The Yale Alumni Service Corps (YASC) will work in the community of Cantera, an under-served and densely populated neighborhood in San Juan. Surrounded by bodies of water to the north, south and east, Cantera is a peninsula that stretches out into the contiguous San Jose and Corozos lagoons. The community was founded in the early 20th century by squatters from other parts of Puerto Rico. In the following decades, they successfully resisted all attempts to evict them. But the threat of eviction remains present (source IPS News). The community was heavily damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and earthquake in 2020, but the government has made significant strides to rebuild many areas.
YASC will partner once again with friends at Instituto Nueva Escuela (INE or New School Institute). Founded in 2008, INE is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to improving Puerto Rican students’ academic and socio-emotional outcomes through the implementation of Montessori education in the public school setting. It is currently operating in 53 schools and growing. Our service trip will focus on the Escuela Manuel Elzaburu y Vizcarrondo, a pre-k through sixth grade, public elementary school with 261 students, located in the heart of Cantera. The school was badly damaged by Hurricane Maria and the earthquake in 2020, but it has been recently renovated. Principal José Ricardo De Jesús and school staff are very much looking forward to hosting our group of volunteers in March 2023!