How To Be An Advocate For Your Asian/Pacific Islander Students

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month isn’t long enough. Teach AAPI history year-round.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Are you planning on teaching the same way as previous years, highlighting a few AAPI authors and discussing the same AAPI people from history? You need to start now to ensure they are the proud and included members of your school community the month is meant to celebrate.

Anti-Asian violence and hate increased dramatically in 2021. Even schools committed to the success of diverse student populations sometimes fall short of sufficiently advocating for the Asian, Pacific Islander, South Asian, and Asian American student communities.

You can use the month to help students learn from history and move forward with new stories, creations, and experiences. From there, you need to keep integrating AAPI history through your year-long curriculum.

• What communities are included in the Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi, and Asian American (APIDA) population?
• What are the important historical moments and contributions of APIDA communities in the U.S.?
• What barriers do APIDA students face inside and outside of the classroom?
• How can you define the current context of anti-Asian hate and harassment?
• What skills and strategies can you use to support APIDA students?
• How can you incorporate APIDA programs, resources, and best practices?
• How should your school celebrate AAPI month in May?

We are offering a multi-part series of specific training sessions with unique strategies that every teacher and administrator in your school can use to help all students here.