More sessions are being added daily! Times and locations will be shared as we get closer to the event.
Day 1 – Friday, May 17 (virtual)
9:00 AM PDT
WELCOME
Dean Frances Contreras
Welcome
9:00am – 10:00 AM PDT
OPENING KEYNOTE
Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales
Opening Keynote
"What educators can learn from Ethnic Studies: Growing Communities Rooted in Love and Collective Liberation"
In this keynote, Dr. Tintiangco-Cubales will share the origins, purpose, and values of Ethnic Studies and the potential it has to shape how we create intentional communities–rooted in love and collective liberation–with students and families, and also with each other. She will introduce a R.A.D.ical Ethnic Studies framework that encourages a praxis that centers community responsiveness and cultural rootedness. She will also share the ways Ethnic Studies has the possibilities of improving the wellness of both students, teachers, and communities.
10:10 – 11:00 AM PDT
SESSION 1
Keith L. Camacho
Session
Pacific Islanders 101: A Workshop for K-12 Teachers
This workshop is for K-12 teachers who would like to develop lesson plans, creative activities, and community partnerships with Pacific Islanders in California, nationally, and globally. The topics of discussion include but are not limited to climate change, militarization, popular culture, and sacred spaces in Oceania and the diaspora.
10:10 – 11:00 AM PDT
SESSION 1
Tan Huynh
Session
Collaboration that Fosters Learning for MLs
For multilinguals (MLs) to be successful in schools, all teachers must rally together. Through teacher collaboration, content/homeroom teachers can work with English development teachers to make content comprehensible while fostering academic language skills. In this workshop, Tan will share the need for teacher collaboration and one approach to use while co-planning that shifts instruction for MLs.
10:10 – 11:00 AM PDT
SESSION 1
Stacey Lee Gobir
Session
Coaching to Care: The Power of Active Listening
Stacey Lee Gobir, Director of Pepperdine University’s Resilience-Informed Skills Education (RISE) Program, will discuss best practices of the RISE Coaching offering, an experience where students identify and achieve their resilience-related goals with the support of a coach.
Participants can expect to learn and practice coaching skills such as motivational interviewing, sincere validation and active listening, all tangible tools which can be used to better care for communities and promote wellbeing, inclusion, and belonging.
10:10 – 11:00 AM PDT
SESSION 1
Freda Lin, Mia Cariello, & Virginia Nguyen
Session
Co-Creation - Creating Resources on Local AANHPI Histories and Stories Together
Please join the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) and YURI Education Project (YURI) in this informative workshop about their current co-creation project! As Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities across the country continue to grow, it is increasingly important that educators and their students engage in a curriculum that is reflective of these changes. APAC and YURI’s framework for this project centers community voice and decision-making. To fully reflect and impact the community, we believe that community members must participate in every phase of this work.
APAC’s National Education Program for Co-Creation inspires and supports educators in connecting with their local AANHPI communities and share their stories and lived experiences Throughout 2023 and 2024, APAC worked alongside YURI to connect and convene (in person and virtually) a cohort of K-12 classroom educators and AANHPI-led organizations from six localities: Orange County, California; Chicago, San Antonio, Houston, and Austin, Texas; and Seattle, Washington. APAC and YURI engage with and draw upon the expertise of these local educators and community organizations to co-create new educational resources focusing on local AANHPI histories for K-12 educators and students. These wide-ranging, creative resources—from cookbooks and zines to posters and maps—will introduce and make accessible the rich, diverse, and ongoing histories of AANHPI peoples and communities across the United States.
This workshop will include how APAC and YURI came to define a co-creation model, highlight regional partners and organizations, Virginia Nguyen sharing the educational resource developed during Co-Create, and how other educators and organizations may begin to think of co-creation within their own pedagogical practices.
