OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates is leading a push for our nation’s schools to teach Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander history.
Our Mission
The K-12 AANHPI Curriculum Task Force advocates for the inclusion of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander curriculum in our nation’s classrooms. This Task Force will create a database of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI) curriculum that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive in its treatment of AANHPI history. OCA’s local chapters, along with student and educator organizations, will partner with federal, state and district stakeholders to integrate these resources into K-12 classrooms nationwide.
Our belief is that education as a tool promotes understanding, builds mutual understanding of shared struggles, and fosters empathy in the community. We aim to center the voices and experiences of those most likely to be impacted by an AANHPI K-12 curriculum: students and educators, both in curricula development, as well as in advocacy and outreach efforts.
About the Task Force
Our members include experts in education, policy & advocacy, and ethnic studies research & pedagogy, along with students, parents, educators, and advocates from the broader AANHPI community. Together we develop and vet AANHPI curriculum, strategize on outreach efforts, and share resources and information.
Curriculum: Vets and creates new AANHPI lesson plans and materials, as well as pilot lessons and teacher professional development modules.
Curriculum Co-Chairs: Ting-Yi Oei and Anusha Nadkarni
Outreach & Advocacy: Pushes for adoption of AANHPI curriculum into K-12 schools nationwide.
Outreach & Advocacy Co-Chairs: William Gow and Yvonne So
Frequently Asked Questions
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As demonstrated by the rise in hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an ongoing ‘othering’ of our community in American society. According to a recent Stop AAPI Hate National Report, 6000+ hate incidents were reported between 2020 and 2021, a number that is likely underreported.
In our nation’s K-12 classrooms, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students rarely see themselves reflected in the class material or woven into the tapestry of U.S. history. On the flip-side, non-AANHPI students are not taught to value the contributions of communities with which they do not identify. This educational black hole leads to dangerous stereotypes including the perpetual foreigner, yellow peril, and model minority myths.
Understanding AANHPI history is crucial to understanding U.S. history. For example, you cannot understand the history of immigration exclusion without acknowledging the long history of laws (e.g., the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, the Gentleman’s Agreement, the 1917 Asiatic Barred Zone) that excluded and limited Asian immigration into the U.S. Knowing this history helps us understand debates around immigration in our current moment.
OCA’s AANHPI K-12 Curriculum committee is committed to working with and educating the public at large on the need for AANHPI history in our schools nationwide. We maintain that this history is vital to promoting a just and equitable society.
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Each state has its own set of curriculum standards. Furthermore, within each state, individual school districts have differing amounts of local autonomy. Our task force is designing lesson plans and resources that supplement existing curriculum at the state level. Return to this website in the future to access our database of AANHPI history lessons.
There is an ongoing movement to include Ethnic Studies in K-12 schools. California has passed a bill mandating Ethnic Studies as a k-12 graduation requirement. In 2021, Illinois became the first state in the nation to pass a bill mandating the teaching of Asian American history at the K-12 level. Similarly, the New Jersey legislature also passed a bill requiring the teaching of Asian American studies, pending approval from Governor Murphy, who is expected to sign the bill into law.
To see what our partners at Diversify Our Narrative, a student-led initiative, are doing to push for the inclusion of ethnic studies in local school districts across the country, visit their website.
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Find out when your legislative sessions are.
Find sympathetic legislators (ideally your representatives) and look into people who have supported ethnic studies legislation in the past if possible. Could also just be people interested in education policy and racial justice
Think about what legislative priorities you would like for an AANHPI Studies bill
Resources
Learn more about the Task Force and current efforts underway to support educators.
For Students
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Ask your teachers for AANHPI curriculum as part of each subject and throughout the school year, not just for Asian Pacific Heritage Month, Lunar New Year, Filipino American History Month, etc.
Reach out to your local OCA Chapter to partner on advocacy efforts.
Mobilize fellow students to advocate for AANHPI curriculum in your school district. You can also see if there is a local Diversify Our Narrative (DON) chapter in your state. If not, you can reach out to DON about starting a local chapter.
Look at the process for approving curriculum in your school district (reaching out to your state board of education and your local school district superintendent’s office are both good starting points).
Contact your state representative to help advocate for laws to mandate AANHPI education in the K-12 system. Click here to read how a bill becomes a law.
For Parents & Community Members
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Parents, caregivers, and family members are obvious and important contributors and influencers in student learning experiences. They teach by example. Tell your stories at home and at family gatherings. There doesn’t need to be a special occasion or holiday.
For parents and caregivers of early elementary school students, read with your child. Ask local librarians, teachers, or research the Internet for titles which feature Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders or other BIPOC and diverse characters.
Engage your students’ teachers. Ask students what they are learning and ask teachers how AANHPI experiences and perspectives are woven into the curriculum throughout the year.
Know your local school board members. Ask them what they value and support for classroom educators, administrators, and families. Organize with other students and parents to attend and advocate for AANHPI curriculum at your local school district meetings. It’s important to just show up.
Check out this resource guide compiled by The Parenting Asian America Project for ways to engage families and other community members on Asian American stories.
For Teachers
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Commit to educating yourself about Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) history. Check out OCA’s Asian Pacific American Heritage Month resources here, including a booklist showcasing Asian American authors.
If you’ve already developed lesson plans and activities that incorporate AANHPI history that you’d like included in our database for others to use, please reach out to k12@ocanational.org
Help us pilot AANHPI lessons and give feedback by participating in teacher development modules designed to incorporate AANHPI curriculum at the K-12 level (workshop dates TBD).
Consider advocating for the inclusion of AANHPI curriculum within your school department and with school leadership.
K-12 AANHPI Curriculum Project Workshop
Check out OCA’s K-12 Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Curriculum Project Workshop launch, hosted on May 31, 2022! This 90-minute workshop features a panel of educators and advocates who discuss the importance of including AANHPI studies in K-12 education, the development of new and exciting AANHPI lesson plans, and ways to incorporate curriculum into K-12 classrooms across the U.S. During the second half of the workshop, one of our very own curriculum designers conducts a live walkthrough of a pilot lesson created specifically for this project. We also share updates on our soon-to-be-released database.
