Santo Domingo.- The first day of the 2026-2027 school year began this Monday with an attendance that, according to public school principals consulted by De Último Minuto in sectors of Greater Santo Domingo, was higher than that recorded during the start of the previous school period, although a significant portion of students has still not joined the classrooms.
At the Juventud en Desarrollo Primary School, located in Cristo Rey, principal Luz Benecia Muñoz described the attendance recorded during this first day as “quite satisfactory” and highlighted the enthusiasm shown by the students upon returning to the educational center.
“I felt very happy because the children came,” expressed Muñoz when assessing the students’ behavior during the start of the school year.
The director reported that during the morning session, 188 students attended out of a total of 246 enrolled students, while in the afternoon session, 138 attended out of an enrollment of 143 students. She explained that, although one hundred percent attendance has not yet been reached, the number of students present allowed academic work to begin normally.
“My front was full of children”, recounted Muñoz, who assured that the students arrived “happy, cheerful” and “very enthusiastic” to their first day of classes.
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Director expects attendance to increase during the week
The director of the Juventud en Desarrollo Primary School expressed her expectation that more students will progressively join over the coming days.
“I believe that tomorrow a few more will join and we will finish the week almost at one hundred percent, God willing,” he stated.
Muñoz also compared the attendance this Monday with that recorded during the first day of classes last year. Although he did not offer an exact figure, he estimated that there could be a difference of between ten and fifteen students compared to the previous period.
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“I believe that in this school, thank God, we have always had very good attendance,” maintained the principal.
As explained, the presence of the students allowed the teachers to begin working with relatively complete groups from the start.
“A teacher who has thirty children in a classroom, twenty-five show up and that allows for very good work to be done,” explained Muñoz.
Aruba School also reports improvement
A similar situation was reported at the Aruba Elementary School, also located in Cristo Rey, where principal Anselma Carrasco reported that 307 students attended during the first day of classes out of a total enrollment of 756 students.
Although the figure represents less than half of the center’s enrollment, Carrasco assured that the number of students present was higher than that recorded during the first day of the 2025-2026 school year.
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“It was better than the previous year,” stated the director, who recalled that at the beginning of the last period, “two hundred and something” students attended.
The data reflects a better incorporation of students on this first day, although the school still expects a significant number of students to join the classrooms over the next few days.
Principals ask parents to send their children from the first day
For the principal of Aruba Elementary School, one of the factors contributing to low attendance during the first days of classes is the perception among some parents that the educational process does not yet proceed normally during the first week.
“Parents don’t send them, because they think that there are no classes the first week, but we are indeed holding classes,” explained Carrasco.
Carrasco explained that during these first few days, the necessary guidance is provided so that students understand how the educational center operates and can properly integrate into the new school year.
“We provide all the guidance that we need to give and that the kids need to know,” he maintained.
For that reason, he called on parents and guardians to send their children from the beginning of the school calendar, also taking advantage of the services offered by public educational centers.
Breakfast and lunch from the first day
The Aruba Primary School, which operates under the extended school day modality, also began offering school meal services starting this Monday.
Carrasco confirmed that the students received both breakfast and lunch during the first day.
“Lunch arrived and we also had breakfast,” the director reported when asked about the operation of the food service.
At the Juventud en Desarrollo School, the administration hopes to approach one hundred percent attendance throughout the week, while at the Aruba School they are also awaiting the progressive incorporation of students who did not attend this Monday.