11:10 AM – 12:00 PM PDT
SESSION 2
Kara Lu
Session
Bringing Stories to Life with California State Parks
Historical empathy and imagination is unlocked when students are immersed in spaces where real events and stories unfurled. The PORTS Program (Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students) provides live, interactive virtual experiences that bring parks directly into your classroom, allowing a unique opportunity to dive deeper into the stories that bring Asian American studies to life. Whether it is seeing the poems etched into the walls of the detention barracks at Angel Island Immigration Station, or experiencing the oldest Taoist temple in California built by Chinese gold miners at Weaverville Joss House, or learning about the forgotten role of immigrant railroad workers through the State Railroad Museum, California State Parks is working to preserve and share these stories with our K-12 audiences and spark lasting conversations.
11:10 AM – 12:00 PM PDT
SESSION 2
Payton College Prep Asian American Club Exec Board
Session
Elevating Student Voices: Learn from Walter Payton College Prep's AAC Student Exec Board
The WPCP AAC Exec Board are so excited to share people behind the scenes who create our wonderful lessons and activities to uplift our community. In school, through our lessons on Asian Immigration and Gentrification to Beauty Standards and Architecture, we aim to educate our community and find different niches to dive in deep to be able to understand who we are at our cores. In this workshop, we will be discussing the different ways we interact with our community, give snippets of our lessons, discussions, our events and how we aim to continue growing our community. With a new board, we are all looking forward to making unforgettable memories in and outside of the club! We will share activities that we have been doing at Payton College Prep.
11:10 AM – 12:00 PM PDT
SESSION 2
Noreen Naseem Rodríguez, OiYan Poon, Sohyun An, & Esther Kim moderated by Stacy Yung
Session
"Momma, are we Black or White?": Parenting and Teaching for Asian American Racial Literacies and Solidarity
This session will feature the authors of two recently published books – Asian American is Not a Color: Conversations about Race, Affirmative Action, and Family by OiYan Poon and Teaching Asian America in Elementary Classrooms by Noreen Naseem Rodríguez, Sohyun An, and Esther June Kim. Attendees will consider how parents/caretakers and teachers can and should work together to support children in their processes of making meaning of their daily observations and questions about race, racism, and what it means to be Asian American. In her book, Dr. Poon—a nationally recognized race scholar—narrates her struggles as a mom to help her daughter answer her wonderings about the social world. Nationally recognized teacher educators Drs. Rodríguez, An, and Kim, in their book, offer insights on teaching Asian American Studies in elementary schools. Together in this session, they highlight the need for teachers and caretakers to work together in providing seamless learning experiences for children between homes, communities, and schools. They will also underscore the differences between Asian American Studies content knowledge and expertise on curriculum and pedagogy, and how the two areas of knowledge can come together to transform educational experiences.
12:00 – 1:30 PM PDT
LUNCH BREAK
LUNCH BREAK
Lunch on your own
Check out our vendors!
1:30 – 2:20 PM PDT
SESSION 3
Victoria Gray & Isabela Quintana
Session
Cultivating Compassion: Teaching and Building Community in Secondary and Post-Secondary Contexts
This panel brings together approaches to teaching ethnic studies in high school and college classrooms. We will have a conversation about how we present concepts of community in our respective courses. We will also look at student work to understand how students think through and apply these concepts at different levels.
1:30 – 2:20 PM PDT
SESSION 3
Erica Aguirre
Session
"Have you eaten yet?" Kapwa in Classrooms through Food and Culture
“Have you eaten yet?” If you’ve ever stepped into a Filipino household, you’ve probably heard this caring question. Get ready for an exciting workshop that fuses the Filipino concept of “kapwa” (all about shared humanity, interconnectedness, and empathy) with food and culture in today’s classroom. Dive in to discover how educators can play a vital role in crafting compassionate K-12 communities, all while embarking on a flavorful journey through culinary traditions.
1:30 – 2:20 PM PDT
SESSION 3
Cathlin Goulding, Eryn Feng, Yeyoon Song, Suhyeon Abby Hong, Aser Brandon Sorongon, & Roseann Liu
Session
Developing AAPI History Curriculum in K–12 Education
In light of persistent anti-Asian racism, organizers across the US have pushed for state legislation to teach Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history in public schools and have achieved some levels of success. In 2022, Connecticut mandated the teaching of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) history in grades K–12. This year (2023–2024), Connecticut-based organizers and educators began writing the model curriculum for AAPI history and invited students from Swarthmore College to join them. These college students created AAPI eighth-grade social studies units and lesson plans with the support of their professor, a curriculum specialist, and CT organizers and educators. In this panel, we will share how to scaffold and provide support to novice AAPI history curriculum designers including the frameworks that were used to structure the course, and work product templates that facilitated the learning process. In doing so, we hope to build up the intellectual and social infrastructure needed to sustain a movement toward the inclusion and visibility of AAPI histories in K–12 curricula.
