SAN ANTONIO – At least three local school districts are ready to open their doors to additional students who may permanently relocate to the San Antonio area due to Hurricane Harvey.
The San Antonio Independent School District, North East ISD and Northside ISD all have taken in students who are in the area, at least temporarily.
As of Thursday morning, NEISD had 25 evacuees enrolled as students and was expecting more to arrive next week and Northside had 17.
Leslie Price, a spokeswoman for SAISD, said the exact number of children who have enrolled in her district is unclear.
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However, she said the school district is doing everything it can to let evacuees know they’re welcome, including sending out flyers to the community.
"There is so much upheaval, and we want to be that grounding place for those children," Price said. "Get them in where they can feel a little bit settled. They have something where there are other children and some normalcy there."
Price said in many cases, people who have fled the massive storm may not have had time to grab the paperwork usually required for a student’s enrollment.
She said the school district is making sure all of its principals are trained in how to handle the registration process in these special cases.
So far, San Antonio has seen very few people evacuating from cities that are still under water, such as Houston or Beaumont.
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All three school districts are gearing up for the possibility that even more families could arrive and are planning to relocate to San Antonio for good.
Price said SAISD has set up a task force to determine how to accommodate all of the extra students in areas such as transportation, classroom space, and staffing.
“We have a plan for if it's just a few, or up to a thousand or if it's well beyond that,” Price said. "We know when they're coming in that they need any support that we can provide and we're going to be ready here to welcome them."
