
Leadership in education within the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community is essential to achieving educational equity and excellence.
About the AAPI Alliances
The effort to end educational inequity must include the leadership of individuals who share similar backgrounds with the students most affected by the injustice, and led by those with personal proximity to the problem and its complexity. That's why we launched the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Alliances in 2014. It's crucial that we grow our base of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) teachers in order to better reflect our nation's AANHPI students and anticipate the changing student demographics in our schools.
Teach For America’s AAPI Alliances works alongside other organizations committed to deliver on the promise of equal opportunity for every child and help grow the leadership of AANHPI educators inside and outside of the classroom. We aim to mobilize a connected, thriving, culturally competent and community responsive AANHPI leadership coalition working to advance educational equity for all children.
Connect With Us
Keep up to date with our work and latest events. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for additional updates, or send us an email to get in touch.
Events & Resources
LEAP Exceed Virtual Edition
January 20 - January 29, 2021
LEAP Impact
Part 1: December 4 and 7-11, 2020
Part 2: January 14 and February 18, 2021
Part 3: March 23 - 25, 2021
SMART Program from APIA Scholars
Building Resilience Among Asian American Children
Why We Take A Stand
We’re committed to working in partnership with AANHPI leaders and organizations to recruit and train AANHPI teachers, raise awareness of the unique academic and socio-economic realities facing many AANHPI students, and expand opportunity for all children.
Moving Beyond Dispelling the "Model Minority Myth"
We work to raise awareness of the "model minority myth," the pervasive public perception that members of the AANHPI community are universally successful academically and economically secure. This stereotype harms AANHPI students who would otherwise benefit from programs and resources targeting vulnerable and underserved communities. Too often, AANHPI students are left out of national discourse around educational equity.
This harmful stereotype also masks the heterogeneity of the AANHPI community, the fastest-growing racial group in the United States. It consists of more than 48 ethnicities, over 300 spoken languages, varied socioeconomic statuses, and distinctions across immigration history, generational status, culture, and religion.
As a result, obtaining more data on AANHPI students (i.e. "data disaggregation") has become the primary civil rights issue in education for members of the AANHPI community. In 2014, Teach For America joined more than 180 national, state, and local organizations endorsing the federal All Students Count Act, calling for AAPI data disaggregation in K-12 public schools. Additionally, in 2017, TFA again advocated for stronger and more refined federal efforts in AAPI data collection and reporting, this time alongside nearly 250 other organizations, and today we remain part of the "All Students Count" coalition and continue to push for more accurate and specific data so as to better understand the needs of a diverse community and target resources more effectively. We currently work with local, state, and national partners to advocate for data disaggregation.
Here are some key statistics about the AANHPI community.
Language Background Statistics for the AANHPI Community
- Nearly two-thirds of Asian American elementary and secondary students speak a language other than English at home.
- 17 percent of Asian American students speak English “with difficulty”—ranging from 8 percent of Filipino American students to 21 percent of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese American students to 25 percent of Vietnamese American students.
High School Graduation Rates for the AANHPI Community
Among Asian American and Pacific Islanders, high school and college graduation rates vary widely. For some distinct groups, these rates are dramatically lower than the overall national rates of 81 percent for high school:
- 50% Bhutanese
- 62% Hmong and Cambodian
- 66% Laotian
- 71% Vietnamese, Tongan, and Melanesian American
- 72% Burmese
In the Classroom
Although 6 percent of our student population identify as AANHPI, approximately 2.5 percent of our nation’s teachers identify as AANHPI. Teach For America is the largest provider of AANHPI teachers in the United States, and 7 percent of our corps members identify as AANHPI - a number that more accurately reflects the diversity of our classrooms.
2.5%
Teachers nationwide identify as AANHPI
7%
TFA corps members identify as AANHPI
“I am somebody that my students may not have otherwise encountered. Using my identity to enlighten my students about the variety of cultures that exist in the world and to break stereotypes has been so crucial to me.”
Creating Safe Spaces in Schools
In the AANHPI community, bullying is often compounded by cultural, religious, and linguistic barriers that can keep AANHPI youth from seeking and receiving help. Anecdotal evidence has shown that certain AAPI groups – including South Asian, Muslim, Sikh, Micronesian, LGBTQ,immigrant, refugee, and limited English proficient youth – are more likely to be the targets of bullying.
Creating safe spaces for students is a priority at Teach For America, and we endeavor to support safe learning environments for all students. Teach For America is proud to join the diverse coalition of over 60 organizations supporting Act To Change, a public awareness campaign working to address bullying.
Read more about our resources for educators working with students in marginalized communities.
