When Hurricane Irma hit Puerto Rico two weeks ago, about 600 schools were left without power and about 400 without drinking water. As Hurricane Maria hit the island last week, 20 schools had not reopened.
Now, with a nationwide lack of electricity, impassable roads, streets and highways, and flooding everywhere, it could take weeks, perhaps months, for Puerto Rico’s 350,000 students to return to classrooms.
The Miami-Dade School District is preparing for a massive influx of displaced students. It is believed that the boys could be sent to live with relatives or entire families would move from the island, at least temporarily.
“Everyone who has relatives on the island doesn’t want kids to go so long out of school,” said Alberto Carvalho, Miami-Dade’s school superintendent. “I think it’s very likely that we’ll see a big wave of students coming to study in our area,” Carvalho added.
Mari Corugedo, director of the Florida League of Latin American Citizens, agreed that schools in South Florida, Orlando and Tampa should prepare for a wave of Puerto Rican students, who as U.S. citizens can move anywhere in the country.
Puerto Rico has not yet assessed the damage suffered by schools in the aftermath of the storms. Education Secretary Julia Keleher said she still has no date for schools to reopen.
Either way, Keleher said he is optimistic that families will keep their children in Puerto Rican schools, which his office is in the process of evaluating. Keleher said the government could decide to change the school calendar to make up for lost time or relocate some of the students to campuses that are ready to resume work faster than others.
Every crisis in Latin America means a wave of new students in South Florida, and hurricanes Maria and Irma will be no exception.
In recent years, countless Venezuelan families have arrived in Miami-Dade fleeing the situation in the South American country, which suffers serious political and economic problems.
However, in the case of Puerto Rico, the exodus began before the island was affected by the two storms, due to the serious economic crisis that the country has been going through for some time. Although for many years, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia have been the traditional destinations for Puerto Ricans, those born on the Island of Enchantment are increasingly settling in Florida. More than 100,000 Puerto Ricans live in Miami-Dade and more than one million have settled in Florida, mainly in the Orlando and Tampa areas.
Those who decided to stay on the island after the storm need extra help, Corugedo said. “There is a huge need on the island and we have to lend a hand to them,” he said.
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