On Jun 3, 2021, Loudoun County Public School (LCPS) Superintendent Dr. Scott A. Ziegler released the Promise and Progress: Report on Equity 2021. Noticeably missing from the report is Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) - in the entire report there is no mention of us, NOT EVEN ONCE.

What IS in the report:

"Many English learners, black, Latinx, and Muslim students have experienced racial insults and slurs, or racially motivated violent actions."

AAPIs make up 25% of LCPS student body. Many AAPI children live in non-English speaking households and enroll in LCPS English Learners (EL) program. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, roughly 30% Hispanic, 20% Asian, 16% Pacific Islander, 2.4% Black/African-American, and 1.2% White public school students are English Learners (ELs), which translates to 5.4% of all LCPS students are Hispanic ELs, 5% are ASIAN ELs, 0.17% are Black/African-American ELs, and 0.52% are White ELs. How has LCPS overlooked AAPI as the 2nd largest English Learner group?

2020 and 2021 mark the two especially difficult years for AAPIs. Virginia Governor Northam and Superintendent Ziegler himself publicly acknowledged that Asian Hate is a problem in our schools and vowed to do more to protect our children. Then why this report - all about "racial bullying" and "racial hate" - has no mention of AAPI at all?

Other than language difficulties and racial discriminations, economic challenges are also a burden on many AAPIs. In Virginia 9% of AAPIs have no health insurance, 7% live in poverty. The struggle of AAPI communities is highlighted in Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee's story. These communities are also impacted by systematic racism, discrimination, racial profiling, social injustice, and historical inequities. The LCPS's Equity Report is the latest example of marginalizing the AAPI communities and overlooking the needs of our children. 

Please sign our petition and help us get our voice to LCPS: AAPIs want to be an integral part of the LCPS community.