Making the Invisible Visible: Asian Americans in Public Education

Session 1 will be "What are the Real Experiences of Asian Americans in Public Education?: Asian Americans Give Voice to their Lived Experiences in Public Schools."

Admission is free but we welcome and encourage contributions to support our work and programs like this.

There is a widely held false narrative that Asian American students are “model minorities.” They are perceived to have no problems and even to be thriving. A panel of Asian American researchers, educators, parents and former students will share their experiences and perspectives, revealing unseen and unheard difficulties that Asian Americans face in public schools.

Admission is free, but we welcome and encourage donations to support our advocacy for public education and so we can continue offering programs like this. Register today!

The speakers will include:

Alvin Lee, Ph.D., LCSW, is a CSWE Minority Fellow and received his social work training at the University of Pennsylvania and Boston University. Currently, Dr. Lee supports 10 schools in Region 7 in the Boston Public Schools as a District Social Worker.

Lieu Nguyen has worked at the Boston Police Department for almost 23 years, providing services to the Vietnamese community and families in the Boston Public Schools. She graduated from Boston Latin Academy in 1992, attended Regis College, and is also part of the BPS Vietnamese Dual Language committee.

Alicia Hsu recently retired from teaching third grade after 30 years working in the Public Schools of Brookline. She is a parent of three children who attended Brookline schools, is a new grandparent, and is a steering committee member of Brookline Asian American Family Network (BAAFN). She is currently teaching English as a second language to immigrant moms.

Hannah Shin was born in Illinois, raised in Texas and now lives in Massachusetts. Hannah is a Korean American with familial roots in South Korea. Her experiences in education range from teaching in a general education classroom to working with a private organization primarily serving Autistic individuals and their families. Currently she is a Behavior Specialist in the Office of Student Services for Cambridge Public Schools.

Watch for more on the second and third sessions in the series:

Session 2, on Wednesday, January 18, at 7pm will be "It’s NOT Because of 'Asian Culture' that Asian Americans are Invisible: Busting Stereotypes and Framing Realities of Asian American Well Being."

And Session 3, on Wednesday, February 8, at 7pm, will be "Do Schools and Educators Have the Will to Serve Asian Americans?: A Discussion of Proven Interventions and What is Needed to Initiate and Sustain Them."

Thanks to the members of the planning committee for all of their excellent work putting this series together: Jean Wu, Katie Li, Vivian Tam, and Go Sasaki.