Humanizing Education for Immigrant and Refugee Youth

This important book offers strategies, models, and concrete ideas for better serving newcomer immigrant and refugee youth in U.S. schools, with a focus on grades 6–12. The authors present 20 strategies grouped under three categories: (1) classroom and instructional design, (2) school design, and (3) extracurricular, community, and alumni partnerships. Each chapter provides research-based information, classroom examples, tips for implementing each strategy, and additional resources. Readers will find engaging profiles of schools, students, and alumni interspersed throughout the book, offering both varied perspectives and practical advice. Humanizing Education for Immigrant and Refugee Youth will assist today’s educators, school leaders, policymakers, and scholars interested in the holistic success and well-being of immigrant and refugee students.

Book Features:

• Practical strategies for educators and school leaders are rooted in empirical research and classroom narratives from across the United States.
• Multiple, real-life examples are used to illustrate each strategy.
• Each chapter concludes with a brief summary and recommended resources.
• School and student profiles demonstrate what the strategies look like in practice, as well as their benefits for students.
• Diverse perspectives are presented by researchers, classroom teachers, school leaders, and newcomer students.
• A companion website at https://www.monishabajaj.net/immigrefugeeed

Monisha Bajaj is professor of International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco and visiting professor at Nelson Mandela University, South Africa. Daniel Walsh is faculty associate in Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Lesley Bartlett is professor and department chair of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Gabriela Martínez is a recent graduate of the Masters in Migration Studies Program at the University of San Francisco.

“Based on years of experience and extensive fieldwork, Humanizing Education for Immigrant and Refugee Youth articulates compassionate and pragmatic strategies for serving these students in exemplary ways. Taking an ecological framework, including classroom, school-wide, and community levels, the authors lay out strategies every school can and should implement. A must-read for all who care for immigrant-origin students.”
—Carola Suárez-Orozco, Harvard Graduate School of Education

“The gift that Bajaj, Walsh, Bartlett, and Martínez gives us through this book is a systems approach to welcoming and teaching refugee and immigrant students. The authors move beyond individual teachers in individual classrooms to address how to build welcoming programs and schools that reach out into the community and create a village working together to serve newcomers. This book is a must-read for teachers and education leaders committed to honoring, celebrating, and serving every student.”
—Mandy Manning, 2018 National Teacher of the Year