APANO Youth Win Key Step for Ethnic Studies in Portland Public Schools

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 20, 2016

Contact: Luann Algoso
Community Engagement Manager
luann@apano.org, 971-340-4861

APANO Youth Win Key Step for Ethnic Studies in Portland Public Schools

Portland, Ore. - Yesterday the APANO-led Ethnic Studies resolution was introduced to the Board of Education Teaching and Learning Committee, and ethnic studies has been motioned on to an upcoming general board meeting. The APANO youth organizing group, Asian and Pacific Islander Leaders for the Liberation of Youth, or ”ALLY”, composed of Metro Portland area high school students, have worked for the last year to promote student success through establishing a comprehensive Ethnic Studies curriculum to be implemented in all Portland Public Schools.

Over 30 APANO ALLY members and supporters mobilized last night to present their case to the Teaching and Learning Committee, including students from Franklin, Benson, and Roosevelt High School, along with members from Momentum Alliance and Lewis and Clark College.

“There are some things that textbooks don’t teach us, and there are some things that people don’t tell us. We deserve to learn and we deserve to know, “ says Chau Truong, ALLY Leader and Senior at Franklin High School.

“Here my peers and I continue to help push for the implementation of ethnic studies because ethnic studies is US History. It is a US History that is taught through multiple lenses.”

The resolution, championed by Dr. Julie Esparza Brown, aims to have at least one ethnic studies class in all PPS high schools within two year, along with the creation of an oversight committee consisting of students, teachers, parents and community members, and the creation of a student advisory council would be established to ensure full implementation. The Portland Public Schools Board will schedule a final vote, date and time to be determined soon.

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