The public library as base for belonging

Sophia Rodriguez at the Center for Urban Research and Learning

Until schools reinvent themselves, which I don't see happening anytime soon, after-school programs are going to be the micro-spaces where students gain a sense of positive identity.--SOPHIA RODRIGUEZ

After a lull after the 2008 recession, immigration to America is at historically high levels--maybe not as much in percentage terms as in the 1850s or 1880s, but about 1.5 million newcomers arrived in 2016, which is a lot. Their impacts are felt strongly in some places, less so in others, as these newcomers are not randomly distributed.

One such place is Hartford, Connecticut, where 130 students from Puerto Rico moved into the school district following Hurricane Sandy, adding to an influx of immigrants from a variety of Latin American and African countries, as well as Myanmar (Burma). With 20,000 students in the public school system, this would have been a major event, even without the challenges of language, academic background, and housing uncertainty.

Dr. Sophia Rodriguez, assistant professor of Educational Foundations at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, spoke at Loyola University's Center for Urban Research and Learning about an unusual pilot program based at the Hartford Public Library. Library and school district officials saw an opportunity because many immigrant students lack permanent homes and so hang out at the library. Dr. Rodriguez's report on the first year of the program was cautiously positive: Students reported greater feelings, not only of belonging, but also civic competence.

Newcomers refers to people who have been in the United States less than 30 months. Some are seeking refugee status, some are going through naturalization, and some are undocumented. Some are fleeing violence, some seek economic opportunity, some have lost everything they had in a hurricane or other natural disaster. Rodriguez, who has worked in a variety of school systems throughout the country including Chicago's, notes that even in culturally diverse urban areas, school-aged newcomers face hostility, lack of staff awareness, lack of support staff for languages other than Spanish, and a powerful norm for conducting classes in English, all in schools that are often under-resourced.

The Hartford program sought effective integration of newcomer youth into the community. Dr. Rodriguez used the word belonging, and I gather the program does, too, but as she pointed out that traditionally refers to improving the individual's comfort level with his or her surroundings. Hartford worked up a "civically-minded social justice curriculum... including policy awareness, accessing resources, and how to engage in activism." She describes three levels of belonging: (1) personal-individual day-to-day feelings; (2) relational i.e. networks of peers; (3) civic awareness i.e. feelings of belonging to the city.

The good news is, observation and surveys from 2017-18 showed improvements on all three dimensions, and responses from participants and staff were broadly positive. The program's small size (never more than 35 participants) and national-linguistic diversity improved students' levels of belonging by creating an instant peer network. Using the public library as a base showed that institution's potential in any city to be a "springboard to other resources and opportunities." All this was achieved despite numerous "logistical, methodological and staffing challenges."

Side note: As someone occasionally involved in after-school activities, the apparent willingness of students simply to hold still after a long school day seems miraculous.

With such a small sample--only 22 students participated in the surveys--inferences are made cautiously. Indeed, only on the second dimension  of belonging ("relational") were improvements statistically significant. Participants in the second year of the program are all Spanish-speaking, which presents a different dynamic from the diverse first-year group.

If someone, say library director Bridget Quinn-Carey, were to talk about this program at 1 Million Cups, very soon someone would ask if the program could be scaled up. Aye, there's the rub. One of the favorable circumstances of the program is the relatively small size, smaller than the typical class at Hartford or Bulkley High Schools. Effective integration of newcomers takes investment in staff and other resources, at a time when schools are hardly flush. This program was funded in part by the U.S. Institute for Museum and Library Services, but they're not going to be good for more than piloting and research.

In the richest society in the history of Earth, resources for those investments are here, just historically hard to tap. It might be worth it. Diversity can be a source of strength for this uncertain century--no ecologist in the world speaks favorably of monocultures--but only if newcomers are effectively integrated. Large-scale immigration is a fact, and we can choose how to respond. We can follow the example of our President, and respond with bigotry, political opportunism, and what amounts to a government kidnapping ring. Or we can rise to the challenge of inclusion, and support the work necessary to make it happen.