Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/389845
ByKimberlyHefling TheAssociatedPress FRANKFORD, DEL. Ameri- can schools are scrambling to provide services to the large number of children and teenagers who crossed the border alone in recent months. Unaccompanied minors who made up the summer spike at the border have moved to communities of all sizes, in nearly every state, Federal data indi- cates, to live with a relative and await immigration de- cisions. The Supreme Court has ruled that schools have an obligation to educate all students regardless of their immigration status, so schools have become a safe haven for many of the tens of thousands of these young people mostly from central America living in limbo. Delaware's rural Sussex County has long attracted immigrants, partly because of work in chicken facto- ries, and soybean and corn fields. The district's popula- tion is more than one-quar- ter Hispanic, and for years has offered an early learn- ing program for non-Eng- lish speakers. Still, officials were caught off guard by about 70 new students mostly from Gua- temala — part of the wave crossing the border — en- rolling last year, mostly at Sussex Central High School. The Indian River School District over the summer break quickly put together special classes for those needing extra English help. On a recent school day, a group of these mostly Spanish-speaking teenage boys with styled spiky hair and high-top sneakers en- thusiastically pecked away on hand-held tablets at the G.W. Carver Education Center, pausing to alert the teacher when stumped. "If you don't know what you're supposed to write on the line, look at my exam- ples, OK?" Lori Ott, their English language teacher, told one. The students are eager but face barriers. Some can barely read or write in their native language. The district's goal is to get them assimilated — and eventually into a regu- lar high school. There, they can earn a diploma, even if that means participating in adult education programs and going to school until they are 21. "They just crave it, and they will come and ask questions," Ott said. "How do you say this? And, how do you say that? They just participate and you can't say enough about them." Donald Hattier, a school board member, said ad- vance warning would have helped with planning. The federal government, he said, "just dropped this on us." He wonders what's next. "The kids are still com- ing across the border. This problem has not been solved," Hattier said. Educators in Delaware and elsewhere say many of these students, who fled poverty and violence, have years-long gaps in school- ing. For teenagers, learning in English can prove more difficult than for younger students. They also may be living with relatives or oth- ers they didn't know, and the workings of an Ameri- can school can be confusing. Others experienced trauma, either in their home country or while crossing the border, and may need mental health help. "It's a new culture and they already feel that they are alone. ... Some of them don't have their parents here," said English lan- guage instructor Alina Miron at Broadmoor High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The school has about a dozen of these stu- dents enrolled In districts like hers, the influx means hiring new English language instruc- tors. Two foundations do- nated money to the Oak- land Unified School Dis- trict in California to help fund a person to connect about 150 unaccompanied students with legal and so- cial services; many didn't have legal representation at immigration hearings. "We feel that we have moral obligation to serve these students as long as they are in the United States," said Troy Flint, a district spokesman. "Until their fate is decided, we're responsible for ensuring they get an education and we embrace that opportu- nity." In Louisiana, the Broad- moor principal, Shalonda Simoneaux, said attending high school and learning English is a motivating fac- tor for teenagers who want "want to blend in." "What- ever is being said, whatever is going on, they are really learning more from listen- ing from other teenagers, even more so than from the teachers because it's high school," Simoneaux said. For cash-strapped dis- tricts, providing for these students' needs can be ar- duous, particularly if they arrive after student head- counts are taken to deter- mine school funding. In Miami, the school board voted to seek federal help after 300 foreign-born students, many from Hon- duras and traveling alone, enrolled toward the end of the last school year. Margie McHugh, director of the nonprofit Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Inte- gration, says it's critical that children allowed to stay are integrated into American life and educated. Indian River School Dis- trict officials say that's their plan. "We do have a very open heart and an open mind and any student who comes in our system, we're going to give the most appropri- ate services that we can," said the Delaware dis- trict's superintendent, Su- san Bunting. IMMIGRATION Schoolsscrambletohelpteenmigrants EMILYVARISCO—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Teacher Lori Ott, center, of Millsboro, Del., addresses students in the Accelerating Preliterate English Language Learners