There is something powerful about traveling to another island not simply to see something new, but to listen, learn, and ask what might be possible at home.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been part of a delegation traveling to Puerto Rico to learn about the growth of its public Montessori movement and the communities that helped make it possible.
The St. Croix Foundation uses the term “System Bypass” to describe the creation of new pathways when existing systems are no longer adequately meeting the needs of a community. Puerto Rico’s Montessori movement is a powerful example of what can happen when parents, educators, community members, nonprofit organizations, and government come together around a shared vision for children.
What started with one community and a group of committed families and educators has grown into a network of approximately 60 public Montessori schools across Puerto Rico.
But for me, the most meaningful part of this experience was the people.
Working alongside Dr. Ana María García Blanco and the Instituto Nueva Escuela team was truly transformational. They did not simply share their schools, their work, and their experiences with us. They welcomed us into their community. They opened their classrooms, shared their stories, answered our questions, and allowed us to see both the beauty and the complexity of their journey.
And then they called us “Sister Island.”
Those words meant more than I can fully express. There was an immediate sense of connection—a recognition that although Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have our own histories, cultures, challenges, and educational systems, we share something fundamental: we are island communities invested in the lives and futures of our children.
As an educator, I went into this experience with many questions about educational transformation. I left with even more questions—but also with two very clear takeaways.
First, we need to bring humanity back to education.
Education is about curriculum, standards, assessment, and accountability—but at its heart, it is about people. Children. Families. Teachers. Communities. Relationships. Belonging.
We cannot lose sight of the human beings at the center of the system while we work to improve the system itself.
Second, parents and communities can be direct partners in making change happen.
Not simply voices to be consulted. Not simply participants in meetings. But partners in identifying challenges, imagining solutions, building new pathways, and creating meaningful change.
Puerto Rico reminded me that transformative change does not always begin with a large institution or a top-down initiative. Sometimes it begins with a group of people who care deeply about their children and their community and are willing to ask, “What if we tried something different?”
For me, Vanessa, these are the lessons I am bringing home to the Virgin Islands.
I’m not coming back with a blueprint to replicate Puerto Rico’s journey. I’m coming back with a renewed belief in the power of human connection, community voice, courageous educators, and families as partners in change.
I am deeply grateful to the St. Croix Foundation for creating this learning opportunity and inviting us to be explorers—not just of another place, but of new possibilities for our own community.
And I’m especially grateful to have shared this experience with such an incredible group of St. Croix explorers. It was a special joy to discover that our group included several familiar faces and fellow island alums: Deanna James and her sister Deborah James Pickard (CDS), Ashley Scotland, and Daja James (GHS). What a gift to learn alongside people who are themselves part of the story of our island.
Puerto Rico, thank you for welcoming us, teaching us, and reminding us that meaningful change is possible when we choose to build it together.
From one Sister Island to another—thank you.
The Island is our Classroom. The World is our Responsibility.
