"The impact of the surge had saturated every aspect of the school day in Columbia Heights' district of fewer than 3,400 students - half of them English-language learners - and seeped deeply into the hours beyond it. Seven students had been detained, including Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old whose photo became a global symbol of the crackdown's sweep. Dozens of parents across the district were in custody."
"Over the weeks, Columbia Academy, like the district's four other schools, had taken on an entirely new identity. It was still a place of learning, even if 210 of its 700 students were now studying at home. But now it was also a food bank, a counseling hotline, a missing persons task force, an immigration resource center and a refuge."
Columbia Academy and the wider Columbia Heights district have faced daily crises after a surge in immigration detentions. Parents and seven students were detained, including 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, and dozens of parents are in custody. Attendance fell as hundreds of families enrolled children in online classes, with 210 of 700 Columbia Academy students studying at home. School staff handle legal referrals, missing-persons searches, counseling, food distribution, and other emergency needs. The principal described daily operations as triage. Families regularly contact the school first for help rather than police, neighbors, or other organizations.
Read at The Washington Post
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