NEW BRUSWICK, NJ—The New Brunswick Adult Learning is hosting an event for New Brunswick parents and teachers to have any questions answered regarding immigration and its effects on education.

It will be held on Thursday, June 15 at 5:30 p.m. and located at the Adult Learning Center in Room 201.  The facility is located at 268 Baldwin Street in the same building that houses the school district’s administrative offices.

The event is organized by the school district’s employee union, the New Brunswick Education Association.

There, people will have the opportunity to speak with immigration attorney and member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Michele Alcalde.

A light dinner will be provided by the Families and Students Together (F.A.S.T) committee and Unity Square, a social justice and community organization, will provide additional information and resources.

The inspiration behind the event was the “A Day Without Immigrants” protest that occurred in February, according to Mark Neurohr-Pierpaoli, a language arts teacher at New Brunswick High School.

That day saw thousands of district students stay home from school in protest.

“This informational event is the result of our work. As the struggles of immigrants have only gotten worse since then, we are seeing even more impact in the schools.” said Neurohr-Pierpaoli.

The goal behind the event is to facilitate an environment for parents and teachers to discuss immigration issues for the betterment of the community.

The immigrant community made up 21,560, or more than one-third of the city’s population, according to the United States census.

“What teachers are seeing in the schools right now is a lot of fear, mistrust, anger, sadness. The schools not only have a duty to provide an academic education, but also a social and emotional education. Teaching and learning in this climate is difficult,” said Neurohr-Pierpaoli

“The community needs to know they can trust the teachers and the schools. We have to work to build that partnership.” said Neurohr-Pierpaoli.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact Mark Neurohr-Pierpaoli at [email protected].