Minister of Education Hands Over New School in Santo Domingo East

Minister of Education Hands Over New School in Santo Domingo East
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 1/25/2012

The Ministry of Education (MINERD in Spanish) inaugurated the new Professor Juan Bosch School last Wednesday, January 25th. The school, located in the Brisas del Este sector of Santo Domingo East, was built with an investment of $23,842,849 Dominican pesos.

The Professor Juan Bosch school, belonging to Educational District 10-06 of Mendoza, has 11 classrooms with one for pre-K, with the capacity to serve 760 students on its three floors. 

The inaugural ceremony was overseen by the Minister of Education, Josefina Pimentel, who was accompanied by Mr. William Sifres, Deputy Minister in charge of MINERD´s School Buildings Department. Also present were civil and military authorities, students, teachers and parents.

“The building we are handing over today is the lovely fruit of MINERD´s intensive labor, which works with enthusiasm and tenacity to dignify the physical school buildings and other fundamental aspects of the teaching process, all under the wise orientation of President Leonel Fernández,” said the Education Minister in her speech.

The Professor Juan Bosch school, belonging to Educational District 10-06 of Mendoza, has 11 classrooms with one for pre-K, with the capacity to serve 760 students on its three floors. 

The school also has a director’s office, library and cafeteria. There is a fence around the property, a water tank and pump for drinking water, an electric plant, a mini-sports field, embossed concrete on the front of the building, sidewalks around the perimeter and a small garden.

Minister Pimentel recalled that the MINERD gave the community of Brisas del Este various mobile classrooms last September 19, 2011. These were built at a cost of $10,589,850 pesos, to be shared among several pre-K and elementary classrooms, which satisfied the community´s request for the building of the Manuel Aurelio Tavárez Justo School.

Pimentel said the inauguration of the Professor Juan Bosch School brings to 60 the number of schools that have been opened under the current Ministry of Education, in office since June 10th of last year. Eleven of them were inaugurated in the past six months in the Santo Domingo province. The Minister said they are building 11 new schools in this district and six more are in the process of offering bids which means that by August of this year, there will be another 28 new school buildings ready to be handed over to the communities.

At the ceremony, a group of young children gave Minister Pimentel a bouquet of flowers and she gave the children sports equipment. She later cut the ribbon to open the school then handed the keys to the director, Mireya Aquino Encarnación. She then took a tour of the installations.

Also speaking at the opening ceremony was the Senator from the province of Santo Domingo, Cristina Lizardo; Argentina Henríquez, director of Regional 10 Santo Domingo, who gave the welcoming speech and Mrs. Iluminada Rodríguez, president of the Association of Parents, Teachers and Friends of the School who gave the appreciation speech. For his part, Father René Diyé blessed the school building.

Also present with the Minister at the directors´ table was the Deputy Minister in charge of School Buildings, William Sifres; Julio Peña, Director of School Maintenance; Ms. Mireya Aquino Encarnación, Director of the new school and the Mayor of Santo Domingo East, Juan de los Santos.

Minister of Education, Josefina Pimentel, speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the Professor Juan Bosch School. At the table, from left to right: Deputy Minister William Sifres; Mayor Santo Domingo East, Juan de los Santos; Senator Cristina Lizardo; Julio Peña, Director of School Maintenance; Argentina Henríquez, director of Regional 10 Santo Domingo and Mireya Aquino Encarnación, Director of the new school.

Minister Josefina Pimentel cuts the ribbon to officially open the school. She is accompanied by William Sifres, Deputy Minister in charge of School Buildings; Senator Cristina Lizardo; the Mayor of Santo Domingo East, Juan de los Santos and Mireya Aquino Encarnación, Director of the new school.