Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Feds providing CT schools with money for new students from Puerto Rico

  • Education
  • by Ana Radelat
  • February 23, 2018
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Courtesy of Merelys Torres-Garcia

Nairelys Vega and Jason M. Carrion

Washington – Ten-year-old Nairelys Vega and her 8-year-old brother, Jason Miguel Carrion, are among the more than 1,800 children from Puerto Rico who have migrated to the state and enrolled in Connecticut schools since Hurricane Maria decimated their homeland last September.

The children’s mother, Merelys Torres-Garcia, said the children faced a tough time adjusting to their new life and their new school, Hartford’s Maria Sanchez Elementary.

“It’s been difficult for them,” said Torres-Garcia. “First because they did not know the language, they didn’t speak English, and also because they were traumatized because they left all of their family and everyone they knew behind.”

The children’s mother said Jason was particularly depressed.

“He would not smile; he would not play; he didn’t want to do anything,” she said.

Connecticut schools scrambled to accommodate the new arrivals — most of them non-English speakers — without additional resources from a cash-strapped state government.

After months of fighting over aid to last summer’s hurricane-hit communities, Congress finally approved a compromise budget bill earlier this month that will provide millions of dollars to help schools care for displaced students.

The budget bill provides $8,500 for each displaced student, $9,000 for each one that is not English-speaking like Nairelys and Jason, and $10,000 for disabled students requiring special education.

State House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, a Democrat who represents a Hartford-based district, has set up a working group in the General Assembly to try to provide “one-stop shopping” for displaced Puerto Ricans who need help.

He said “there is no question that schools are looking for additional money” to accommodate the influx of unexpected students, many with special needs, and is “very pleased” Congress finally offered some help.

He believes the displaced student funding, part of the budget agreement’s $44 billion hurricane response package, will be sufficient. But he said he’d consider seeking additional state funds to help schools with displaced students if needed.

“Obviously we have a difficult budget as it is,” he said.

According to the Connecticut Department of Education, there were 1,745 displaced students in Connecticut schools as of Feb. 16.

There were once more than 1,800, but those numbers have been dropping as some families return to Puerto Rico or move to other states. But many students, including Nairelys and Jason, are staying.

“My children are now accustomed to their school, and they are doing well,” said Torres-Garcia.

Hartford schools have had the most new arrivals, 376 at last count and 429 at the peak of the migration.

Waterbury, New Haven and New Britain follow.

Azra Redzic, principal of Maria Sanchez Elementary School, said she was lucky. Her school had capacity to accommodate the new arrivals and the Hartford School District helped by allocating two new bilingual tutors and a half-time resource teacher to her school.

“The transition has been really smooth,” Redzic said, while noting that other schools in the state may not have been as fortunate.

State Of CT

Distribution of displaced students among districts with 10 or more.

Redzic also said Maria Sanchez Elementary had bilingual classes in place, as well as a program that provided the displaced students with counseling and “buddies” to help them find the restrooms and the nurse’s office and make sure “they knew they were welcome.”

Torres-Garcia is grateful for the aid Maria Sanchez Elementary has provided her family since her children’s first day of class on Nov. 14, including counseling that helped her son Jason. She has no close relatives in Connecticut, and the family lived in a hotel until the school helped her find an apartment.

Torres-Garcia said the school also provided the children with uniforms and other clothes, including warm coats, and even helped them move into their new home, providing essential housewares, including pots and pans.

But schools like Maria Sanchez Elementary may not be able to receive additional help from Washington, D.C. While Congress finally provided aid for the displaced students, it’s likely the state will have to help school districts with the children who enroll next year.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ana Radelat Ana has written about politics and policy in Washington, D.C.. for Gannett, Thompson Reuters and UPI. She was a special correspondent for the Miami Herald, and a regular contributor to The New York TImes, Advertising Age and several other publications. She has also worked in broadcast journalism, for CNN and several local NPR stations. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Journalism.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Connecticut House joins national civil rights campaign over Black hair styles
by Mark Pazniokas

The Connecticut House voted for a bill intended to protect Black women from discrimination over their hair.

House approves big municipal aid pledge, tax incentive bills
by Keith M. Phaneuf and Mark Pazniokas

The House approved bills Wednesday pledging $100 million-plus in new municipal aid and offering tax incentives to attract data centers.

CT legislature poised to make early budget pledge to help cities and towns
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state House is expected to approve more than $100 million in new, annual PILOT grants to municipalities.

Connecticut GOP picks Susan Hatfield as state chair
by Mark Pazniokas

Susan Hatfield, vice chair of the Connecticut Republican Party, will complete the term of the former chair, J.R. Romano.

Senator alleges voter fraud, but no complaint was filed
by Mark Pazniokas

Rob Sampson said a voter in his district was told an absentee ballot already had been cast in her name.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Opinion Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Opinion Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

Opinion To boost economy, state should invest in the ‘last mile’ of broadband connectivity
by Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D

In his budget address on February 10,   Gov. Ned Lamont announced his intent to expand broadband connectivity in Connecticut, an effort to be lauded. Connecticut enjoys a significant competitive advantage for economic development in the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), “ a 2,500 route mile, all optical, high-performance internet network.”

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO