On the first day of school, Newcomers High School in Long Island City, Queens, was overcrowded because of the influx of migrant pupils. Data from the Department of Education shows that 36% of kids were chronically absent in the previous school year; if these pupils suddenly decide to attend class, the situation might become much more dire.
Despite the inflow of refugees, the figures show that the city’s educational system struggled after the COVID-19 epidemic.
Students saw the effects of the migrant crisis on the first day of classes as the queue to enter the school wrapped around the block, and others were sent to another campus. Asylum-seeking students may have made up a significant portion of Thursday’s Newcomers student body, but the Department of Education does not maintain information on this matter.
Twenty-one thousand migrants have been enrolled in NYC schools. Teachers were fed up, saying these problems should have been addressed in advance. There was going to be an obvious capacity issue. Even the failing NYC students can do that math.
Speaking to kids at PS 121 in the Bronx, Chancellor David Banks stated that the district is eager to have these new migrant students join the school community. Early on Thursday morning, teachers gathered outside Newcomers to lead pupils to Newcomers or Gotham Tech High School, which shares the Newcomers facility. Unfortunately, the Newcomers building at Gotham was overrun by students, forcing the relocation of lessons to a different location.
Excitedly donning their Queens shelter ID badges or using Google Translate to converse, many migrant kids were out and about at the start of the school day. Other children seemed more receptive to their new classmates, but they were worried about how chaotic the environment was.
Alex Gonzalez, a 14-year-old nervous about starting high school, was not overjoyed by the many people on campus on Thursday morning. The young man said they should have had the migrants show up the day before for orientation.
A 14-year-old sounded more reasonable than the NYC administrators.
