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Omaha schools see influx from Central America

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha Public Schools has had in the past two years a sharp increase in new students born in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.Thousands of children from those countries have streamed into the U.S., saying they're fleeing gang violence and poverty.

The Omaha World-Herald says records show that last year the Omaha district enrolled 100 students from those three countries who hadn't enrolled in the district before and had been in the U.S. less than a year. That was four times as many as in the 2011-12 school year.

District officials say they don't know whether the children entered the U.S. legally and can't say for sure whether they are among the 214 unaccompanied minors that federal officials say came to Nebraska between Oct. 1 and June 17.

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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com

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