As the Roxbury migrant shelter overflow site fills up, BPS is working to get dozens of students enrolled, ready for school and to class, district officials said.

“This past weekend, we opened the Bolling Building and welcomed 33 families who are new to the country and living in the temporary shelter at Melnea Cass Recreation Center,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said at Wednesday night’s School Committee meeting. “We’re thrilled to welcome these families and their 47 students to the BPS community.”

The city converted the Cass Recreation Complex to an overflow shelter on Feb. 1 months after the state reached its shelter limit, and officials reported the complex was nearing its 400-person capacity Wednesday. As of Thursday afternoon, 78 students from the community center in Roxbury had been enrolled in BPS, according to district spokesperson Max Baker.

The BPS Offices of Family Advancement and Welcome Services are working quickly to help families through the enrollment process, place students and “minimize any learning disruptions,” Baker said.

Skipper praised the Welcome Services team on Wednesday night for their work setting up registration in “really just a few days,” as well as preparing backpacks with school supplies, coordinating a clothing drive, and providing books and activities during registration for students.

“Because of their efforts, the students were very excited for the first day, which was today (Wednesday),” said Skipper. “We organized a walking school bus this morning to help families understand how they can get to school. School communities were ready to receive the new students, and we are happy to help our families into a new routine as quickly as possible.”

BPS is in a “unique position” to offer additional support services for the incoming migrant students, Baker said.

The School Committee also approved a $50,000 DESE Emergency Homeless Support grant on Wednesday night, which Skipper said was “particularly applicable for our migrant students” in the emergency shelter.

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The superintendent said there is still a “need for more clothing,” and the district will work with city and state partners to organize donations, noting they will release details “soon.”

With 7,500 families enrolled in the overwhelmed shelter system, according to the latest state data, BPS and other districts across the state have already taken in a large migrant student population. BPS has also faced issues of declining enrollment in recent years, with the student population dropping 14% over the last seven years.

“We’ll continue to all that we can to support our new students and families,” Skipper said.