Students return to classes in storm-ravaged Houston
HOUSTON — Tens of thousands of children returned to school Monday in Houston, two weeks after Hurricane Harvey battered the city, flooding homes, sweeping away uniforms and school supplies, and shuttering one of the nation’s largest school districts.
The storm, which left 70 percent of Harris County under water, damaged nearly all school buildings in the Houston Independent School District, which educates 216,000 students. More than 200 of the district’s 306 schools were expected to reopen Monday after an aggressive, round-the-clock cleanup effort, while some students will return to school next week or the week after.
The reopening of the school district represents an important step toward normalcy for the city, where many people — including children — are still unable to return home or to work. The district was still trying to get a handle on how many of its students were left homeless by the storm, with many families now holed up with relatives or in motels, or languishing in the sprawling halls of the George R. Brown Convention Center.
As the sun rose Monday, Ruth Rojas walked her two children, 9-yearold Adrian and 11-yearold Joseline, out of the convention center, the place they have called home for the past two weeks, since a Coast Guard boat rescued them from their home.
The siblings had attended school in a suburban district, but Rojas was unsure when — or if — they would be able to return home. With the help of school staff stationed inside the sprawling shelter, she registered them at two local schools: Red Elementary and Meyerland Middle.
“I want them to keep up with everything,” said Rojas, who was a caregiver but worries her extended absence means she won’t be able to keep her job. “It was important for me and for them.”
She said her children were eager to get back to school, and with smiles and new backpacks, they boarded a yellow school bus that pulled up outside of the convention center.