Closing the Opportunity Gaps Forum (3/14) - Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs

Date:

Community Forum: Closing the Educational Opportunity Gaps for Asian American and Pacific Islander Students

API Flyer

How do we ensure that all Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students have the tools to succeed in school and life? Achieving educational equity for our state’s fastest growing and most diverse population is a critical civil rights issue.

Join us for a first look at new education data on AAPI students in Washington and learn about hidden and invisible opportunity gaps facing our students. Engage with researchers, grassroots leaders, and policymakers about community-driven strategies and recommendations to close the opportunity gaps.

Saturday, March 14, 2015
10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
New Holly Gathering Hall
7054 32nd Ave S., Seattle, WA 98118

RSVP on our Facebook event page or amy.van@capaa.wa.gov

Free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be available.

About the Forum

The National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE), the Southeast Asian Education Coalition, Our Future Matters, and CAPAA are pleased to announce the release of a new report that examines the educational opportunity gaps for Asian and Pacific Islander (API) students in Washington State. Researchers from CARE will provide a first-look at new information based off of recent disaggregated data. Community members will engage with researchers, grassroots leaders, and policymakers about community-driven strategies and recommendations to close the opportunity gaps.

Our presenters

  • National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE): In 2013, CARE launched the iCount: Equity Through Representation campaign, which aims to raise awareness about and bring attention to the ways in which AAPI student data reported in the aggregate conceals significant disparities in educational experiences and outcomes between AAPI sub-groups (i.e., Japanese, Hmong, Asian Indian, etc.).
    • Bach-Mai Dolly Nguyen: Ph.D. Candidate and Research Assistant at the University of California-Los Angeles
    • Robert Teranishi, Ph.D.: Professor of Social Science and Comparative Education, the Morgan and Helen Chu Endowed Chair in Asian American Studies, and co-director for the Institute for Immigration, Globalization, and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles.
  • Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos: Rep. Santos chairs the House Education committee and serves on the House Business & Financial Services and the Community and Economic Development & Housing committees. A community activist for more than 30 years, Sharon Tomiko Santos was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1998 and represents the 37th Legislative District, which stretches south from Capitol Hill to Skyway and downtown Renton.
  • Frieda Takamura: Co-chair of the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee, and Co-chair of the Asian/Pacific Islander American Think Tank. Takamura is a long time educator and served on CAPAA.
  • Sili Savusa: Executive Director of the White Center Community Development Association, serves on the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee, Highline Community College Trustee, co-chair of the Road Map Project Community Network.
  • Our Future Matters: OFM is a youth-led organization that helps Pacific Islander students, parents, and community leaders create positive change and enhance their success in education. Formed in 2012, OFM helped convene the first Pacific Islander Education Summit in Washington State in 2012 and has organized two consecutive summits.
  • Southeast Asian Education Coalition: SEAeD is a grassroots organization located in Washington’s South Puget Sound dedicated to advancing the educational empowerment of Southeast Asians. Formed in 2011, SEAeD convened the first Southeast Asian American Education Summit in Washington State in 2012 and a second one in 2014.