ORLANDO, Fla. — Ten-year-old Anthony Valencia says that after Hurricane Maria destroyed his home in Puerto Rico he played video games for a month until he was sick of them. Some estimate 14,000 public school students are among the exodus. The exodus from Maria has added to what already has been in influx of Puerto Ricans in the Orlando area of central Florida in recent years. Combining the new Puerto Rican enrollees with students from island nations such as the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Bahamas, Orange County’s 194 schools have grown by 2,429 students since the hurricane. Schools in neighbouring Osceola County have seen enrolment jump by 1,479 since Hurricane Maria, with 1,352 of those students coming from Puerto Rico.

Source: National Post November 15, 2017 17:46 UTC