class at the G.W. Career Educational Center in Frankford, Del. The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday that he signed a package of bills to help foster children in California by encourag- ing early placement with relatives and extending sup- port to finish college. Among the bills Brown announced signing is AB1658 by Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles. The bill is designed to protect foster youth from identity theft by requiring county child welfare agencies to request credit reports for children 16 years and older. AB1761 by Assemblyman Isadore Hall, D-Compton, encourages social workers to keep children with rel- atives when they enter the foster care system. Hall's office said the current law is not clear about placing abused and neglected chil- dren with a relative during the initial stages of an in- vestigation. Such a move could help children avoid having to be placed in shel- ters or group homes. According to the Depart- ment of Social Services, there are currently 62,545 children in foster care in California. That figure is down from more than 100,000 in 2000, according to kidsdata.org, a program of the Lucile Pack- ard Foundation for Chil- dren's Health. The decline has been attributed to poli- cies that emphasize keeping families together and find- ing permanent placement. SB1252 by Sen. Norma Torres, D-Pomona, allows counties to extend housing to foster youth up to age 25 for up to three years if they are completing college. The Stuart Foundation, a San Francisco-based trust dedicated to the develop- ment of children and youth, found that 70 percent of fos- ter children expressed inter- est in attending college but only 10 percent enroll. Just a projected 3 percent would graduate with a degree. Brown also signed bills that would help homeless youth. One bill, AB1733 by As- semblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, allows a homeless person to obtain an identification card from the Department of Motor Vehicles without a fee. SACRAMENTO Brown signs bills to help those in foster care By Judy Lin The Associated Press SACRAMENTO Gov. Jerry Brown announced Mon- day that he had signed a bill allowing local govern- ments a partial replace- ment tool for financing in- frastructure projects such as water systems, transit facilities and affordable housing. The Democratic gover- nor signed SB628 by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, along with several other economic development bills. Brown previously led the charge to eliminate some 400 community re- development agencies that he criticized as being little more than slush funds for private developers. Those agencies were dissolved in February 2012, leaving lo- cal governments without a way to fight blight and provide affordable hous- ing. Since then, lawmakers have been trying to revive local development financ- ing tools, and Brown sig- naled his willingness to work on the issue when he introduced a similar pro- posal in his budget in Jan- uary. SB628 allows a little- used tax increment financ- ing law known as Infra- structure Financing Dis- tricts to be expanded and rebranded as Enhanced In- frastructure Financing Dis- tricts. Supporters said the bill has more safeguards because it requires 55 per- cent voter approval for issu- ing bonds and performance audits. When the bill was passed by the Legislature last month, it was sup- ported by cities and coun- ties while opposed by real estate agents, anti-tax groups, and community housing organizations. Several other bills aimed at helping local communities with de- velopment projects that were signed by Brown include: • AB229 by Assembly- man John Perez, D-Los Angeles, would authorize a city or county to form an infrastructure financing district to pay for projects on a former military base and dedicate any portion of its redevelopment funds to the district. • AB2022 by Assembly- man Jose Medina, D-Riv- erside, would redefine eco- nomically distressed areas under the Target Area Con- tract Preference Act to en- courage business in areas with the highest unemploy- ment and poverty. • AB2292 by Assembly- man Rob Bonta, D-Alam- eda, would allow commu- nities to use infrastruc- ture financing districts, a funding mechanism that requires voter approval, to create communitywide broadband projects. • SB614 by Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, would al- low a local agency to use tax increment financing in a newly formed or re- organized district to fund infrastructure improve- ments in disadvantaged unincorporated commu- nities. SACRAMENTO Governor allows for new local development financing tools Fall To Spring Edition: Advertising Deadline Friday, Oct. 3 Published Oct. 25, 2014 To share more than features of the place we call "Home" … Instead, our experiences of enjoying them. TheHopeChest Thrift Shop servingthecommunitysince1965 ProceedsfromTheHopeChesthelp support Family Counseling Center Mon.-Fri. 10-4 • Sat. Noon-4 1359 Grant St., Red Bluff 530-527-0270 LikeusonFacebookoremailusat hopechest@yahoo.com 1/2 OFF at The Hope Chest Monday - Clothes, Tuesday - Electrical Wednesday - Clothes Thursday - Linens, Friday - Clothes Saturday - Purses & Shoes AbundantLifeFellowship 21080 Luther Rd. 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