Both the Mayor of San Juan Puerto Rico Carmen Yulin Soto Cruz and CPS board member Jaime Guzman made unexpected visit to the Community as a Campus Strategic planning Committee meeting of April 14, 2016 held at the Roberto Clemente Community Academy Parent University. The mayor, who was in town to discuss the Puerto Rico fiscal crisis and to visit Oscar López Rivera, the longest held Puerto Rican political prisoner, spoke about her cities fiscal surplus and financial stability given the overall fiscal crisis in the island caused by predatory lending and hedge fund investors who are pushing for a control board to cut the minimum wage in half and to have the island sell its natural recourses. In addition, Mayor Carmen Yulin proposed several partnerships between her town’s schools and the Roberto Clemente Community Academy to include teacher training immersion in Puerto Rico, university scholarships to study in Puerto Rico and an opportunity to display student work of the school in the upcoming ESPN coverage of major league baseball in Puerto Rico that will mark Roberto Clemente Day and honor his contributions to the sport and human service. Jaime Guzman, the lone Latino on the CPS Board of Education also made an impromptu visit and witnessed the Mayor’s talk and added his enthusiasm to ensure educational access, equity and success for all learners in the Chicago public school system. With a background in teaching he shared his intimate understanding of what teachers, students and community partnerships means in the process of educational success. Carmen Yulin also visited Oscar López Rivera during April 16-18.