2:30 – 3:20 PM PDT
SESSION 4
Tony DelaRosa
Session
Isang Bagsak as an Educational Framework
This workshops aims to expand the Filipino cultural concept of “Isang Bagsak” into an educational framework for researchers and education practitioners that ensures that Asian American narratives, histories, and epistemologies are included in social justice education spaces. Exploring Isang Bagsak as an education framework not only fights for Asian American inclusion in social justice spaces, but it validates Filipino labor and cultural concepts as accessible and transferable educational tools. The objectives this workshop aims to address are the following: 1) how can we theorize ways to include Asian Americans in social justice teaching and learning spaces, 2) how can social justice scholarship be informed by Asian Americans, and 3) how can Asian Americans concretize our cultural symbols into tools?
2:30 – 3:20 PM PDT
SESSION 4
Esther Lee
Session
Myth of the Model Minority: Deconstructing and Decolonizing
Together, will aim to: deconstruct the “Asian Pacific Islander” monolith; process how the Myth perpetuates our communities and the systems we dwell in; and brainstorm how we can incorporate racial justice and resistance into the framework of how we interact and create spaces with and for API folks.
2:30 – 3:20 PM PDT
SESSION 4
Eunice Ho, Karina Li, & Lauryn Chew
Session
Capturing Youth Stories of Solidarity: A Youth-Driven Approach to Ethnic Studies
In this workshop, students Lauryn Chew from IUSD and Karina Li from AUHSD with support from Ethnic Studies educator Eunice Ho will share about their youth-driven after school Ethnic Studies PhotoVoice programs; Lauryn’s was online and Karina’s was in-person. Specifically, they will share obstacles they encountered while planning their respective programs as well as examples of lessons/activities they led. Ultimately, they hope to inspire teachers to have the courage to teach Ethnic Studies with fidelity by centering youth agency and storytelling focused on solidarity across racial and ethnic groups.
3:30 – 4:00 PM PDT
CLOSING
Closing Reflection facilitated by Nicole Gilbertson & Virginia Nguyen
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Day 2 – Saturday, May 18 (at UCI)
9:00 AM PDT
Welcome
Sam Bersola
Welcome
9:15 – 10:15 AM PDT
OPENING KEYNOTE PANEL
Kristina Wong, Theodore Chao, Jenessa Joffe, & Anna Michelle Wang
Opening Keynote Panel
Cramming for Justice: Auntie Kristina’s Guide to Asian American Activism
Cramming for Justice! Sneak peak the forthcoming, Auntie Kristina’s Guide to Asian American Activism (Beaming Books, 2026) by Kristina Wong and the team behind the award winning, viral web series, Radical Cram School. Test run activities and lessons for kids age 10-14 (and beyond!) to explore Asian American identity, history, intersectionality, self-care, community organizing, and activism. Walk away with tools for inspiring young people towards Asian American social change and being powerful in our bodies, identities, and communities.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PDT
SESSION 1
Virginia Loh-Hagan
Session
Teaching APIDA Today for an Inclusive Tomorrow
An education that includes Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) experiences benefits everyone. APIDA content is often marginalized and/or misrepresented; teachers who strive for inclusivity can combat anti-Asian hate. Young children and teens can and should learn about anti-Asian hate. However, too often, educators are hesitant and/or uncomfortable teaching tough topics. This discomfort results in important content being watered down and/or whitewashed. In this session, identify and overcome the barriers to teaching tough topics and learn strategies for how to teach tough topics.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PDT
SESSION 1
Arlene Inouye & Eunice Ho
Session
Foundations and Futures: A Multimedia Textbook on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
