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Students from Haiti
Enroll in Local Schools

By Kathy Kurtz Ferrari
Staff Writer
4/1/10
Schools in Milton have welcomed their first Haitian refugees, as somewhere between seven and 10 students have enrolled in public schools across town, and several have enrolled in the town’s private schools.

According to Assistant Superintendent John Phelan, the public school system anticipated receiving students from the earthquake-ravaged nation shortly after the disaster hit in mid-January.

“We have a significant Haitian population in Milton, so we were expecting we would be dealing with students arriving,” said Phelan. “A short time after the earthquake, I contacted the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to see what our role would be in accepting these students who may not be documented in the appropriate way.”

The DESE informed the public schools that they could accept students in this situation, and those arriving students were able to get the appropriate documentation, according to Phelan.

“Most of them are in a situation where they are arriving to live with aunts and uncles or grandparents living in town,” he said. “It’s not that different from students in other situations that may move here from places like Norwell or Holbrook, due to an economic situation.”

Phelan explained that the students need to have documentation regarding vaccinations in place and all the students have provided that information. The students arriving from Haiti have enrolled in schools across the town, with regard to class sizes and space available at the appropriate grade level. And since the native language in Haiti is a French-based Creole, the town’s French Immersion Program may make the transition for Haitian students easier than for those attending schools in other communities.

“We anticipated more [students] than we received,” said Phelan. “We were bracing for a substantial shift and it hasn’t happened yet. We anticipate we will see more between now and the summer, when travel becomes easier for them.”

Tucker Elementary School Principal Marcia Uretsky agreed, noting that her school has recently received two students who escaped the ravaged country: a brother and sister who are currently in the same second-grade class.

“I think we are at the tip of where we are going to be seeing more and more students arriving from Haiti,” Uretsky said. She added that the Tucker School community, which has many Haitian families, has been very supportive of the new students. One student from Haiti ironically arrived to the school the day before the earthquake hit.

“The students think this is exciting to have the students from Haiti arrive. They have been great,” said Uretsky.

Carriage House Nursery School has also received a new student from Haiti. According to Nancy McCarthy, executive director of the preschool, a 3-year-old girl from Haiti enrolled in the Canton Avenue school at the beginning of February. The girl, named Naysa, arrived in Milton with her mother and her older sister, who is attending St. Mary of the Hills School. (St. Mary’s also has one other student from Haiti.) The family is staying with cousins in Milton. Naysa speaks only French but is quickly picking up English.

“Every morning she arrives and says, ‘Good morning, Nancy,’” said McCarthy. “I would say she is doing well.”

Fellow classmates have welcomed her, and one little girl went home explaining to her family, “Haiti is fine. She came to school and has clothes and food, so Haiti is going to be OK.”

Phelan noted that there has not been any information from the DESE if towns will receive any sort of assistance from the state as they accept students arriving from Haiti.