Influx of migrants pose challenge for Denver schools
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
The steady flow of migrants from the southern U.S. border is presenting new challenges to Denver area schools.
Driving the news: Nine more buses of migrants arrived from Texas over the weekend, boosting the number in city shelters to 2,500.
- In response, Mayor Mike Johnston's administration announced Monday it would change the time new arrivals can stay in city facilities.
- Effective Wednesday, adults must leave after 14 days — down from 21 —but families with children can stay for 37 days instead of 30.
Why it matters: The limit on shelter stays is putting families on the street, and it's also disrupting learning for migrant students.
What's happening: Local teachers and school administrators are now on the frontlines in helping migrant families find shelter, Axios' education reporting partners at Chalkbeat write.
- When they learn a family is being displaced, teachers are spending hours calling shelters and nonprofits seeking help, only to find waitlists and dead ends.
Zoom in: Denver's Bryant Webster Dual Language School is seeing the influx affect its population size. Some classes have upward of 38 students, far more than typical.
- Plus, teachers that work with students learning English as a second language are experiencing a significant increase in referrals.
What they're saying: "You can just feel the kids are stressed. It disrupts everything," said Cecilia Quintanilla, an early childhood teacher at Bryant Webster.
Go deeper with Chalkbeat