Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism

School Crossing is the story of the Venezuelan children who have turned to Colombia for an education. It follows two Venezuelan families with children enrolled at the Megacolegio de la Frontera in Cúcuta, Colombia. One family has relocated to Colombia and is grappling with growing xenophobia towards the migrant population.  The other still lives in Venezuela and faces a complicated daily journey to cross the border.

Venezuela is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the history of the continent and its education system is suffering the consequences. Roughly half of all children in Venezuela are not enrolled in schools due to a lack of water, food and transport, and teachers. In response, Colombia has opened its doors to a flood of educational refugees, modifying its policies to enroll all Venezuelan students regardless of their immigration status. There are currently over 140,000 Venezuelan students enrolled in schools across Colombia.