In Amherst, the district has seen 11 new students arrive and all have come to the schools through doubling up with family members in the area, according to Marta Guevara, director of student and family engagement for the schools.
The first family to arrive to the school occurred several weeks ago and came on a humanitarian flight arranged by Holyoke Hospital, Guevara said. Those 11 students come from eight families
“We were prepared to welcome folks,” Guevara said.
To help meet the needs of the new students, Guevara said the school hired a paraeducator to support the English-language needs at one of the district’s elementary schools.
The district is waiting for the arrival of more students. Guevara said she knew of three more who would be arriving before the new year.
In nearby Holyoke, which boasts the highest per-capita population of Puerto Ricans on the U.S. mainland, the district has welcomed nearly 160 students into its schools, according to Judy Taylor, the district’s communications director
The district already had programs in place to help English-language learners as well as support for native Spanish speakers. This year, the school started the “Newcomer Academy” at the high school, which is aimed at students who have recently entered the mainland U.S. school system for the first time and are new to English.
The district also has an existing dual-language program in two of its schools.
Even with those programs in place, the district is in need of additional resources for curriculum and staffing, according to Stephen Zrike, receiver/superintendent of Holyoke Public Schools.
“We don’t look at the new students as a strain, but rather an opportunity to add to the richness of our educational community,” Zrike said in an email.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.