Despite Puerto Rico Education Department Secretary Eliezer Ramos Parés saying Thursday would be a regular school day and warning against unnecessary absenteeism during the teachers’ protest in Old San Juan, a visit by Metro Puerto Rico to two public schools in Caguas found a very different picture: few students, reports of teacher absences and parents picking up their children early. At Eloísa Pascual Bairoa III High School, Metro found a reduced student presence.
Two teachers who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals gave differing accounts. One acknowledged that several teachers had been absent, while the other said she saw no crisis inside the school. A security guard confirmed that student flow had been very low and that parents began arriving to pick up their children between 10:30 and 11:00 AM. School administration declined to comment.
At Pedro Millán Rivera Elementary School, Magaly García, a Caguas resident and mother of a special education student, said only three teachers were at the school at 8:00 AM. She was first told more teachers would arrive and classes would run until 2:00 PM, but parents later received calls to pick up their children before noon. Metro also observed very few students there, and the principal gave no statement on how many teachers had reported to work.
On Wednesday, Ramos Parés said: "Tomorrow is a regular school day and our schools will be open to receive students," and expressed concern about messages that could cause unnecessary absences. Meanwhile, teachers and union representatives rallied in Old San Juan on Thursday demanding better salaries, payment of the Teaching Career (Carrera Magisterial) program, adequate working conditions and a dignified retirement. Both schools stayed open, but the disruptions could not be clarified by their administrations.