Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Monday 20 august 2018

U.S. school districts weigh duty to youth migrant shelters

By SALLY HO west Key gets apprecia-
Associated Press tive feedback from families
When San Benito, Texas, after the average 30- to
school leaders learned of 45-day stay for each child,
an influx of children to a and most students leave
migrant shelter in their small with some level of aca-
town near the U.S.-Mexico demic gain. He said the
border, they felt obliged to children do “a lot of good
help. work” studying through a
The superintendent project-based curriculum
reached out and agreed that is aligned with state
to send 19 bilingual teach- standards.
ers, mobile classrooms and “They do history projects.
hundreds of computers to They do class presenta-
make the learning environ- tions. They do read-alouds
ment resemble one of his with the books and novels
schools. that they’re reading,” said
While a government con- Cavazos, a former school
tractor bears responsibility teacher and administrator.
for educating children at The districts’ role is large-
the highly guarded cen- ly limited to their regular
ter, local officials say they school year, though the
stepped up partly because In this June 18, 2018, file photo, dignitaries take a tour of Southwest Key Programs Casa Padre, a shelters also provide sup-
of a law that calls on school U.S. immigration facility in Brownsville, Texas, where children are detained. When school leaders plemental curriculum dur-
systems to educate any in San Benito, Texas, learned of an influx of children to a migrant shelter in town, they felt obliged ing summer months. Ro-
child, anywhere within their to help. chelle Garza, a Brownsville,
district. Associated Press Texas-based attorney who
“This is not a political issue. from their parents at the Jersey, said they only re- a “care provider” give advocates for the children
This is not a racial issue. This U.S.-Mexico border under cently discovered the exis- children six hours a day of in court noted the students
is a moral obligation, and the Trump administration’s tence of migrant shelters in structured learning time. can be detained for a se-
actually our legal obliga- zero-tolerance policy for their community. Southwest Key, the largest mester or more with re-
tion,” said Michael Vargas, illegal immigration. Sev- Many noted they would contractor operating such peating instruction as other
who leads the board of the eral hundred children re- educate all children re- facilities, has agreements kids cycle in and out. Ze-
San Benito Consolidated In- main separated from their gardless of immigration with two school districts, in- ndejas said the district also
dependent School District. parents, but most of the status, as required by law, if cluding San Benito. It is also has an obligation to work
San Benito is one of a small thousands of young peo- their families or legal guard- working to create partner- around the troubling cir-
number of U.S. school sys- ple held in federal shelters ians sought enrollment on ships with the Brownsville In- cumstances of such a vul-
tems that are preparing for across the U.S. are unac- their campuses. dependent School District nerable population of chil-
the first day of school on companied minors who ar- “Until this becomes a real- and with a charter school dren, just as the law enforc-
both their public campuses rived in the country without time issue for us, we have network run separately by es for homeless children.
and in new classrooms set their families. no official position,” said Southwest Key’s parent or- She said her school district
up at nearby federal youth The Associated Press in- Superintendent Dennis ganization. is well-equipped and will-
migrant shelters. In neigh- quired with public school Blauser of the Oracle, Ari- Salvador Cavazos, South- ing to handle the important
boring Brownsville, Texas, districts in 61 cities nation- zona, school district. west Key’s vice president of task, and ready to provide
the superintendent is work- wide where shelters are In Texas, some districts al- educational services, said teachers and special edu-
ing on an agreement to known to exist within their ready had longstanding the nonprofit shelter op- cation, bilingual and sup-
deploy teachers and ser- boundaries. Among the agreements to run class- erator has for years offered port services. “The question
vices to help educate 800 50 that responded, most rooms with public school great basic services but is of who gets educated in
children housed in federal said they had no contact teachers at migrant shel- now welcoming more help our country is coming up,
facilities in her district. with the shelter or federal ters. from outside school systems and my belief is everybody
The school systems pitched program authorities. Some By law, the federal contrac- as an enhancement as the should receive an educa-
in amid an outcry over outside the border states, tors that operate the shel- number of children in its tion if you are in this coun-
the separation of children including Camden, New ters are required to have care grows. He said South- try,” Zendejas said.q