Region sees uptick in Puerto Rican students
NEW HAVEN — About one week after the south of Puerto Rico was rocked by a series of debilitating quakes in January, New Haven’s school system reported it had enrolled three students who moved to the city from the island.
“We think it is reasonable to expect additional students in the coming weeks and we have met to work through the interdepartmental issues to ensure that the intake process goes as smoothly as possible,” district Chief Operating Officer Michael Pinto said at the time.
Although officials said they are prepared, district staffer Danny Diaz said he still was surprised when seven new students from Puerto Rico enrolled in the system in Monday.
Those seven students brought the total number of new arrivals from Puerto Rico into New Haven schools to 29 since January.
“Twenty- nine students is a lot,” said Diaz, who has coordinated the arrival of students evacuating Puerto Rico into the district since Hurricane Maria in late summer 2017. “But we continue to provide them with all the resources they need academically.”
Interim Superintendent of Schools Iline Tracey said it’s not a reason for concern. Although the number of students added to the district this year comprise more than one additional classroom, the new students are not all the same age so the system is not overburdened, she said.
“Everyone has been ( accommodated). We always have students coming from out of state on a daily basis,” she said in a text Thursday.
New arrivals are covered under funds from the McKinney- Vento Act, which supports students who are homeless or do not have stable housing.
“Our team provides support and ( places) them in our schools,” Tracey said.
Peter Yazbak, a spokesman for the Connecticut State Department of Education, said the department is coordinating with several state and federal agencies to determine the impact of the Puerto Rican earthquakes to the state of Connecticut.
According to survey data provided by the state, 14 school districts reported they had enrolled 159 students as a result of the earthquakes, as of Jan. 31. New Haven’s 22 as of that date ranked third in the state, following the 48 students enrolled in Waterbury and 41 enrolled in Hartford. Bridgeport reported it had enrolled four students and Danbury and West Haven each reported they had enrolled one student.
“We plan to conduct another survey in about three to four weeks in order to determine if districts are experiencing an increase in enrollment of students who were displaced,” Yazbak said.
Heading into the 2018- 19 school year following Hurricane Maria, about 200 students from Puerto Rico who enrolled midyear the year prior re- enrolled in New Haven’s school system.
Yazbak also pointed to a Jan. 13 statement by Commissioner of Education Miguel Cardona that said the state would assist districts with new arrivals.
He said the state is “proactively reaching out to and are in contact with districts regarding any significant challenges they are facing and what supports and technical assistance they may require” including bilingual and English learner education and trauma- informed care.
General funding, though, is more difficult to come by. School districts firm up their enrollment counts in October, after which the state makes certain calculations and disbursements based on those figures.
Around the time Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, state officials found an extra $ 3.8 million in its Education Cost Sharing grant that had not been disbursed because of a math error; then- Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration split that money proportionally to districts based on how many students they had enrolled midyear.
“We don’t expect that to occur again,” Yazbak told the Register last month. “If districts do receive kids and they remain in the district as of Oct. 1 of the next ( academic) year it would be factored into ( the ECS formula).”
Yazbak said the state department is also assisting new arrivals with housing through McKinney- Vento.
“The biggest question they ask is about housing,” Diaz said of the families arriving in New Haven.
Officials with Junta for Progressive Action, which is providing services for the 72 Puerto Ricans who have arrived in the city since the quakes began, did not return multiple requests for comment.
A spokesman for Mayor Justin Elicker, who publicly stated that his administration would welcome any evacuees, referred a request for comment to Diaz.
At least $ 4.8 billion in aid to the island dating back to Hurricane Maria is still held up in Congress, with President Donald Trump clashing with Democrats in Congress.
The emergency supplemental funding bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 237- 161 Friday.
“There should be no question about providing the resources necessary to recover,” said U. S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D- 3, in a speech, noting Puerto Rico is an American territory. “This supplemental package provides $ 4.67 billion; educational needs, transportation infrastructure repairs, disaster relief activities. $ 100 million for education. K- 12 programs, helps schools restart operations, support re- enrollment; pay for the costs of providing education to students who are displaced by natural disasters; and yes, it addresses the mental health needs of children, as they have experienced a traumatic event. Higher education: the funding helps defray the unexpected costs associated with enrolling displaced students and with rebuilding damaged facilities.”