The following percentage of Asian American subgroups reported bullying in schools as a "very serious" problem, according to CAP and AAPI Data 2014:
- 42% Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islander
- 44% Vietnamese
- 45% Cambodian
- 46% Filipino
- 52% Indian
- 71% Hmong
According to statistics compiled by the federal government's AAPI Bullying Prevention Task Force:
67%
of turbaned youth surveyed in Fresno, CA reported being bullied
50%
of Asian American students in NYC public schools report “biased-based harassment"
87%
of Sikh American students experience bullying to some degree at school
5-6x
Bullied students were 5 to 6 times more likely to miss school than those who were not bullied.
In The Community
We believe it’s crucial that we continue to advance conversations about educational equity in the AANHPI community. Students, schools, and the education system lose out on the lack of diversity in the education workforce. That's why we're committed to cultivating and building relationships and partnerships with AANHPI organizations to raise awareness about the most critical issues faced by AANHPI students and to collaborate on teacher recruitment, culturally competent teacher preparation and professional development, and leadership capacity building among leaders in our network.
Our partnerships and collaborations expand the leadership and professional development of Teach For America's AANHPI corps members, alumni, and staff to ensure that our organization is in greater service to students and the community. Together, we offer opportunities for corps members, alumni, and staff to grow their professional networks, participate in workshops and conferences, and build awareness, skills, and mindsets to impact their communities through local action.
DACA Recipients
Asian immigrants make up 16 percent of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. If you are brought to the U.S. as a child, you should be able to pursue an education and career without fear of deportation. This is why we’re committed to actively recruiting eligible individuals with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status to our teaching corps. About 12 percent of TFA corps members with DACA status identify as AANHPI. Read more about our support for DACA recipients and joining TFA as a DACA-protected corps member.
69%
Asian American and Pacific Islander students are foreign-born
11%
of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are Asian American
AANHPI Community in Action
AANHPI 2018 Summit Session
AANHPI 2018 Summit
Meet Our AANHPI Leaders
Elaine Dang
New Mexico '09
Summer Associate
McKinsey & Company
Shaped by experiencing inequity as a student and corps member in TFA, and through her work at startups in Kenya, Elaine is now focused on strategic and innovation consulting so she can help companies be more equitable and sustainable.
Kevin Fang, MD
Metro Atlanta '07
Community Medicine Fellow in Pediatrics
Fang works with the most vulnerable residents in the city of Los Angeles. As a fellow and the only LA-based pediatrician in Kaiser Permanente's highly regarded Community Medicine Fellowship Program, Fang divides his time between seeing patients at various federal and community clinics throughout Southern California and teaching in Kaiser's residency program.
Rupa Ramadurai
Miami-Dade '09
Assistant General Counsel
Illinois State Board Of Education
In Rupa Ramadurai's role as Assistant General Counsel at the Illinois State Board of Education, her dedication to commit herself to a work that intersects education, law, and policy began teaching high school students as a corps member.
Eric Kwak
Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana '16
Public Policy Fellow
Alameda County Office of Education
Eric Kwak immigrated to the United States when he was eight years old and grew up in Koreatown, Los Angeles as an undocumented student. He attended the Los Angeles Unified School District and with the support and belief from his teachers, he went on to earn his B.S. in business administration at UC Berkeley. Eric Kwak is currently a Head Start teacher in the west side of Chicago. This past summer, he was a policy fellow at Ed-Trust West working on a district report card that measured achievement gaps using the newly designed CA Dashboard. He plans to use his experience growing up as a low-income student and as a teacher to better lives for disadvantaged students through policy.
Our Community Partners
Our partnerships are vital to building the capacity to mobilize a connected, thriving, culturally competent and community responsive leadership coalition working to advance educational equity for all children.
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Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholars (APIA Scholars)
Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholars is the nation's largest non-profit provider of college scholarships for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.
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Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC) advances social justice by engaging Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities through culturally relevant advocacy, research, and development.
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LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics)
LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics) is a national, nonprofit organization, with a mission to achieve full participation and equality for Asian and Pacific Islanders (APIs) through leadership, empowerment, and policy.
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Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
SEARAC is a national civil rights organization that empowers Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese American communities to create a socially just and equitable society.
AANHPI Community Resources
We've compiled a list of resources to support teachers, students, professionals and other members of the AANHPI community.
Leadership Development and Scholarships
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Scholarships, college and career readiness resources for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students.
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Coalition for Asian American Children & Families (CACF)
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Leadership program for AANHPI youth in NYC.
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National Korea American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
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Youth empowerment programs.
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Scholarship Opportunities for Asian and Pacific Islander American Students
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Scholarships for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students.
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OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates
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Scholarships and leadership development trainings for Asian Pacific American high school youth.
