This week on JobMakers, Host Denzil Mohammed talks with Jo Napolitano, journalist, former Spencer Fellow at Columbia University, and author of the new book, The School I Deserve: Six Young Refugees and Their Fight for Equality in America, about the enterprising spirit of immigrants and refugees across the nation and at the U.S.-Mexico border. She’s seen children fight to go to good schools so they can fulfil their dreams, learning with donated tablets in tents in Mexico during the pandemic, and she’s seen the outcomes: ambitious young adults who used education and the relative safety of the United States to thrive. They discuss her conviction, drawn from her own immigrant experience and her observations, that educating immigrant children, including those who are undocumented, is not only the moral thing to do but an investment in our collective economic well-being. With better jobs, they can contribute more, and they can improve lives for all Americans.
Guest:
Jo Napolitano is an award-winning reporter, having investigated topics in science, education, and immigration for The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and Newsday. Public education remains her primary focus. She first spotted the trend of public schools turning away immigrant children in 2014, when she was a senior reporter for Newsday. Months of research showed the trend was nationwide and won Napolitano a Spencer Education Fellowship to Columbia University to write her debut book, The School I Deserve: Six Young Refugees and Their Fight for Equality in America. Published by Beacon Press in 2021, the book tracks the progress of new immigrant children as they relocate from Syria and other locations to suburban and rural America. Born in Bogota, Colombia and abandoned at a bus stop days later, Napolitano spent the first months of her life in an orphanage. Adopted and raised by a single parent in New York, she went on to earn a degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
Oops! We could not locate your form.
Related Posts
Navigating Labor Shortages: The Role of Immigrants and the Potential of Schedule A
Empowering Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Natalia Frois’ Journey to Success in Building Business Networks on Cape Cod
Rising Dough: The Blue Frog Bakery Journey, Immigration, and Community Impact
Adam Ozimek: Immigration Policy Is Innovation Policy
Sebastian Corbat Brings Us Healthy Foods ‘From the South’
Benjamin F. Jones Shows How Immigrants Are a Boon for the U.S.
Duker Cultivates Nourishing Solutions
Miriam Kattumuri Keeps Us Healthy and Green
Erick Widman, Esq.: Immigrants Can Ease Worker Shortage
