Public Montessori for Peace in Puerto Rico

Casa Familiar 2025–2026 Impact Report | Public Montessori Education in Puerto Rico

Because of your generosity, families across Puerto Rico are discovering they are not alone.

Thank you for believing that meaningful educational transformation begins not only in the classroom, but also at home and within the community. Your support of Casa Familiar, Instituto Nueva Escuela's Family Support Initiative, is helping strengthen the relationships that allow children to learn, families to grow, and school communities to flourish.

At Instituto Nueva Escuela, we believe that when families are heard, connected, supported, and engaged, they become active partners in their children's education and catalysts for stronger school communities. This year, thanks to your generosity, we continued turning that vision into reality across Puerto Rico.

What Your Support Made Possible

During the 2025–2026 school year, Casa Familiar provided comprehensive family engagement, mental health, and community wellness services in 14 Public Montessori schools across nine municipalities in Puerto Rico. 

Together, we created opportunities for families to strengthen relationships, access essential resources, and become active participants in their school communities.

Among this year's accomplishments:

• 291 parents and caregivers participated in 55 Family Support Groups, where they explored topics including emotional well-being, emotional connection, safety, self-care, resilience, and positive family relationships. 
• We organized 105 community engagement activities, reaching 2,927 participants through educational awareness campaigns, recreational activities, Community Conversations, psychosocial workshops, and initiatives that promoted mental health and family engagement. 
• 2,189 community members participated in Community Health Fairs, connecting families with healthcare providers, mental health professionals, universities, government agencies, foundations, and community organizations. 
• Students, families, educators, and community members participated in 161 Psychosocial Workshops, strengthening emotional well-being, resilience, healthy relationships, and positive school environments.
• Families also benefited from Community Conversations, Community Information Tables, Story Reading Sessions, educational and recreational activities, Complementary Wellness Therapies, and a continuum of individualized mental health services—including Individual Therapy, Family Therapy, and Emotional Stabilization Services—ensuring that children and families received the level of care they needed at every stage of their journey. 

Every activity shared the same purpose: strengthening families so they can become active partners in building healthier schools and stronger communities.

How Families Become Changemakers

While these numbers reflect meaningful growth, the true impact extends far beyond participation.

Every parent who joins a Family Support Group gains new tools to navigate challenges at home. Every caregiver who participates in a workshop builds greater confidence in supporting their child's learning. Every family that joins a Community Conversation or a school activity develops stronger relationships with educators, neighbors, and other families who share the same commitment to their children's future.

These experiences create ripple effects throughout the entire school community.

Families become more engaged in school life. They volunteer their talents, participate in shared decision-making, support guides and assistants, and help create school environments where every child can develop to their fullest potential.

This is the heart of Casa Familiar.

We do not simply provide services to families—we invest in families because they become one of the greatest strengths of their school communities. When families grow stronger, schools become stronger. And when schools become stronger, communities become places where children, families, and educators can thrive together.

What's Next

The need for this work continues to grow.

As we look toward the coming year, Instituto Nueva Escuela remains committed to expanding opportunities for families to access quality mental health services, strengthen their leadership, participate in shared school governance, and continue building healthy, connected school communities throughout Puerto Rico.

Your generosity makes this possible.

Every family you help strengthen becomes an investment in a child, a classroom, a school, a community, and ultimately, the future of Puerto Rico.

Thank you for believing in Puerto Rico's families and for walking alongside us as we continue transforming Public Montessori education—one family, one school, and one community at a time.

Links:

• Encuentro Familias Montessori