Widening the Gap: Learning, Earning, and COVID

The COVID pandemic reversed years of improving high school dropout rates by untethering millions of young people from the institutions that were already struggling to support them. In this episode we examine the implications for the long-term earning potential of these students and ultimately, the labor market.  

To understand the impact on young people in our region, we talked to education advocates including Philadelphia City Councilmember Derek Green and Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, immediate past President and CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network. For the national context, we spoke to Chauncy Lennon at the Lumina Foundation, about the long-term skills and labor market implications.  And JEVS Human Services’ E3 Center member Kareema shares her personal story as she refocuses on her education and future.

President Biden’s recent Declaration to raise the refugee arrival cap and news coverage of tens of thousands of Afghan families fleeing their country has us wondering just how prepared is the United States to welcome the newcomer?  After several years of steadily declining refugee admissions in the US, is the refugee-serving system able to handle an influx of newcomers? And what of the United States’ role in a global response to displacement in places like Afghanistan and around the world?  Should we--and can we--lead by example?  To better understand these complex issues, we spoke Naomi Steinberg of HIAS and noted immigration attorney State Representative Joe Hohenstein.  Olha and Mohammed, two former refugees building new lives in Philadelphia, share their poignant stories of coming to America with not much more than their hopes and dreams.

Produced by

JEVS Human Services

PWPvideo