Providence opens new school for refugees, immigrants

April 3, 2017 4:55 pm

By: The Associated Press

news@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Immigrant high school students whose formal education was interrupted by war or other trauma have a new school in Rhode Island.

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and school officials on Monday formally opened the new center in a city building in the West End neighborhood of Providence.

Providence Schools Superintendent Christopher Maher says it’s an “intense, small environment” so students will feel welcome as they learn English and catch up to peers on other subjects.

The Dorcas International Institute, a refugee resettlement group, is also partnering with the school to provide on-site case managers and other support services.

It’s now in its third week of operation and has enrolled 41 students recently arrived from Central America, Africa and the Middle East, all with at least two years of interrupted formal education.