education

Teacher makes up classes

To date, 69 schools around the country have still not opened for the school year because of problems with the buildings.

The vast majority remain closed because of air quality issues related to fiberglass insulation. The Ministerio de Educación (Meduca) is months behind in the program to remove fiberglass from the schools.

Because of this, some educators have devised creative means to make up for the lost class time.

At Escuela Severino Hernández, in San Miguelito, classes are being held in churches and private homes near the school. First grade teacher Daniel Morrison started holding classes in his home on the first day the school was closed. Other teachers quickly followed suit, while administrators sought the help of local churches for other classes.

Administrators at nearby Escuela Nicolás del Rosario are considering using the Centro Regional Universitario de San Miguelito to hold classes. A potential battle is looming between Meduca and teachers unions when it comes time to make up the missed classes. Teachers have opposed using the mid-year break to make up the lost days.

For teachers such as Morrison, however, missed classes will not be an issue as he continued working even though the school wasn't ready.