What South Florida School Districts Are Doing For Displaced Bahamian Students
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - As of Wednesday morning, here is what the Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties are doing for Bahamian victims of Hurricane Dorian.
Miami-Dade is taking donations and organizing a benefit concert, Broward has created a welcome center for students and their families and Palm Beach County has begun enrolling Bahamian students.
MIAMI-DADE SCHOOLS
On the school's web site, Miami-Dade schools say that to help the victims of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, the Miami-Dade Public Schools District is participating in Operation Helping Hands.
Here is what the M-DCPS says it is doing for those affected by Dorian in the Bahamas:
"M-DCPS is collaborating with several entities across the community to raise funds and collect a variety of goods for those affected. Monetary donations can be made through M-DCPS' direct-support organization, the Foundation for New Education Initiatives, Inc. (FNEI)"
All Miami-Dade County public schools are accepting donations, including non-perishable food, basic first-aid items, hygiene products, cleaning disinfectants, batteries, insect repellents, flashlights, and garbage bags.
A benefit concert to raise funds for the Bahamas is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 28, 2019, at Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer.
BROWARD COUNTY SCHOOLS
Broward County Public Schools announced on Tuesday that it has opened a welcome center to help students and families arriving from the Bahamas.
The center is located in the Lauderdale Manors Early Learning & Family Resource Center, at 1400 NW 14th Court in Fort Lauderdale.
School officials say the center will provide families with support for student registration into district schools, connect families to school social workers, provide school supplies, uniforms and clothes, food, and information on local resources.
A variety of health services, in partnership with the Florida Department of Health in Broward will also be offered at the center.
The center will be open:
Mondays and Wednesdays 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Fridays 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Click here for more information on the District's Hurricane Dorian relief and recovery efforts.
PALM BEACH COUNTY SCHOOLS
The Palm Beach County Schools District has begun enrolling Bahamian students who evacuated devastated islands after Hurricane Dorian, a school district spokeswoman said.
Fifteen Bahamian children had enrolled as of Tuesday, Julie Houston Trieste said.
The young evacuees are welcome at any district school and can register at a central welcome office, she said.
Backpacks loaded with school supplies are being provided to the students by the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, which later will open its school supply store so evacuated families can shop for free, Houston Trieste said.
The district's welcome center, which supports K-12 students "who were born or attended school outside of the United States," also connects families with community resources to get them settled, its website says.
Dorian, the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall in the Bahamas, wiped out neighborhoods and left about 17% of all Bahamians, or about 70,000 people, homeless.
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This story will be updated as soon as more information becomes available.
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