Aug 7, 2006 5:05 pm US/Central
DISD Intake Center Enrolling Int'l Students
by Steve Pickett
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
The Dallas Independent School District, the second largest district in the state, heads back to the classroom next week, but the work to enroll students coming in from foreign countries is already underway. The district has an entire department dedicated to that mission.
The Herrera Student Intake Center is like the United Nations of the DISD. Children from all over the world stop here first, before classes begin. It's the first step in the journey of public education for DISD's immigrant and refugee population.
The intake center evaluates the English skills of students and places them into the appropriate classrooms.
Ludivina Reyna, an employee at the center, knows that the school year is near because families have already started showing up. "Particularly with the refugees," explained Reyna, "we already enrolled 50 families."
Dallas schools have faced a fast growing immigrant population for the past decade. From Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia, the children coming into this center are not only newcomers to the country, many may be new to the world of school.
Last year, we had 2600, so we expect to see about 2600 students," said Reyna. The center is decorated with maps and flags of the world, representing the children and families who fill the classrooms of Dallas schools.
(CBS 11 News)
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