2023-07-10 17:10:49
The governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia, announced the appointment of Dr. Yanira Raíces Vega as the new secretary of the Department of Education of Puerto Rico (DEPR).
The designation would be the fifth that Pierluisi Urrutia has made since he arrived at the Santa Catalina Palace. Prior to Raíces Vega, Elba Aponte, Magali Rivera, Eliezer Ramos and just a week ago Ángel Toledo López, were appointed to occupy the same chair.
The appointment of Toledo López, which caused a stir mainly in the Legislature, was withdrawn last Friday by the governor, when the Senate called itself to meet him and it was anticipated that he did not have the votes to be confirmed. Senators from both the New Progressive Party (PNP) and the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) filed reservations with Toleado López, mainly due to comments he made on his social networks and which criticized the work of the then PPD governor, Alejandro García Padilla.
Now, Pierluisi Urrutia opted for Raíces Vega, who has “extensive experience as an educator, advisor and pedagogical researcher.” The name of Raíces Vega sounds for the maximum chair in the DEPR since the departure of the now ex-secretary, Elba Aponte.
The designee has held various positions in the PRDE for more than 20 years and served until today as regional superintendent of Bayamón. She also worked as an Assistant Secretary for Educational Planning and Development, and a Specialist in Teacher Research.
Likewise, she has been interim director of the Center for Educational Research and Innovation and, later, she became the assistant secretary of Educational Transformation, Planning and Performance. In 2020, she directed the administrative work of the Juvenile Institutions and Correctional Schools Program.
“Dr. Raíces is a leader within the Department of Education and has collaborated on multiple projects that have been successful, including the modernization and construction of schools under the 21st Century Schools program and the development of platforms such as the Teacher Evaluation System. and Online Enrollment, which promote digitization processes in the agency. As regional superintendent of Bayamón, she has stood out for her diligence in administrative processes and the openness in communication with the different school communities, which I am sure will continue to promote from her position as her secretary. I have been emphatic that education is the pillar of the development of society and, therefore, it is a priority for my administration. For this reason, I have appointed a professional who has the qualities, the skills, and the experience to lead such an important agency,” said the governor of Raíces Vega, who comes from a family of educators in the public system.
In the private sector, Raíces Vega was a university professor at the Central University of Bayamón and at the Caribbean University. In addition, she was a lecturer professor at the Colegio Universitario del Este.
Dr. Raíces Vega has a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences and a master’s degree in Evaluative Research from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras campus. She also has a doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.
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