students relocating from Puerto Rico after devastating storms in 2017 are not receiving their fair share of federal aid, a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers says.
The president of Puerto Rico's teachers' union said her decision to step down was not connected to questions about her husband's contracts with the U.S. territory's Department of Education.
Puerto Rico's education department "lacks critical mechanisms for safeguarding Restart and other Federal program funds from fraud, waste, and abuse," the U.S. Department of Education's office of inspector general says.
Political volatility has renewed the spotlight on major education policy changes on the island over nearly the past two years, including charters, vouchers, and school closures.
One of the Puerto Rican governor's top officials labeled the teachers' union as a group of "terrorists" in messages that were made public by an investigative reporting team.
Julia Keleher, the former education secretary of Puerto Rico, has been arrested by federal agents in Washington on charges related to fraud and corruption, a U.S. attorney confirmed.
Education leaders in Puerto Rico say ensuring students are prepared for jobs on the island is key to the U.S. territory's long-term future. But will its efforts be enough to make young people stay?
The replacement of one interim education secretary with another highlights ongoing uncertainty about the U.S. territory's public schools, which educate more than 300,000 students.
Julia Keleher is leaving her position as Puerto Rico's top K-12 official, but will serve as an adviser at the island's education department to help with the leadership transition and ongoing policy changes.
The island's teachers' union says decisions about changing traditional public schools to charters are being made in the dark, but the education secretary says that's a misinterpretation of the process.
Puerto Rico's education secretary warned that if President Donald Trump diverts disaster-recovery funds to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, she doesn't have other money to conduct school repairs.
Pastorek, who helped lead the overhaul of New Orleans' schools after Hurricane Katrina, will help the island with everything from ESSA to philanthropic support as its schools recover from Hurricane Maria.
In a Heritage Foundation speech, Frank Brogan said the federal government would make Every Student Succeeds Act accountability a top priority.
Earlier this year, Puerto Rico surveyed schools to measure the mental health needs of students and educators after Hurricane Maria. They're using results to help schools with the greatest needs.
Traumatized students in need of counseling. Schools without electricity. That's the picture of life in schools in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands painted by witnesses at a forum organized by House Democrats.
The study from the Youth Development Institute of Puerto Rico also found that many special education students have not received the services they're entitled to in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
There has been a tremendous amount of upheaval for education on the island since Hurricane Maria, including hundreds of school closures and a significant drop in enrollment.
In the midst of all the devastation following Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans turned to their schools for food, shelter, and comfort.
Teachers and administrators are still grappling with lingering storm damage, the impact of school closures, and how best to address the trauma left by last September's devastation.
These data offer a glimpse into the traumatic upheaval Puerto Rico’s education system has undergone since Hurricane Maria hit the island a year ago.
A year after Hurricane Maria disrupted the island and its schools, students in one small community share their thoughts as they move into a pivotal new year.
At the start of the school year, a group of Puerto Rican teachers walked off the job, highlighting tumultuous disagreements about the island’s education system.
Nearly a year after Hurricane Maria, tensions are evident as the island copes with continued repairs, school closures, and divisions over charter schools and other changes.
The ruling on a handful of schools appears to smooth the way for the closure of hundreds more, though the island’s civil rights commission has criticized the process.
Our interactive map shows the locations of the 263 schools Puerto Rico plans to close before the 2018-19 school year begins, as well as the 270 schools set to enroll displaced students.
The move would leave Puerto Rico with 828 public schools in a system that currently serves about 320,000 students. The planned closures would fuel growing debate over the direction of the island's school system after Hurricane Maria.
Puerto Rico's legislature has approved a major education bill that will overhaul the island's educational system and pave the way for vouchers, as well as schools intended to resemble charters.
Months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island, meeting the emotional needs of staff and students alike remains a crucial piece of the school system's recovery effort.
School districts with large Puerto Rican communities are hiring bilingual staff and monitoring student evacuees for signs of trauma.
Five months after Hurricane Maria disrupted the island’s already struggling schools, education leaders disagree about how to get the system back on track.
One isolated, the other in town, the two schools share a host of challenges in an area of the island hardest hit by Hurricane Maria five months ago.
Even in schools that are open, Hurricane Maria’s aftermath continues to pose physical and educational challenges for educators in still-recovering communities.
In this collection of videos, see how the people of Puerto Rico are responding to the devastation of Hurricane Maria and working to rebuild their lives — and their schools.
A positive transformation for the island's long struggling schools might be crippled before it can even start—or never take place at all.
A fraction of the island's schools have opened again in the weeks since Hurricane Maria, while educators work hard to assess storm damage and open those that remain viable.
Though still closed to students, schools in many storm-ravaged parts of Puerto Rico serve as key staging areas for relief efforts, including food preparation and shelter.
Teachers in the coastal city of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, have been cleaning up their high school in hopes of welcoming back students later this month.
From funneling supplies to helping students and teachers get back on their feet emotionally, the island’s 40,000-member union plays a range of roles in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
The renowned chef and restaurant magnate is teaming up with Puerto Rico's education agency to organize school-based cooks around the island.
Odaric Rodriguez Ortega misses his teacher and the classes that may not resume again till late November, even as he worries about those who have been hurt by Hurricane Maria.
School "should be ... where the community can come together and deal with these issues," said the principal of a K-8 school that hosted a read-aloud activity.
Practicing their vowels and arithmetic only goes so far for a pair of brothers making a classroom their home for now in the wake of Hurricane Maria.
In this collection of videos, see how the people of Puerto Rico are responding to the devastation of Hurricane Maria and working to rebuild their lives — and their schools.
