unaccompanied children reach state in 3 years.

603 unaccompanied children arrive in 3 years, study shows

At least 603 unaccompanied children from Central America were placed with sponsors in Arkansas over the past three years, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.

Those kids arrived at the U. S. border without a parent or legal guardian. Some of them were 2,000 miles from home.

Of the 603, at least 144 were placed with sponsors in Pulaski County, according to the AP study.

The Pulaski County Special School District usually accepts six of these migrants each year, said Janice Warren, assistant superintendent for pupil services. The district has had as many as 12 of these students in a year, she said. The migrants stay with host families that usually have a teenager of the same gender.

“It’s like they have a new brother or a new sister so they pick English up quickly from the host family,” Warren said.

Karen Broadnax, director of English as a Second Language for the Little Rock School District, said the district doesn’t track unaccompanied migrants who are minors specifically.

But when one of these students tells a teacher or administrator about the hardships they endured to get to the United States, it often spreads quickly through the school.

“It’s a tough journey,” Broadnax said.

Arkansas’ total of 603 in the past three years is low compared with Texas’ 13,291, California’s 12,486 and Florida’s 10,808.

But it’s considerably higher than Montana’s three, Vermont’s five and North Dakota’s 11.

The surge of unaccompanied children fleeing Central America is prompting difficult decisions in school districts across the country.

The Associated Press has found that hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children have been prevented from enrolling in mainstream classrooms in at least 35 districts in 14 states. Many of these youths have been pushed into programs that advocates and attorneys say offer separate but unequal alternative educational opportunities.

Larry Fenn, an AP data journalist, said via email that he didn’t believe any of the 35 school districts were in Arkansas.

“However, that does not discount the possibility of something happening there,” he said.

Warren said unaccompanied migrant children from Central America have been attending schools in the Pulaski County Special district for the past 15 years. The school district — which excludes Little Rock and North Little Rock — has six high schools. Normally, each high school accepts one of the unaccompanied immigrants each year, Warren said.

“It’s a great cultural exchange,” she said.

Warren said the unaccompanied migrants aren’t a financial burden on the school district. If the host family needs help to meet the child’s financial needs, the school district can dip into its fund for homeless students, she said.

The new students take traditional courses, including English, math and social studies. English as a second language is also an option for them.

“The majority of them that we see are very versed in the English language,” Warren said.

Broadnax said counselors often work with the migrants who are minors to help them adapt to life in Arkansas. For many of the kids, indoor plumbing is a new concept because they are from small and remote villages, she said.

The federal Off ice of Refugee Resettlement places unaccompanied children with sponsors ( usually family members).

“Sponsors are adults who are suitable to provide for the child’s physical and mental well- being and have not engaged in any activity that would indicate a potential risk to the child,” according to the office’s website, acf. hhs. gov/ programs/ orr/ programs/ ucs.

“All sponsors must pass a background check. The sponsor must agree to ensure the child’s presence at all future immigration proceedings. They also must agree to ensure the minor reports to [ Immigration and Customs Enforcement] for removal from the United States if an immigration judge issues a removal order or voluntary departure order.”

Pulaski County was the only Arkansas county tracked in the AP data because it’s the only county in the state that had at least 50 unaccompanied children from Central America placed in any one of the last three years.

Eighty- two unaccompanied children were placed with sponsors in Pulaski County in fiscal 2014, which went from October 2013 through September 2014. The following year, 62 unaccompanied children were placed with sponsors in Pulaski County. The county’s total hadn’t reached 50 for fiscal 2016 when the data was compiled at the end of February.

Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.