This workshop will introduce UCLA Asian American Studies Center’s multimedia digital textbook project titled Foundations and Futures: Asian American and Pacific Islander Multimedia Textbook. Foundations and Futures will be a comprehensive, open-access digital anthology of Asian American and Pacific Islander histories and narratives available for high school and college students. Our team has been hard at work to develop narratives written by academic and community scholars with corresponding lesson plans developed by classroom teachers. This workshop will feature an overview introduction of the project, a demo of a chapter, and a closer look into an example narrative and how it was shaped by Ethnic Studies principles.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PDT
SESSION 1
Fuko Kiyama, Trinh Dang, Abigail Shih, Dylan Lam, Elizabeth Chan, Ethan Eng, and Heather Chen
Session
Bridging Research and Community Impact: A Workshop for High School Educators
Research is a valuable tool for inquiry, data analysis, and driving positive change in communities. With the aim to demystify the research process within social sciences, this workshop invites K-12 educators to incorporate research into their pedagogy and classroom tool kit. This workshop is designed to collectively think about strategies that help students cultivate both educational preparedness and emotional well-being by connecting research with community work. It expands on the possibilities of social justice by prompting students to locate existing gaps in knowledge and ethically conduct research for the betterment of the community.
Led by Fuko Kiyama and Trinh Dang, instructors of a 10-week college-level research workshop series for the Asian American Youth Leaders Program and their high school students, educators will gain insights from their experiences in conducting systematic literature reviews on topics related to the Asian American community. This workshop provides a platform for collaborative discussions on the importance of diversity and accurate representation, supplemented by firsthand accounts from high school students. Exploring both challenges and successes in college-level research, the workshop aims to equip educators with practical strategies for integrating research into the classrrom curriculum. Through this integration, educators can effectively address issues impacting the communities they serve, fostering care and positive change.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM PDT
SESSION 1
Caroline Lee & Tsai-ling Fraher
Session
Moving from Surviving to Thriving: Helping Asian American Youth Build Strong Psychological Immune Systems
In the workshop, Dr. Lee will discuss Asian American mental health issues and concerns, warning signs, and strategies to help our youth thrive and build resilience. Together with licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Tsai-Ling Fraher, there will be small group discussions to help reflect and identify ways to create a supportive community of care in the classroom and beyond.
12:00 – 1:00 PM PDT
LUNCH BREAK
LUNCH
1:15 – 2:45 PM PDT
SESSION 2
Alfredo Silva
Session
The Youth Know The Truth: Creating belonging by encouraging student voice
Attendees will be presented with a choice board of lessons for identity and belonging. The feature choice will be “Virtual Walking Tour” of places chosen from the book “A People’s Guide to Orange County”. Current high school students (and their teacher) will be available to discuss their process and reflection on these projects. Additionally, students will be available for Q&A regarding projects that examine identity and belonging.
1:15 – 2:45 PM PDT
SESSION 2
Priya J. Shah, mads lê, & Ivy Hang moderated by
Thuy Vo Dang
Panel
"We're Here and We're Queer" : Queer Families and Advocacy
Addressing anti-LGBTQIA policies in local K-12 public schools.
1:15 – 2:45 PM PDT
SESSION 2
Natisha Patirupananda, Ruhi Haryadi, James Lam, Catalina Silva-Oliveira
Session
How Biased Narratives Affect Classroom Curriculums
Dear Asian Youth and CVHS Empowerment Initiative are youth activist groups that strive to promote intersectional activism, both in and outside of the classroom. Our goal is to empower student voices by raising cultural awareness and diversity.
1:15 – 2:45 PM PDT
SESSION 2
Linn Lee and Michael Rodriguez
Session
Cultivating Belonging in Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities
This workshop will be a community circle in which there will be an organic discussion and sharing of ways in which we can cultivate belonging within our communities.
3:00 – 4:00 PM PDT
CLOSING RECEPTION
Tuyen Tran & Naehee Kwun
Closing Reception
Gio Nam Lion Dance, The Lawn Machine
Gio Nam Lion Dance, The Lawn Machine