Giving Compass' Take:

• Taylor Swaak reports on the struggles Puerto Rican seniors and their educators faced on the road to graduation on the mainland. Truama, cultural and language barriers, academic inconsistency, and other factors made the process difficult and expensive.

• How can philanthropy help to prepare school districts for future disasters? What long-term support will Purto Rican youth need?

• Find out how funders can prepare for the 2018 hurricane season.

On Oct. 10, following Puerto Rico’s devastation from Hurricane Maria, Burgos Santana was walking the unfamiliar hallways of Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Florida, feeling depressed and helpless.

But eight months later, Burgos Santana has received her high school diploma, one of hundreds of seniors who came to the U.S. mainland to do so. The seniors were among an estimated exodus of about 40,000students forced to relocate as the island struggled for weeks to regain power.

Dropped into an unfamiliar world, they faced tremendous obstacles.

On top of the initial culture shock, developing course schedules was tricky for those without immediate access to school transcripts and records. Many districts initially enrolled students who lacked documentation, and they conducted extensive interviews to gauge their academic history — all while collaborating with Puerto Rico’s Department of Education to transfer records online.

Just as important as retrieving records was re-establishing students’ sense of belonging. In Hartford, there were various activities for upperclassmen and their families — literacy and multicultural nights, dances, fundraisers, and museum trips — to weave them into the fabric of the community, said Torres-Rodriguez, the Hartford superintendent.

Providing quality instructional support for these students hasn’t come without financial burden: Hartford shouldered an estimated $3.1 million in costs this year for the more than 450 Puerto Rican students who came to the district. And Holyoke, which has 171 of these students remaining, confirmed that educating one student has a $12,900 annual price tag.

All of the districts contacted by The 74 are awaiting word of federal assistance after applying for funding earmarked for displaced students. Some have relied in the meantime on alternative funding streams, such as state allocations and grants.

Read the full article about Puerto Rican seniors' by Taylor Swaak at The 74.