The Department of Education is engaged in working out a balanced program for physical education whereby every child will take part in some form of activity. Calisthenics, school plays, songs, folklore, handball, volleyball, and basketball are emphasized in the elementary grades. In the high schools, baseball, basketball, and volleyball are popular. The school lunch, primarily a relief measure, is an important adjunct of the school system. The schools under the Department of Education have developed the school lunch period, not only as a means of feeding needy and hungry children, but also to teach cleanliness, health, courtesy, and table manners.
Emphasis is placed on the desirability of a varied diet and the use of vegetables.
The lunchroom is usually an open pavilion with built-in tables made by the class in carpentry or manual training. Usually the pupil pays for the meals in service or food, or at the rate of one cent per meal. School health clubs, agricultural and community clubs, as well as school bands, are conducted much the same as they are on the mainland. In 1938, there were 53 private schools in the Island accredited by the Department of Education, with an enrollment of 10,862. These schools are usually in large urban centers, San Juan having 20 of them.