In this paper, I discuss current interest in educational reform in Puerto Rico, the need for better and more appropriate assessment tools, the growing realisation in the USA that two-way bilingual programmes can provide an effective vehicle for fostering the development of bilingual proficiency, bicultural competence and subject-matter knowledge for heritage language students; and the possible confluence and implications of these three threads of work for the education of Puerto Rican children who participate in the so-called "migrant stream" moving regularly between the island and the mainland. The paper concludes with the listing of a number of prospective research questions that might form the basis for a set of planned-variation studies to examine diverse factors associated with improving the quality of language teaching and learning in Puerto Rico.