How Prince George’s County Is Adapting To A Growing Number of Unaccompanied Children
This story is part of a larger project by Kavitha Cardoza, a participant in the 2019 National Fellowship. The project explores the unprecedented challenges education professionals must address when they attempt to create and manage programs and services to support undocumented children who are navigating life in a foreign country.
Other works in this project include:
Listen To Part 4: Prince George’s Schools Welcome Undocumented Students By Respecting Their Past
Prince George's County schools are offering immigrant students English language courses, mental health support and guidance counseling.
TYRONE TURNER / WAMU
In 2019, authorities at the U.S.-Mexico border detained nearly 75,000 unaccompanied minors. Most of these children faced a long and perilous journey on their way to the United States. Upon arrival to the border, authorities hold them in temporary detention centers before releasing them to adult relatives or guardians across the United States.
Ultimately, many of those children end up in our region, particularly in Prince George’s County. In fact, Prince George’s County receives the fourth highest number of unaccompanied children in the nation.
What does this mean for its school district? We’ll discuss the efforts counselors, social workers, school administrators and teachers have been pioneering countywide to ensure immigrant students adapt to their new home and overcome the barriers they face upon arrival.
Produced by Inés Rénique
Guests
- Kavitha Cardoza Special Correspondent, WAMU; @kavithacardoza
- Dr. Karen Woodson Former Principal, Mary Harris Mother Jones Elementary School; Founder and CEO, Leading for School Improvement; @kcwoodson101
[This story was originally published by The Kojo Nnamdi Show.]