Facilitating a Network of Rescued Schools in Puerto Rico
Project Sponsors: Mariana Reyes from Taller Comunidad La Goyco
Team Members: Jacob Abrogar, Jocelyn Bourgoin, Madison Brown, Evelyn Kellum, Francis Polito
Project Advisor: Professors John-Michael Davis and Alizé Carrère
Abstract: Over the past 16 years, the Puerto Rican government closed over 600 schools. School closures have negatively impacted surrounding communities in myriad ways which led community groups to “take back” and repurpose abandoned schools into community centers. Our project collaborated with Taller Comunidad La Goyco, a community center in San Juan, to learn about and support these rescued school projects. Through a multimethod approach, we identified 161 repurposed school projects (35 are non-profit “rescued school” community centers), interviewed 10 schools, and hosted 2 community meetings. Our results identified common motivations, services, and challenges faced by rescued school projects and generated a framework and initial resources for a solidarity-based rescued school network.