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Leadership programs for K-12 students interested in science, nature, technology, art, design, history, culture, or all of the above.
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Leadership Development
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Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS)
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Paid summer internship for AANHPI college students.
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Empowering Pacific Islander Communities (EPIC)
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Culture-based and community-focused leadership empowering and development program for Pacific Islander college students.
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Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP)
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Paid summer internship for AANHPI college students.
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National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
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Leadership development and civic engagement program for Filipino American youth under the age of 30.
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OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates
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Leadership development trainings and internships for college students.
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South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
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Leadership development and civic engagement programs for the South Asian community.
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Student Organizations
Resources for the Classroom & Schools
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10 Things to Know about LGBTQ API Communities
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Resources for supporting LGBTQ AANHPI communities.
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K-12 Asian American booklist.
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Asian American Racial Justice Toolkit
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This toolkit represents the work and thinking of 15 grassroots organizations with Asian American bases living in the most precarious margins of power: low-income tenants, youth, undocumented immigrants, low-wage workers, refugees, women and girls, and queer and trans people. It reflects their experiences with criminalization, deportation, homophobia, xenophobia and Islamo-racism, war, gender violence, poverty, and worker exploitation.
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Celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage
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Lesson plans and acitivities celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander heritage from K-12.
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K-12 Korematsu Institute Teacher's Guide, videos and accompanying lesson plans, and posters.
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GLAAD Asian Pacific Islander Resource Kit
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Resources for supporting LGBTQ AANHPI communities.
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Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
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Curriculum guides and resources around the history of Japanese Americans and Asian Americans.
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National Pacific Islander Education Network (NPIEN)
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Teacher resources related to Pacific Islander communities.
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National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
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Resources for supporting LGBTQ AANHPI communities.
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PFLAG Resources for API Families
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Resources for supporting LGBTQ AANHPI communities.
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Q&A Space: Stories from LGBTQ Asian and Pacific Islanders & Allies
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Resources for supporting LGBTQ AANHPI communities.
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Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
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Resources addressing issues that impact the Southeast Asian American community.
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Smithsonian Education: Asian Pacific American Heritage Teaching Resources
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Interactive platform for discovering millions of authentic digital resources, creating content with online tools, and sharing in the Smithsonian's expansive community of knowledge and learning.
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Resources for educators who work with students in marginalized communities.
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Teach For America Teaching Communities
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Self-paced courses, expert teaching advice, and resources for teachers.
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Teach For America Teacher Pinterest Board
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Teaching resources, inspiration, self-care, and humor for teachers.
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Teaching Tolerance Classroom Resources
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Teaching Tolerance has a broad set of resources, toolkits, and professional development that can support corps members and alumni interested in advancing safe classrooms. You're encouraged to search its portal for more.
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UCLA LGBT Resource Center Asian and Pacific Islander Resources
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Resources for supporting LGBTQ AANHPI communities.
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Untold Civil Rights Stories and Common Core Lesson Plans
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Curricular resources by subject or by grade to identify and honor those individuals of Asian descent who were, and are, heroes in the struggle for civil rights and social justice.
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Leadership Development
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Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE)
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Leadership and professional development conference addressing Asian Pacific American concerns and issues in higher education.
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Japanese American Citizens League (JACL)
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Teacher training workshops around the Japanese Amerian Incarceration.
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National Pacific Islander Education Network (NPIEN)
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Pacific Islander education conference.
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Native Alliance Corps Member Leadership Summit
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Leadership development summit for corps members, alumni and staff who identify as American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Native.
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Teaching Tolerance Professional Development
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Teaching Tolerance has a broad set of resources, toolkits, and professional development that can support corps members and alumni interested in advancing safe classrooms. You're encouraged to search its portal for more.
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Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Corps Member Summit
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Teach For America’s leadership development summit for corps members, alumni and staff who identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander.
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Leadership for Educational Equity
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Nonpartisan civic leadership development for leaders with classroom experience.
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South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
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Leadership development and civic engagement programs for the South Asian community.
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Leadership Development
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Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP)
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Leadership development programs for AANHPIs across sectors.
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National Association for Asian American Professionals (NAAAP)
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OCA Asian Pacific American Advocates
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Leadership development programs for AANHPI professionals.
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South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
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Leadership development and civic engagement programs for the South Asian community.
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Fellowships
Civic Engagement
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Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS)
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Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO (APALA)
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Fellowships, trainings, and mentorship programs for AANHPIs
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Leadership for Educational Equity
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Nonpartisan civic leadership development for leaders with classroom experience.
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National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
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Leadership development and civic engagement program for Filipino American youth under the age of 30.
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