CAAL Applauds Walz-Flanagan Administration’s Due North Education Plan
For Immediate Release
January 27, 2021
Contact
Julia Gay julia@caalmn.org | (216) 744-4956
St. Paul, MN – The Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) applauds the Walz-Flanagan Administration’s Due North Education Plan for centering racial equity by expanding access to opportunities for Black, Indigenous, Asian and Latinx students. The plan provides a much needed framework that centers on our children as we rebuild our communities. Asian American students represent 61,590 of all students in Minnesota. Many of whom are children of immigrant families and are Emerging Multilingual Learners (EML) who have experienced a lot of learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s right that we should focus our recovery efforts on our state’s greatest asset – our children,” says Bo Thao-Urabe, CAAL’s Executive and Network Director.
CAAL was a member of the Governor’s Education Roundtable that inspired aspects of the Due North Plan, which includes actions that would support students during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, reform school financing, expand opportunities for students in Greater Minnesota, and build the most qualified and diverse teaching workforce in the nation. The plan aims to ensure academic standards address the modern needs of the workforce, are inclusive of ethnic studies, and addresses the education opportunity gaps and disparities faced by students of color and Indigenous students.
“For many years, CAAL has advocated for ethnic studies and heritage language because we believe that it is core to our education equity goals,” states KaYing Yang, CAAL’s Director of Programs and Partnerships. She added, “This plan needs to be accompanied by a bold budget and to receive bi-partisan support to truly make sweeping changes in our education.”
CAAL has partnered with the Minnesota Ethnic Studies Coalition, composed of 15 diverse organizations, education unions, youth groups, and academics to advocate for ethnic studies because research shows that ethnic and heritage language strengthens students’ racial and ethnic identity development and attitudes toward learning. Additionally, investing in ethnic studies helps develop effective teaching, especially when it builds on students’ prior experiences and cultural knowledge to make classroom content more relatable and relevant.
We urge community members to review the plan, monitor the actions of the Minnesota State Legislature and to continue to engage with Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan so they can follow the progress of this plan to ensure sufficient resources are invested in its implementation.
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About Coalition of Asian American Leaders:
The Coalition of Asian American Leaders (CAAL) envisions a State where all Minnesotans, regardless of background, are actively engaged and can achieve prosperity. Our mission is to harness our collective power to improve community lives by connecting, learning, and acting together. To learn more, please visit www.caalmn.org.