Elly Fishman on the Students of ‘Refugee High’

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Image via Boswell Books

High school is never easy for any teenager, and in 2017, during the worst global refugee crisis in history, it was certainly difficult for young refugee and immigrant teens to surmount the twin challenges of adjusting to life in America and navigating the halls of high school. Luckily Chicago’s Sullivan High School is a global melting pot, with a unique mission to help the needs of this population. With 45% of its student body foreign-born and a population representing over 38 countries, this Rogers Park neighborhood school has rightly earned the moniker, Refugee High.

Journalist Elly Fishman, a former senior staff editor at Chicago magazine, spent the 2017-2018 schoolyear learning about the stories of the students and staff at Sullivan High School, with a focus on the almost 300 refugee and immigrant students who make up nearly half of the student body. Her debut, Refugee High: Coming of Age in America, is a deeply compelling chronicle that brings us the poignant stories of new Americans set against a political backdrop of intense anti-immigrant rhetoric.

In addition to following students as they navigate adolescence, learn English, and face issues including deportation and gang violence, Fishman’s story also highlights the teachers’ and school administrators’ efforts to create inclusive, safe spaces for young people who almost universally faced trauma, violence and war in their past. Each story is riveting, filled with both intense hope and heartbreaking sadness.

Fishman will discuss her debut book, Refugee High, at an in-store event at Boswell Books, 7 p.m. Aug. 31.  Fishman will be joined in conversation by author Alex Kotlowitz.