When Being "Welcomed" Is Not Enough: Displacement, Relocation, and Education Post-Disaster

• In Event: 25.031 - Agency, Power, and the Colonial Subject: Educational Experiences of Puerto Ricans Post–Hurricane María

Abstract

This study examines the educational effects of displacement on Puerto Ricans who arrived to the mainland US post-Hurricane María, analyzing the intersection between emergency response and relocation processes and school policies and programs. The post-disaster trajectories of children and youth are complex and shaped by exposure to double trauma. In addition to surviving difficult life events, students most affected by the disaster often experience accumulated marginalization due to their racial, cultural, and linguistic positioning within school systems (Dutro & Bien, 2014). Additionally, they encounter negative attitudes of receiving communities as relations become strained when those displaced need access to long-term supports and services (Fothergill & Peek, 2015). Although mobility and migration is not a new phenomenon among the Puerto Rican diaspora (Acosta-Belén & Santiago, 2006), research shows that mobility structures people’s lives in unequal ways (Salazar, 2016). As a result, this study explores the following question: How do relocation processes as well as cultural and linguistic differences encountered in mainland U.S. schools structure the educational experiences of Puerto Rican youth affected by forced migration and multiple displacements?

This exploratory qualitative research draws from data collected during fieldwork in the School District of Osceola County in Kissimmee, Florida which had one of the highest influxes of displaced Puerto Ricans in Florida (Meléndez & Hinojosa, 2017). A grounded theory approach (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin 1990; Corbin & Strauss, 2008) was used to analyze policy documents and data obtained through interviews with 28 school district officials, principals, teachers, and personnel in four schools (one elementary school, one middle school, and two high schools). This ongoing analysis offers a glimpse into family and youth experiences navigating both relocation processes and encounters with cultural and linguistic differences in mainland U.S. schools.

Preliminary findings suggest several challenges faced through displacement from Puerto Rico and arrival in Osceola County post-hurricane. Lower-income residents arriving on humanitarian flights often qualified for temporary lodging in motels through FEMA’s Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) program. The housing vouchers largely determined where families would live and how many displaced students nearby schools received. Educational continuity and stability were not guaranteed for these families, as they repeatedly faced the threat of eviction through efforts to terminate the program and last-minute voucher extensions. Schools faced increased classroom sizes without additional teacher support and a lack of bilingual staff to conduct required assessments for language services. Furthermore, linguistic and cultural differences became a central focus as students and families navigated new school norms (including course requirements, student-teacher relationships, and standardized testing in English) all while facing instability in housing, transportation, and employment.

Hurricane María is anticipated to have a significant effect on Puerto Ricans’ migration patterns with implications for public schools in particular and receiving communities in general. Given the number of students expected to enter mainland schools, we must understand the effects displacement, policies, and programs have on the relocation processes and educational experiences of those who undergo multiple displacements through initial disaster and the ongoing inequities of its aftermath.

Authors

• Astrid Nicholl Sambolín Morales, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Molly Hamm-Rodríguez, University of Colorado - Boulder