By Nari Choi

Round Rock High School outside of Austin is home to the first and only high school-level Asian American Studies (AAS) course in Texas. Despite anti-DEI initiatives pushed both on the federal and state level in conservative-leaning Texas, Round Rock High’s Asian American Studies course has been approved by the district for a third year. 

Akeela Kongdara, Senior Associate of Youth Programs at Asian Texans for Justice and Lily Trieu, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director at Asian Texans for Justice visited the class to give students an inside look into their advocacy work for the Asian American community in Texas. Kongdara informed the class that just this month, African American Studies and Mexican American Studies were approved by the State Board to be accepted as social studies credits for high school graduation. 

This brings Round Rock’s Asian American Studies course one step closer to be approved as an official course. Going into its 3rd year, AAS is still a pilot course and does not yet bear credit to meet high school graduation requirements. 

Upon their visit, one student asked Lily what a day in her life is like working in civic engagement. Trieu described part of her work to be directly reaching out to the Texas Asian American community when tackling challenges that Asian Texans face. 

Earlier that week, AsAmNews spoke with Ann Nguyen, teacher of Round Rock High School’s Asian American Studies and Mohit Mehta, Assistant Director at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Asian American Studies.

When asked for an update on the program’s status, Nguyen told AsAmNews she recently received information from her principal that Asian American Studies will be available for a 3rd year, still as a pilot course, but that district will be funding the course. Mohit added that right now, Asian American Studies is trying to support Indian Native Studies to get the State Board of Education to renew its innovative course status, which is set to expire at the end of this academic year.

Asian American Studies is waiting on submitting their application to make sure that their colleagues in Indian Native Studies get their course approved first. With an application deadline of September of this year, obtaining innovative course status would “allow the course to be taught anywhere across Texas”. 

Being that Texas is a red state, Nguyen and Mohit were also asked if Trump’s anti-DEI push has jeopardized the program in any way. Nguyen told AsAmNews that she is remaining hypervigilant, being careful of what she says and how public the class is. But otherwise, she plans to move forward with the course as they have done because “nothing that we are teaching is wrong, its history”. Nguyen adds that by being an elective, students are taking Asian American Studies by choice, no one is being forced to take the class. 

Mohit asserts that Asian American Studies is a space for students to mull over current events, make sense of on-going policy actions, and to be empowered. Nguyen builds on this, stating that AAS fosters connections between what is learned in the classroom, and what we see in the news, supplemented by a safe environment to process such matters with peers and mentors. 

Emphasizing the key role that community plays in Asian American Studies, Nguyen calls on allies to be civically engaged and to check into what is happening in their local communities. She further suggests supporting candidates and programs that amplify other voices, narratives, and programs like ethnic studies. 

Mohit highlights that folks from outside of Texas should recognize that although Texas is a red state, that change is being advocated for by remarkable teachers like Nguyen, as well as both current and former students of Asian American Studies. Mohit recognizes that many believe everything in Texas is repressive, but stresses that “there are important counter-spaces like this that are happening.” Mohit calls on Asian Americans to understand the importance of this course, and to use whatever platform they have (ex. social media, attending a school or State Board of Education meeting), to advocate for it because “we have strength in numbers and in voices.” 

AsAmNews also spoke to current students, inquiring about their most notable experiences in the course thus far. One student, Ava, recalls learning about the model minority myth. Afterward, and while rewatching the show Power Rangers, Ava noticed that the Yellow Power Ranger was Asian and characterized as smart. Ava shares that they would not have noticed this as a perpetuation of the model minority myth if they had not taken Asian American Studies. Asian American Studies is not only a history course, but one that also teaches key media literacy skills necessary to navigate the contemporary political landscape. 

Another student, Claire, praises the community-building aspects of Round Rock High School’s Asian American Studies course. They reveal that at the start of most classes, students move their chairs into a big circle around the classroom and share personal victories or pitch silly “would you rather” questions to the class. These group circles allow students to connect with each other on a personal level, making them more willing to share their views on difficult subjects covered in the class, such as the struggles of Asian Americans.

Through Asian American Studies, Claire has found that they have been able to have more conversations with their fathers regarding their family’s Asian heritage. Claire accredits these increased discussions to the course’s ancestry acknowledgment activity. The ancestry acknowledgment activity is where a student is given a few minutes to present on their family’s history, often supplemented with a presentation and bringing in significant objects to the student’s heritage. Claire attests that being of mixed heritage and not knowing the language that your family speaks may cause one to feel, or be socially outcasted. Claire affirms the impact that activities such as group circles and ancestor acknowledgements have on students demonstrate how crucial Asian American Studies is in fostering community and acceptance. 

Nguyen underscores the “need to amplify student voices” and the prioritization of student education, health, and safety. She says that in this way, the world would be a better place. Mrs. Nguyen concludes that adults should listen to students and amplify their voices, moving them to make change. 

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