Campaigning for Curricular Change: How I Led a Recruitment Campaign for Asian American Studies at Round Rock High School
The Lack of AAPI’s in High School History Curriculum
As an Indian American student in a suburban high school near Austin, Texas, I deeply felt the absence of education on AAPI history throughout my high school experience. During my time as a student, I took many advanced courses such as AP World History, AP European History, and AP Human Geography. Unfortunately, not only was there a dearth of courses centering AAPI history, but also the existing offering of courses taught a broad overview of humanity’s past from a settler colonial, Eurocentric perspective.
Despite Texas being home to the 3rd largest population of AAPIs in the country, we spent little time learning about the intricacies of AAPI history and the experiences of early AAPI immigrants to the United States. I felt that an entire aspect of our past was purposely obscured from us as we delved deep into specific events and people that influenced our shared history while barely covering the experiences of the Asian American community and other influential non-white individuals.
Joining A Campaign for Change
When I first learned about a campaign collaboration between Asian Texans for Justice and the UT Center for Asian American Studies to implement the first high school Asian American Studies elective course, I knew that I wanted to get involved with that initiative for my capstone project as an ATJ Civic Engagement Fellow. For context, Civic Engagement Fellows are given the chance to utilize their lessons on community engagement and campaigning to work on projects of our own.
For my project, I selected spearheading the campaign to advertise the Asian American Studies (AAS) pilot course to Round Rock High School, the school I attended. Ms. Ann Nguyen, an English teacher at RRHS and potential teacher for the Asian American Studies course, as well as Mohit Mehta, the Assistant Director and Advisor for Asian American Studies Majors at UT, were at the forefront of making this initiative possible.
The purpose of my campaign was to encourage students to register to take the AAS pilot course in the upcoming school year and hopefully fill the gap in our high school curriculum in regard to AAPI history. A key goal was showing the Round Rock High School administration that their students were deeply interested in taking an Asian American studies class and would greatly benefit from doing so. As such, spreading the word about this course and gaining traction among students was a top priority for my capstone project.
Our Marketing Campaign
Being heavily involved as a leader in various extracurriculars at RRHS, I leveraged my connection to the student body to promote the AAS pilot course. I began this process by first assembling a team of students that were also just as passionate about seeing this class come to fruition as I was. With the help of four other students, I began formulating our campaign strategy. We utilized word of mouth, social media marketing, and in-person information sessions to target the widest possible audience.
Preliminary Research Through Word of Mouth
Word of mouth was a critical aspect of our campaign that we leveraged to understand the perspective of the student body and uncover any hesitations they had about taking the course. What we found after talking personally with many students was that they were excited to take this course but unsure about the logistics of signing up for the class. This was due to the fact that RRHS administration refused to put the AAS pilot course on the course registration form that students filled out to choose their courses for the upcoming year until there was adequate student interest in taking the class.
Unfortunately, many students had already filled out and submitted their course registration forms as they were under the impression that the AAS pilot course was not going to be offered at all in the upcoming year. As such, our team not only had to advertise the Asian American Studies pilot course but also explain to students how they could register for it even if they had already submitted their course request forms.
Social Media Marketing
Social media was a key aspect of our strategy as this allowed us to reach a wide audience of students. My team and I used our personal social media to post flyers promoting the course and direct students to follow the Instagram account that we had created to provide more in-depth information and updates on the status of the class.
In the flyer, we provided a QR code that led to a Google form that students could fill out to receive more information about the course. We used form sign ups as a metric of student interest and found that over thirty students were interested in potentially taking the AAS course.
In-Person Marketing
Alongside social media marketing, I also organized my team to go into various classes and club meetings to promote AAS. We specifically targeted history and government classes, as well as clubs like debate and Model UN, where we believed there would be a high percentage of students interested in taking an Asian American Studies course.
Another critical finding that we learned through word of mouth was that students were interested in taking the course, but their parents were hesitant in allowing their child to sign up for it as they were unsure of its educational value given that it was a new course. As such, with the help of Ms. Nguyen and Mohit, we were able to organize a parent information night. This meeting allowed parents to ask any questions they had about the course and also allowed us to provide more information about how to register for the class.
Once we gained a bit of traction through social media promotion and hosting informational events, we sent out the official form that allowed students to formally register to take the course.
The Impact of Implementation
Through our campaigning efforts using word of mouth, social media, and in-person information sessions, we were able to secure enough students to officially pilot the Asian American Studies course at Round Rock High School. Approximately 15 students registered to take this course in the 2023-2024 school year, surpassing the minimum threshold required for the class to be officially offered and taught. My capstone project for the Civic Engagement Fellowship helped enable the possibility of Asian American Studies at my high school.
The impact of the establishment of this course was monumental, not only for the students taking the course but for the greater AAPI community in Texas. By setting the standard that students deserve a comprehensive historical education that encompasses various identities and experiences, Texas high school curricula can continue to be challenged and improved.
Furthermore, as the Asian American Studies course continues to be offered, I hope more Round Rock High School students will register, demonstrating to other high schools the need for a similar course to be implemented. Recognizing the shortcomings of the current high school history curriculum and advocating for necessary changes can go a long way toward eventually improving our curriculum. The implementation of this course would not have been possible without the work of Ms. Ann Nguyen, Mohit Mehta, the student team, as well as ATJ and the UT Center for Asian American Studies.
When all of us can come together and work towards a common goal, great change is possible and in our case, the beginning of great change is exactly what we achieved.
Looking Forward
This summer, I am thrilled to join Asian Texans for Justice as a Civic Engagement Intern. I look forward to contributing to the remarkable efforts ATJ has made in advocating for our community. My experience working on this capstone project was incredibly rewarding and continues to inspire me. I am excited to contribute to ATJ's campus organizer program this summer to further their impactful mission.
About the Author
Mallika Jade is an Indian American second-generation immigrant. She is a student in the World Bachelor in Business program, a unique triple degree partnership between the University of Southern California, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Bocconi University. She has been deeply involved in the policy and nonprofit space since high school and hopes to utilize her college education to work at the intersection of business and social impact from an international perspective. Mallika has consulted for nonprofits in many diverse fields ranging from education to environmental sustainability, allowing her to gain experience across various industries. She now serves as a Civic Engagement Intern for ATJ, continuing to build her experience in nonprofits while giving back to her community.
