Aida Díaz, president of the Teachers Association of Puerto Rico (AFT) denounced the privatization of many of the island’s public schools, calling for those affected by the closures to “create a human shield to protect our education” on April 25 at the Capitol.

Speaking of hard-fought battles to advance education she said, “… never have we witnessed an effort to dismantle our educations system as Governor Rossello and Secretary Keleher intend to do.” They first closed 167 schools, then awarded operators with 100 charter schools. Now they want to close another 283 schools, for a total of 450 schools (35% of all schools) closed in less than one year. This would result in more than 8,000 displaced teachers and affect thousands of families and students.