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Archive for Thursday, November 30, 2017

Education Desk: Orange Co. Superintendent On Taking In Students Fleeing Puerto Rico

Orange County Schools is taking in the most students and teachers fleeing from Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. These new arrivals are trying to get life back to a sense of normalcy following devastation back on the island. As part of reporting from our Education Desk, we visited Superintendent Barbara Jenkins to see how things are going.
Published in Central Florida News, Education, Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rican Exodus to Central Florida

Two years ago, Betsy Franceschini was getting at least 100 inquiries a day to her Kissimmee office from Puerto Ricans desperate for a better life. Thousands of families fled the U.S. territory in 2015 for the metro Orlando area because of its crushing financial crisis and $72 billion debt. As the director of Florida’s regional Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration office, Franceschini helped new arrivals connect with agencies that could provide help. It was overwhelming then – but Franceschini says it’s nothing compared to the “unprecedented” exodus of Puerto Ricans who are now trying to escape to places like Orlando in the face of deteriorating conditions on the demolished colony in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Florida is expected to ...
Published in Commentaries, From the Pages of Orlando Weekly