The New York City Comptroller’s Office and the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF) have been collaborating for three years now on the “Asian American and Pacific Islander Classroom” (AAPI Classroom) program. This initiative aims to encourage Asian American and Pacific Islander students to reflect on and explore issues related to immigration, hate crimes, and school curriculum. This year, 29 high school students from 19 different schools launched their projects on May 20th, with a showcase event taking place on May 24th.
During a unique graduation roundtable event organized by the Comptroller’s Office and CACF, City Comptroller Brad Lander invited students to share their experiences participating in the program. He also discussed his concerns regarding minority communities and affordable housing. Lander expressed his delight at seeing young people from diverse backgrounds coming together to share their cultural traditions and was impressed by the students’ eloquence during the discussions.
“Students shared their experiences as Asian Americans and how the program effectively sparked interest among non-Asian American students in understanding different cultures. It’s a privilege for me to be in the company of these outstanding young Asian Americans as a New Yorker,” said Lander.
Earlier in the day, Lander visited Midwood High School in Brooklyn, where he observed the “Asian American and Pacific Islander Classroom” and witnessed the students’ presentations on their year-long projects.
The “Asian American and Pacific Islander Classroom” is funded through city grants and is a subproject of CACF’s “Asian American Student Advocacy Project” (ASAP), designed to empower students to become advocates for policy change. Three years ago, CACF began its partnership with the Comptroller’s Office to provide students with opportunities to create and present projects within their schools. This year, 32 students met every Friday at CACF’s Manhattan office, and ultimately 29 students successfully launched workshops in their spare time.
Ada Lin, the project manager at CACF, mentioned that students participating in the program are keen on including Asian American history courses in school curriculums. Some students have actively reached out to the Department of Education or local government to advocate for policy changes to better represent diverse student populations.
Aisha Mowla and Julie Wu, both seniors at Brooklyn Technical High School and Midwood High School, respectively, collaborated on data segmentation and combating anti-Asian hate incidents within the “Asian American and Pacific Islander Classroom” program. For them, the biggest takeaway was not just about learning but also honing their public speaking and event planning skills. Aisha Mowla stated, “We had to learn how to present and teach because we need to introduce our topics to people from different school backgrounds and our peers.”
Additionally, they were thrilled to have made like-minded friends through the program. Aisha Mowla, with Filipino and Palestinian heritage, shared her experience of the competitive atmosphere at Brooklyn Technical High School dominated by Asian students. However, after meeting Julie Wu through the program, they not only became close friends but also connected with other Filipino-American peers by sharing their project outcomes.
Julie Wu, whose parents are both Chinese immigrants, noted the challenge of organizing activities among Asian peers at her school. However, she viewed this as an opportunity to share her project with teachers and classmates, which fueled her motivation to participate actively.
Both Aisha Mowla and Julie Wu found the roundtable discussion with City Comptroller Lander to be engaging and considered Lander to be very relatable in his approach.