Arcadia Unified's Statement of Solidarity with the AAPI Community

 

Dear Arcadia Unified Students, Staff, Families, and Community,

It’s been deeply upsetting to see news headlines of xenophobic behavior, name-calling, assaults, and too many other senseless and egregious hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Because this is too important to go without saying, Arcadia Unified vehemently condemns any and all racially motivated and xenophobic acts of harassment and violence. We will not tolerate racism or bigotry in any form. 

We have a robust Asian American and Pacific Islander community in Arcadia Unified and our Arcadia community, which makes it difficult to digest that many have shared that they feel the impacts of racism and xenophobia, which has been further magnified by the pandemic. Though I have not walked in their shoes, I am devastated by the fear and pain being experienced by our own staff, students, families, and community members. We will continue to stand united against fear, hatred, and violence, and we remain committed to doing everything in our power to keep our schools as safe spaces for all our students, staff, and families.

Arcadia Unified will combat anti-Asian hate by:

 

Listening to student voice. Every student voice and experience in our district matters. We will continue to teach the understanding of each person’s unique background, culture, and history. We will continue to embrace student voice and experiences in meeting this challenge.

 

Talking about it. We will speak with students about these current events, continue to examine historical events, and let students explore their questions in safe settings. We will continue to show students how to find facts and information from reliable sources, as will we continue to provide mental health support and resources for students to talk through their feelings.

Providing a safe space. Community-building techniques, such as restorative practices and Leader in Me lessons, have been commonplace in our classrooms. 

Space for healing and discussion is critical to ensure our students know that they matter and are loved. Here is a list of additional resources that offer some ways to create and hold authentic, healing dialogue for everyone in our school community.

 

Support and resources. Here are some more resources to help get these important conversations started:

• PBS NewsHour: How to Address the Surge of Anti-Asian Hate Crimes
• Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance): Addressing Anti-Asian Bias
• The New York Times: Resources for Teaching About Race and Racism with The New York Times 

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has also shared resources to empower educators and students with tools on how to take action against anti-Asian hate:

• Contact lawmakers to speak up against anti-Asian hate, xenophobia and violence.
• These student-facing online lessons may be shared with middle-high school students to expand their understanding of how the coronavirus pandemic has increased racism against people of Asian descent and what they can do about it.
• This blog addresses the fear, stereotypes and scapegoating both emotionally and physically harming the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
• Educators and families may consider reading books like these with elementary school students to help challenge stereotypes and foster respect and inclusion.

Schools have the responsibility and power to create change and to help mold tomorrow’s leaders and policymakers. We gladly accept this continued challenge of ensuring our students have the opportunity to engage in important, informed conversations that champion tolerance, understanding, and respect for all. 

I want to acknowledge and thank our Arcadia Unified family for its continued commitment to the crucial racial equity and inclusion work they are doing in classrooms and on our campuses. These recent deplorable incidents demonstrate the continued need to stay steadfast in our efforts to work together to combat ignorance, racism, and hatred. We stand in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and will continue to do all we can to support our students in addressing these issues in safe, empathetic, and empowering ways.

Sincerely, 

Dr. David Vannasdall, Superintendent

Arcadia Unified School District 

 

尊敬的Arcadia统一学生，教职员工，家庭和社区，

 

看到仇外行为，称呼，殴打以及其他针对亚裔美国人和太平洋岛民的其他无意义和令人震惊的仇恨犯罪的新闻头条，实在令人不安。因为这太重要了，不用说，阿卡迪亚联合会强烈谴责任何和所有出于种族动机和仇外行为的骚扰和暴力行为。我们将不容忍任何形式的种族主义或偏执。

 

在Arcadia Unified和Arcadia社区中，我们有一个强大的亚裔美国人和太平洋岛民社区，这使得人们很难理解许多人分享了他们感到种族主义和仇外心理的影响，而这一现象在大流行中进一步加剧了。尽管我没有走上他们的鞋子，但我自己的员工，学生，家庭和社区成员所经历的恐惧和痛苦使我感到震惊。我们将继续团结起来，抵御恐惧，仇恨和暴力，我们将继续竭尽所能，使学校成为所有学生，教职员工和家庭的安全场所。

 

阿卡迪亚统一组织将通过以下方式消除反亚洲仇恨：

 

听学生的声音。每个学生在我们地区的声音和经验都很重要。我们将继续传授对每个人独特背景，文化和历史的理解。在迎接这一挑战时，我们将继续吸收学生的声音和经验。

 

谈论它。我们将与学生讨论这些当前事件，继续检查历史事件，并让学生在安全的环境中探讨他们的问题。我们将继续向学生展示如何从可靠的来源中找到事实和信息，同时我们将继续为学生提供心理健康支持和资源，以表达他们的感受。

 

提供安全的空间。社区建设技术，例如恢复性实践和“我的领导者”课程，在我们的教室中很常见。

康复和讨论的空间对于确保我们的学生了解自己的重要性和被爱至关重要。以下是其他资源的列表，这些资源提供了一些方法来为我们学校社区中的每个人创建和举行真实的，具有治愈作用的对话。

 

支持和资源。这里有更多资源可帮助开始这些重要的对话：

PBS NewsHour：如何应对反亚洲仇恨犯罪激增

为正义而学习（以前为宽容教学）：解决反亚洲偏见

《纽约时报》：《纽约时报》关于种族和种族主义的教学资源

反诽谤联盟（ADL）还共享了资源，以使教育工作者和学生有能力采取各种措施来对抗亚洲仇恨：

联系立法者，反对反亚洲仇恨，仇外心理和暴力。

这些面向学生的在线课程可能会与中学生共享，以加深他们对冠状病毒大流行如何加剧了针对亚裔人的种族歧视的认识，以及他们可以采取的措施。

该博客解决了在心理上和身体上伤害亚裔美国人和太平洋岛民社区的恐惧，刻板印象和替罪羊。

教育者和家庭可以考虑与小学生一起阅读此类书籍，以帮助挑战刻板印象和

 

学校有责任和权力进行变革，并帮助塑造明天的领导人和决策者。我们很高兴接受这一持续的挑战，即确保我们的学生有机会进行重要的，知情的对话，以拥护，理解和尊重所有人。

 

我要感谢并感谢我们的Arcadia统一家庭对他们在教室和校园中所做的至关重要的种族平等和包容性工作的持续承诺。最近发生的这些令人遗憾的事件表明，我们仍然需要坚定不移地共同努力，以消除无知，种族主义和仇恨。我们与亚裔美国人和太平洋岛民社区保持团结，并将继续竭尽全力支持我们的学生以安全，富有同情心和增强能力的方式解决这些问题。

 

真挚地，

总监大卫·范纳斯达尔（David Vannasdall）博士