New York City schools face challenges of educating nearly 20,000 children of asylum seekers
NEW YORK -- Thursday is the first day of school for nearly 1 million New York City school kids, and the city will also face the challenge of educating nearly 20,000 migrant students.
Officials say the usual return to the classroom chaos may be magnified for schools and teachers tasked with welcoming the children of asylum seekers. The school they go to on day one may be miles from the one they finally end up in, and, according to the governor, they may not find teachers who speak their language.
- Related story: New York City Public Schools sheds light on how it will handle influx of asylum seeker children
"I think language is going to be a challenge, particularly in the early days. We can't always find someone in the exact language that a student was raised in," Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Hochul voiced one of the biggest concerns for city educators as some 20,000 children of asylum seekers asked to be marked present on day one of the new school year.
"We have individuals coming from Mauritania, for example. I don't know that we have many teachers who are proficient in the language spoken in Mauritania, so we have real challenges. They're coming in from West Africa, South and Central America, so it's not just assuming that Spanish is going to cover everybody. It doesn't come close," Hochul said.
City officials have said that the migrants arriving here speak at least 15 different languages, but finding teachers to communicate with the students is only one of the many problems.
- Related story: Asylum seekers across New York City rush to register children for school before classes start Thursday
Getting them registered for schools is another, according to the head of the teachers' union.
"We will not know probably until the end of September, the beginning of October where all of the asylum seeking migrant children are going to be. It's a combination of they're in shelters right now, so obviously the schools around them won't be able to take them all," United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said.
There's also the fact that some families are being given housing vouchers that will allow them to find apartments in all five boroughs, so a child might attend one school at the beginning of the school year then be forced to transfer to another facility. It could be hard for some of them.
"Especially on small children," Mulgrew said. "Every parent worries I want my child to be able to get to school safe. Safe to most parents means proximity. I want my child as close as possible in case anything goes wrong."
- Related story: New York City Schools preparing for influx of children of asylum seekers: "We are very confident that the students will be ready"
CBS New York political reporter Marcia Kramer asked Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom about the problem of uprooting migrant children and moving them from one school to the other.
"I don't want to talk about New York City traumatizing children. I want to talk about the trauma of children coming and making their way to this place and not have a national government that cares enough about the children that are making their way here to make sure that they get what they need," she said.
Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams is promising a "great" new school year for students with new reading programs, mindful breathing techniques to calm their minds and improved food and cafeterias.
- Related story: United Federation of Teachers President Mike Mulgrew worried school bus strike may happen next week
But there is also the threat of a potential bus strike that could affect tens of thousands of students. Buses will be available for students Thursday and Friday, but some sources say a strike could happen at the end of next week if talks break down.
Mulgrew told CBS New York he is definitely worried that bus drivers could stage a walkout.
