Proof of vaccinations not required.
Three months after President Barack Obama declared their mass arrival an “urgent humanitarian situation,” thousands of children who fled Central America are about to take a seat in U.S. classrooms for the first time.
Some Bay Area schools are bracing for an influx. Others don’t know what to expect or haven’t thought about it. The Oakland Unified School District, more prepared than most, is anticipating so many newcomers that it is hiring a privately-funded consultant to cushion their landing.
“Moving anywhere is one of the most stressful things any kid can do. Compound that with moving countries, moving cultures,” said Carmelita Reyes, co-principal of Oakland International High School. “It’s the most stressful situation. And you’re 15. It’s incredibly hard.”
Many are landing in cities that already had a large Central American community, such as Oakland, San Francisco, Richmond, Concord and Redwood City.
More than 340 recently arrived immigrant students from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras have enrolled in Oakland schools since last summer. At least 150 are known to have crossed the southwest U.S. border unaccompanied by parents or guardians and now await hearings in immigration courts. Some are already known to teachers, but many arrived just a few weeks ago after school let out for the summer.
Reyes is accustomed to helping high school students navigate a new world. Her school in North Oakland’s Temescal neighborhood educates immigrant students from around the globe.
But the newly arrived Central American students, along with confronting the challenges of learning English and overcoming trauma, have additional difficulties that most newcomers do not encounter.
“Imagine being 15 and being told you need a lawyer, in a country where you don’t speak the language and have no money,” Reyes said.