This event has completed.

4/22/2021
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Jo Napolitano, author of “The School I Deserve,” (Beacon Press, April 20, 2021), tells the story of six incredible young refugees who had to fight in federal court for the right to attend school in the summer of 2016. One by one, and with the help of translators, the newcomers pleaded their case before a conservative Republican judge against the backdrop of the most contentious presidential race in modern U.S. history, one in which immigrants and refugees were openly derided. Theirs was an unlikely victory that would be challenged at the appellate level after Trump took office. The outcome forced schools across the country to reconsider their admissions policies and other practices surrounding ESL—and SLIFE—students. And it showed, too, just what these children are capable of, if only given the opportunity to succeed.

Message from Jo Napolitano: "This story is particularly meaningful to me: It was only by chance that I came to America. I was born in Bogota, Colombia, and abandoned at a bus stop a day later. Placed in an orphanage, I nearly died of starvation before I was adopted to the States. I am a first generation college graduate, Northwestern University alumna, and Columbia University fellow. The opening essay of my book is called, From Colombia to Columbia in Forty Short Years. It talks about the transformative nature of education for the world’s poorest children."

NYS TESOL members are eligible for 1 CTLE credit