The Miami-Dade school district has seen an influx of 1,400 unaccompanied minors from Central America this year, forcing it to expand first-year English language classes and assess new educations needs.
According to
National Public Radio, the flood of new students into the district amounts to 800 more than last year.
"These kids basically all been here within a couple of months. I think the ones that have been here the longest have been here three months. We had one just enter a week ago," Miami Jackson High School Principal Carlos Rios told NPR.
"Obviously, the first week of school we saw about 100 students come in, and it hasn't stopped. You see the office out there, there's still parents coming in, there's still students coming in."
The Obama administration has said that roughly 40,000 undocumented children have entered the United States since the beginning of the year by crossing the southern U.S. border illegally.
Children entering the country are usually detained by immigration officials before being sent to other areas, such as Los Angeles, Houston, Washington, D.C., and South Florida, where they are united with friends or family members, according to NPR.
Most students who arrive are not proficient in English, while educational backgrounds vary widely.
"Mostly Level 1's, no English. Some good background education where the language would be just the issue. And some with very little education where it's a bigger battle," a Miami Jackson English instructor told NPR.
The Miami-Dade school district has been educating non-English speakers for over 50 years, starting in the 1960s following an influx of Cubans.
School officials told NPR that they are expecting another wave of immigrants in the coming months.
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