PRESS RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE ACTING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
PUERTO RICO STATISTICS INSTITUTE AND FEDERAL ENTITY SHARE IDEAS TO IMPROVE THE COACH TRAINING PROJECT IN THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 8, 2019 — Dr. Orville M. Disdier, Acting Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics (Institute) participated in the first meetings this year of the Board of Directors of the Regional Educational Laboratory of the North East & Islands (REL‐NEI), an entity subsidized by the Federal Department of Education. Disdier, who has been a member of the Board of Directors of that organization for some years, reported that during the day, initiatives of great importance for the island were discussed, including Puerto Rico Data Coaches Training, an innovative project that is forming Coaches, within the Department of Education.
“This project is of great importance to the Department of Education because it is through these Coaches, barriers are being identified that may be impeding the development of a culture based on data and removing such barriers. During the meetings with REL‐NEI, we discussed options to continue improving this project,” Disdier explained.
The REL‐NEI's main objective is to carry out scientific research and training aimed at supporting education systems based on empirical evidence. The REL‐NEI translates this empirical evidence into public policy proposals and best practices in teaching and learning processes. REL‐NEI is one of 10 Regional Laboratories and is comprised of Puerto Rico, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Vermont.
Other topics that were addressed and discussed at the meetings were the development of the workforce at the preschool level, learning the English language, effective alternatives to traditional graduation processes, reducing chronic absenteeism, and geospatial analysis to understand barriers to teacher recruitment.
“The mission of the institute is not only to coordinate the production service of the statistics produced in Puerto Rico, but also to promote research capacity and unite academics, researchers and public officials to objectively support government management, in this case, the management of Puerto Rico's public education system. As the official institution in Puerto Rico for the promotion of a data culture, at the Institute we are available to provide our full support to these data coaches from the Department of Education,” explained Dr. Disdier.
Although researchers and academics from the Laboratory for Educational Research and Development (WestEd) and the Education Development Center (EDC) direct most of the research and projects, they work as a team and in collaboration with the governments of all the jurisdictions that make up the REL‐NEI. The Puerto Rico Department of Education and the Institute are an integral part of these efforts. During this and the coming years, the results of these investigations will be announced.
For more information about the REL‐NEI you can visit the following address: https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/northeast/. For their part, they can access data and information at the Institute of Statistics through https://estadisticas.pr.gov/.
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Contact: Idia Martínez
Mobile phone: 787-603-3200
Email: imartinez@upfrontpr.net
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