Many Asian American educators EdSurge Research spoke to initiated Asian American affinity groups, professional development workshops and outreach programs with little or no support from school leaders. and from various positions in the K-12 education sector gathered in structured small group discussions to connect, share their stories and learn from each other in virtual learning circles. EdSurge Research has spent the last year gathering stories from Asian American K-12 educators working during a time when violence against Asian Americans is at an all-time high. Throughout the pandemic, EdSurge has continued its Voices of Change project, reporting on K-12 teachers and administrators guiding their students through the uncertainty of school closures and the trauma of mass death from the rapid spread of COVID-19. This year, they will celebrate their third “AAPI Awareness Day,” featuring panels, conversations and performances from both students and outside speakers in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Frustrated by the administration’s inaction on anti-Asian incidents like this one, Asian American teachers in the school where the digital attack occurred strategized ways to support and empower their Asian American students. Instead, distressed students went to teachers who made them feel safe. While the principal and superintendent made public statements, the Asian American students in the class were dissatisfied with the response. For one teacher of AP Chinese Language and Culture, that morning changed from confusing to horrifying when a group of white supremacists infiltrated the virtual class, inundating the students and teachers with racist slurs, mocking noises and violent screen images. ![]() Moving classes online was a quick pivot with few standardized privacy protections. ![]() On April 15, 2020, high school teachers in the Newton Public Schools district near Boston were doing what K-12 teachers were doing across the country: They were teaching on Zoom.
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