{"product_id":"the-school-i-deserve-isbn-9780807024980","title":"The School I Deserve","description":"\u003cb\u003eUncovers the key civil rights battle that immigrant children fought alongside the ACLU to ensure equal access to education within a xenophobic nation\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJournalist Jo Napolitano delves into the landmark case in which the School District of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was sued for refusing to admit older, non-English speaking refugees and sending them to a high-discipline alternative school. In a legal battle that mirrors that of the Little Rock Nine and \u003ci\u003eBrown v. Board of Education\u003c\/i\u003e, 6 brave refugee students fought alongside the ACLU and Education Law Center to demand equal access. \u003ci\u003eThe School I Deserve\u003c\/i\u003e illuminates the lack of support immigrant and refugee children face in our public school system and presents a hopeful future where all children can receive an equal education regardless of race, ethnicity, or their country of origin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of the students, Khadidja Issa, fled the horrific violence in war-torn Sudan with the hope of a safer life in the United States, where she could enroll in school and eventually become a nurse. Instead, she was turned away by the School District of Lancaster before she was eventually enrolled in one of its alternative schools, a campus run by a for-profit company facing multiple abuse allegations. Napolitano follows Khadidja as she joins the lawsuit as a plaintiff in the \u003ci\u003eIssa v. School District of Lancaster\u003c\/i\u003e case, a legal battle that took place right before Donald Trump’s presidential election, when immigrants and refugees were maligned on a national stage. The fiery week-long showdown between the ACLU and the school district was ultimately decided by a conservative judge who issued a shocking ruling with historic implications. \u003ci\u003eThe School I Deserve\u003c\/i\u003e brings to light this crucial and underreported case, which paved the way to equal access to education for countless immigrants and refugees to come.INTRODUCTION\u003cbr\u003eFrom Colombia to Columbia in Forty Short Years\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 1\u003cbr\u003eThe Longest Goodbyes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 2\u003cbr\u003eA New World\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 3\u003cbr\u003eBeyond the Horses and Buggies\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 4\u003cbr\u003eThe Uninvited\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 5\u003cbr\u003eHandle with Care\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 6\u003cbr\u003eNot on My Watch\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 7\u003cbr\u003eBig Leagues\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 8\u003cbr\u003eNot in Our Names\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 9\u003cbr\u003eThis Land Is Your Land\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 10\u003cbr\u003eUnDACAmented\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 11\u003cbr\u003eOpening Arguments\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 12\u003cbr\u003eIn Their Own Words\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 13\u003cbr\u003eCaps and Gowns\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 14\u003cbr\u003eTough Crowd\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 15\u003cbr\u003eDisconnected\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 16\u003cbr\u003eA Missed Opportunity\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 17\u003cbr\u003eGranted\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 18\u003cbr\u003eHigher Ground\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 19\u003cbr\u003eA Room of Her Own\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAcknowledgments\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003c\/i\u003e“Napolitano retraces Khadidja’s history with great dexterity . . . Backed by research, profiles, court testimonies, and interviews with teachers, refugees, and immigrant advocates, the book calls into question the vital essence of education and why, even in this modern era of accountability, these injustices persist . . . An eyebrow-raising report on education that is both enraging and heartbreaking.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Laden with compassion and detailed insights into the practices that threaten equal access to education, this is an eye-opening account of a precedent-setting case.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Napolitano’s book should be the next step for people horrified by the plight of refugees, undocumented people, and unaccompanied minors.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Meticulously researched and compassionate, \u003ci\u003eThe School I Deserve\u003c\/i\u003e is a fierce defense of refugees’ right to a quality education.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Napolitano’s compelling story of teenage refugees denied the same high school education as their Pennsylvania peers is both heartbreaking and infuriating. It’s an intimate story, and yet Napolitano’s exhaustive research also underscores the consequences of inequality. This book represents a historical moment as important as \u003ci\u003eBrown v. Board of Education\u003c\/i\u003e, and every democracy-loving American needs to read it.”\u003cbr\u003e—Amy Ellis Nutt, author of \u003ci\u003eBecoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Napolitano’s \u003ci\u003eThe School I Deserve\u003c\/i\u003e—and the legal case it chronicles—is a clarion call for America to live up to its ideals, as a place that embraces those fleeing hunger and persecution.”\u003cbr\u003e—Alex Kotlowitz, author of \u003ci\u003eAn American Summer: Love and Death in Chicago\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Khadidja Issa, a young Sudanese refugee who arrived with her family in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with aspirations to become a nurse, had to sue her own school district to be admitted because, at eighteen, she was deemed too old to learn there. This little-known story of her titanic and ultimately triumphant battle, along with that of five other teenage refugees, for the education they deserved should be taught alongside the epic struggles of Ruby Bridges and the Little Rock Nine in the civil rights era. No racist mobs blocked Khadidja and her fellow refugees’ access to education, but the callously indifferent practices of her local school district had a similar effect. This book is an important contribution to the ongoing examination of inequality in America.”\u003cbr\u003e—Dale Russakoff, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Prize: Who’s in Charge of America’s Schools?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eJo Napolitano\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience at the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e. She has written on many topics, but 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 \u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e. Months of research showed the trend was nationwide and won Napolitano a Spencer Education Fellowship to Columbia University to write this book. Connect with her on Twitter @Jo_Napolitano and on Instagram @jonapolitano.","brand":"Beacon Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300572254437,"sku":"NP9780807024980","price":25.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780807024980.jpg?v=1767741350","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-school-i-deserve-isbn-9780807024980","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}