PRESS RELEASE

Statistics Institute and Instituto Nueva Escuela manage to include Montessori schools and questions about the impact of Hurricane Maria in an important school survey

The 2019 edition of the YRBSS for Puerto Rico included students from Montessori schools for the first time and asked about the effects of the hurricane on these students

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute joined forces with the Instituto Nueva Escuela, achieving for the first time that Montessori schools are included in the 2019 edition of the survey Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YBSS). The YRBSS is a survey conducted every two years to students in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 across the United States and its jurisdictions, including Puerto Rico. The questions cover various topics related to students' health and risk behaviors, and as a result, statistics are produced on bullying, electronic harassment, violent behavior, sexual behavior, drug use and on students' eating habits, among others.

In addition, it was possible to include five additional questions, related to the impact of Hurricane Maria on students, from all the schools participating in the study in Puerto Rico. Approximately 1,498 students from public schools in Puerto Rico participated in the self-administered survey, and of these, a total of 110 students belonged to Montessori schools, of which 53% were male, 47% female, and 27.2%, 54.5%, 16.0% and 2.3% were in grades 9, 10, 11 and 12, respectively. Although it is expected that by the end of this year the Institute of Statistics and the Instituto Nueva Escuela will produce an official and detailed statistical report on the results of this survey, here are some preliminary results regarding hurricane questions in students under the Montessori philosophy:

• 80.4% of students reported that they spent a month or more without electricity in their homes.
• 98.9% of students reported feeling sad or hopeless after the impact of Hurricane Maria and due to the lack of electricity.
• 47.1% of students reported that they spent a month or more without drinking water service in their homes.
• 100% of the students reported feeling sad or hopeless after the impact of Hurricane Maria and due to the lack of drinking water.
• 77.7% of students reported that they were unable to attend school for a month or more because it was closed or unable to reach or access it.

“These preliminary results show us the enormous impact that the passage of Hurricane Maria had on these Montessori school students. In previous editions, these students, under the Montessori philosophy, were left out of this important survey. However, thanks to the teamwork of both institutes, we have been able to make them visible,” said Dr. Orville M. Disdier, executive director of the Institute of Statistics.

For their part, Dr. Ana María García Blanco, executive director of the Instituto Nueva Escuela, and Mr. Cesar Ostolaza of the Evaluation and Research Division said: “We are very happy with the invitation from Dr. Orville M. Disdier to participate in this study. It is important to have reliable data in the face when making decisions about the practices and services we will provide to our students. Their voices are essential in defining the public policies for which we are choosing. It is imperative to take into account the emotional state of young people, especially based on the natural and social phenomena they have been through when it comes to “building” a school. It is with them and from them that we must build it.”

The Instituto Nueva Escuela is a non-profit entity that seeks to transform the public education system in Puerto Rico through Montessori philosophy and methodology. For its part, the Statistics Institute of Puerto Rico is a governmental entity with fiscal and administrative autonomy with the mission of coordinating the statistical production service of government entities. To learn more about the Instituto Nueva Escuela you can access the website: www.inepr.com. To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Contacts: Idia M. Martínez, R‐28, 787‐603‐3200, and Lourdes Burgos, R‐27, 787‐562‐2932

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PRESS RELEASE

DR. MARIO MARAZZI‐SANTIAGO

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

U.S. Energy Information Administration includes electricity generation data in PR

This makes it possible to individually access data from each ESA generating plant, among others.

San Juan, PR, July 12, 2018 — For the first time, data on each generating unit in Puerto Rico are accessible and have been included in the inventory of U.S. Energy Information Administration (LIA) which means a great achievement for the transparency of related information by the Electric Power Authority (EEA) and other energy companies in Puerto Rico.

This was confirmed by the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute), representative of the Government of Puerto Rico to the EIA and which has been working for several years to integrate data from Puerto Rico into the statistical inventory of that federal entity. The EIA conducts several annual and monthly surveys of companies and entities that work in the energy industry in the United States, including the electricity sector. They allow us to know in a more timely manner the evolution of Puerto Rico's energy system.

In the case of Puerto Rico, previously it only conducted an annual survey of companies and entities in this sector. Since 2014, thanks to the coordination and initiative of the Institute, the ESA began to take part and participate in monthly electricity sector surveys that allow us to perceive short-term changes in consumption and in the price paid for electricity in Puerto Rico. Now, data is added that allows us to geographically visualize where the generating plants have been located and how much each one generates, among other details. Previously, information could only be accessed globally.

The executive director of the Institute, Dr. Mario Marazzi-Santiago, stressed the importance of continuing to add ESA statistics to the monthly surveys carried out by the EIA, since they allow us to evaluate sales, consumption and price more frequently, among other important aspects. “This is another great achievement for the transparency that our government aspires to, in every area. We will have monthly indicators of the operational status of each generating unit, which can only benefit Puerto Rico, just as the Government has announced a plan to profoundly transform the Electric Power Authority,” said the Executive Director of the Institute.

The data can be accessed through the Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. It can be seen that before 1958 all the plants were hydroelectric. While with few exceptions, those that were built and started operations between 1958 and 2009 run on oil and are still in operation. Renewable energy sources, including solar and wind, were added in 2011. After Hurricane Maria, which hit Puerto Rico in September 2017, most of the plants are operating. Some wind and solar plants have not yet been able to resume operations, but they hope to be able to do so this year.

By law, the Institute represents the Government of Puerto Rico before the EIA. In 2013, the Institute recommended that the EIA include ESA in its monthly survey. By 2014, the fruits of this initiative began to be seen with the inclusion of Puerto Rico in one of the monthly surveys. From then on, the working sessions between the EIA and the ESA were achieved, which has allowed the above-mentioned achievements.

The Puerto Rico Statistics Institute is an autonomous governmental entity responsible for coordinating the Government's statistical production service to ensure that the data collection and statistics systems, on which public policies are based, are complete, reliable, and have quick and universal access. The Institute has in its inventory, accessible through www.estadisticas.pr.gov, about 300 statistical products. In addition, it is a custodian and provides access to over 100 data sets or “data sets” through www.data.pr.gov and to over 40 tables and more than 6 thousand indicators through: www.indicadores.pr.

In addition, as the leading entity of the State Data Center (SDC) of Puerto Rico, the Institute manages the SDC portal, which contains the main statistical reports and publications of the U.S. Census Bureau on Puerto Rico, specifically those that are most in demand, such as annual population estimates; the Puerto Rico Community Survey (Puerto Rico Community Survey) and official statistics on Puerto Rico's 10-year population and housing censuses, among others. The Puerto Rico SDC portal can be accessed through: https://censo.estadisticas.pr/.

For more information you can visit our website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. In addition, you can follow us on social networks through Facebook accounts (statistics.pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico).

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Press Contact: Sandra Morales Blanes/(787) 688-0401

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The process to develop Puerto Rico's First Human Development Report begins.