The case study, conducted one year after the passing of Hurricane Maria, explores the Public Montessori System of Puerto Rico as an educational philosophy of resilience. The presentation supports a counternarrative to early literacy development in Puerto Rico by focusing in on two Montessori schools from Vieques, Puerto Rico. Data highlights the effectiveness of combining funds of knowledge with foundational early literacy development. Teachers and parents share how they support literacy by making the most of what surrounds them physically and culturally. Puerto Rico is poorer than the poorest state yet has had the fastest growth of public Montessori schools. This presentation explores how the phenomenon of public Montessori education in Puerto Rico offers children advantages in literacy development.