About this episode

James Kennedy discusses the mission and impact of Brooklyn Jesuit Prep in serving low-income families in Brooklyn.

There’s an old Latin saying about some of the famous male founders of religious orders. In translation, it goes like this: “Bernard loved the valleys; Benedict loved the mountains; Francis the towns; Ignatius loved great cities.” So it’s probably no surprise that in the U.S., no city has more Jesuit schools than New York, which has nine total across all the educational levels. Our guest today, James Kennedy, is an alum of one of these schools – Regis High School, where he also taught and led fundraising efforts – and the current president of another. James is in his third year leading Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, which is a middle school serving low-income families of diverse races, ethnicities and faiths in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. BJP currently serves 100 students, both boys and girls, in grades 5 through 8. The entire student population is composed of students of color and 74% of them are either immigrants or first-generation Americans. Host Mike Jordan Laskey asked James to talk about the school’s history and what makes it a special place. James also discussed how anti-immigrant polices and attitudes across our country today are affecting the BJP community and how…

People in this episode

Host: Mike Jordan Laskey

Guest: James Kennedy

Topics covered

• Jesuit education
• urban education
• immigration
• diversity
• middle school

Keywords

• Jesuit schools
• Brooklyn Jesuit Prep
• education
• immigrants
• urban education

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, Regis High School

Places: New York, East Flatbush

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