Alisa Li Rivera

A jittery group of middle-schoolers is about to start the first day of classes since September, when Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico and totally disrupted the island’s school system.

The vast majority of the island’s public schools — more than 98 percent — are open for at least part of the day, according to Puerto Rico’s Department of Education.

But a small number of schools in Puerto Rico are still not holding classes. Before today, that included the students of Liberata Iraldo. The middle school building they usually attend is being used as a shelter for people who lost their homes in the storm.

Because of that, these students, dressed in their pale yellow and blue school uniforms, are about to start class at a nearby high school — Pedro Falu Orellano — in Rio Grande, east of San Juan. The relocation has upset some parents, but the plan is moving ahead because it’s not clear where the people living in the shelter will go next.

The past several weeks have been tough, with so many kids stuck at home until now. Many students say they’ve been bored, reading and playing. The area is still without power. It’s not clear why it took more than two months to determine a relocation plan.

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