"Antilles Elementary School" ? ( Fort Buchanan)

Hi ,

We are planning in Moving to PR next year with our 2 girls ( 4 and 7 ). My husband works for Federal Government and the girls can go to "Antilles Elementary School" for free ( we will not live on the military base ). I can't find much information about this school and we would not be able to visit before enrollment. We can consider other private schools in the are , but much rather be the free one if is good. Any opinion ??? Thank you !

To my knowledge it is a good school, but several members may know more about that school.

Somebody posted a web site with all the schools in PR with different ranking, but I am unable to find the post.

Check this link http://public-schools.startclass.com/l/ … ary-School
For some reason there is little information, no class sizes, no teacher to student ratio, etc. Weird. But that is the place most military send their children.

unfortunately we do not have members in the military that can add any comments, sorry.

Andreap,
We were stationed in PR from 2013-2016. We don't have kids but friends of ours seemed to like the schools in Fort B. You should check with your husband's department - they usually assign a sponsor to incoming members and provide info on all sorts of things - schools included. The coast guard gave us lots of resources when we arrived. Hope this helps!

I've heard it's a good school but that may just be because the local schools are so bad. That said, I've never heard anything bad about it and it's probably solid.

I obsess over my kids' education, as do most parents, and I'd take the base's school over any private school on the island, especially considering your kids' ages. Better to invest the money saved on private school tuition to prepare for college costs.

And if you feel that they need to be pushed more academically, pay for an online tutor like one through a service such as varsity tutors. 

Try to live close to base because the traffic around there is terrible.

Thank you so much! Unfortunately the Federal Government doesn't do that. We moved around from different states and we are always left alone figuring thing out by ourselves :( Luckily this page is great resource.

Thank you so much . That is why I am finding so hard to get any information about this school :(

Thank you ! Which neighborhoods would you recommend to live closer to the base ?

You should talk with your sponsor, but here are some areas to consider.
The base is in the town of Guynabo that is an option,
Around there you have Santurce, Bayamon, Sabana Seca, Levitown, Toa Baja.

Be warned that these areas around the base are highly populated, so you are dealing with traffic and higher crime than in PR in general. You may want to consider a gated community to live in as it affords a little better security.

Dorado is also close by but it is expensive for a military salary.

Caguas may be a stretch for driving.

Due to traffic and small roads / stop signs / traffic lights, etc to get to the major roads, you are looking at a minimum of 20 minutes to get to the base, more than likely around 35 minutes.

Check classifiacados for rentals and remember that you are likely renting just 4 walls, there may not be a stove or refrigerator. Get them used in that case, preferably gas (propane) stove to save on electricity. A fill of a gas tank for a tall bottle is around 100 and will last you 4-6 months, the same will be a lot more for electricity specially if you use an electric oven a lot.

I'd focus on Guaynabo. It's also the best run town in PR, government-management-wise.

Unsure where your husband will be working but Guaynabo is well placed centrally considering that most Fed employees work in either (1) the federal courthouse in Hato Rey, (2) the Coast Guard base or federal bankruptcy court in Old San Juan, (3) the VA, which is in Guaynabo along its eastern border, or (4) Ft. Buchanan, in Guaynabo.

Guaynabo is the area of PR most like a good community on the mainland.

There is a new Major (Alcalde) for Guynabo today. The last one was pushed out because of sexual harassment on or about May.