About Us
We believe that a better education is achieved by working in collaboration with all sectors in a community.
About Us
We believe that a better education is achieved by working in collaboration with all sectors in a community.
Mission
We want to promote collaborative efforts to improve the quality of public education, and expand access to opportunities in communities with high levels of poverty and inequality in Puerto Rico.
History
2010
How we started
In 2010 several local foundations that share a common goal of improving education in Puerto Rico, got together to collaborate and work as a collective. This collective of foundations, formerly known as the Puerto Rico Donors Education Collaborative (PRDEC), decided to invest in capacity building in seven local non-profit organization, focusing on advancing children and youth’s education.
2014
Refocused
In 2014, the collective of foundations decided to shift from a grant-making model to an outcome-driven initiative, targeting student improvement in a specific educational issue, and a specific group of participants in a selected geographic area.
The result: Focus on the island-wide problem of postsecondary non-enrollment and completion. According to the 2013 US Census only 52.7% of the 18-19 year old population in Puerto Rico was enrolled in a postsecondary institution.
2015-2018
Pilot Program
In 2015, the collective changed its name from PRDEC to ColaborativoPR education towards postsecondary success. With this new vision, we began working with 10th grade students from two secondary schools in the town of Loíza, Puerto Rico, a community with one of the highest poverty levels in the Island. From 10th grade through their 2018 graduation we worked together to prepare them to apply to and register at a postsecondary institution. The results were promising, with a 100% graduation rate and 94% registering at a postsecondary institution in Puerto Rico.
2019-2020
Continuing and Expanding
During the 2018-2019 school year we continued to monitor and support the 2018 Pilot Class, and developed a strategic plan to expand our services to other students in Loíza. In August 2019 we began working with our second cohort, Loíza’s 10th grade students and future graduating class of 2022. Our aim is to continue our work in Loíza’s secondary schools, reaching every student from 10th-12th grades, providing them with access to a postsecondary education, following their progress through obtaining a degree, and evaluating the progress and results of the 2018 Pilot Class. These results and evaluations will provide input to expand the Program in other Puerto Rico communities.
