Instituto Nueva Escuela serves Puerto Rican public schools that have opted for a public Montessori education as an instrument to achieve a social transformation in their communities. We provide them training, support, resources and we help the community to establish a shared governance strategy that empowers and strengthen the school. This method has been successfully proven in 52 public schools and 8 non-profits. Our vision for 2025 is to be in 100 school communities around the island.
INE's public Montessori Project aims to transform a fragile and bureaucratic education system into a community based model. Public Schools in Puerto Rico mostly serve low-income families. Their communities often live under a poverty cycle that keeps repeating itself because lack of resources and opportunities. For some, public education is the only available hope to break this poverty cycle, having a better outcome in life and to be good citizens.
The Montessori method is world wide renowned as a scientifically proven pedagogy based in a deep respect for the child's potential. By transforming public schools to a Montessori education, disadvantaged children and youth gain access to an education of excellence which otherwise would be out of their economic means. Having an excellent education gives students a fair chance to improve their economic and social conditions and have better opportunities in their adult life.
In the schools transformed by the Montessori method the community has witnessed a positive change in the students' academic performance. Reducing drugs and violence incidents to 0 and stoping dropouts, while at the same time increasing the students attendance to 90%. Our vision for 2025 is to be present in a 100 Puerto Rican school communities that offer public Montessori education of excellence.
