III. Beyond the Community
In promoting the development of Chinese Americans beyond the community, our association focuses on several key areas.
Firstly, collaboration with Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) is a priority. In addition to the interaction with BOE members mentioned earlier, I regularly attend public school board meetings on Tuesday nights. In May of this year, I spoke at a BOE meeting, urging public schools to increase AAPI content. Before a teacher appreciation day in June, our CAPA-BC presented a gift basket to the BCPS office. At the end of this year, I spoke again at a BOE meeting, thanking BOE for their attention to our community and presenting holiday cookies made by our community volunteer Liu Jingwei to BOE members as a token of appreciation. Currently, our association has established a good working relationship with public schools. The next task is to strive to elect parents from our community to various decision-making committees under BOE, including Diversity, Curriculum, and Budget committees.
In May, during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPI Heritage Month), we collaborated with proactive parents from Ridgely Middle School, especially Tiffany Wen. We communicated with the principal of Ridgely and advocated for the acknowledgment of AAPI contributions in the school. As a result, Ridgely Middle School commemorated AAPI Heritage Month for the first-time using morning broadcasts and posters.
Secondly, apart from collaborating with public schools, our association actively partners with several private schools in the vicinity. In May, I invited two elected Asian American officials from Maryland to speak at Gilman School. In November, following a proposal from our special needs club, Gilman agreed to recognize volunteer service hours with our association.
Thirdly, we actively participate in AAPI-related events organized by the City of Baltimore. In May, Sherie Tantao and I attended the AAPI Heritage Month celebration hosted by the Mayor's Office, leading to an invitation from the city government. In September, we participated in a four-week immigrant leadership training organized by the city. Through this training, I met leaders of other ethnicities, especially Latinx leaders, and established connections with the County Executive's Office.
Fourthly, another battleground for our association is cooperation with Baltimore County government. Firstly, we interact with elected officials from Baltimore County and surrounding areas, including Maryland Delegate Bhandari from Perry Hall, Chinese American Delegate Wu Chao from Harford County, and Councilman Julian Jones from Baltimore County. In November of this year, we reached out to the Immigrant Affairs Office of the Baltimore County Executive's Office. We had an online meeting with the head of the Immigrant Affairs Office, assisting them in finding suitable interns and facilitating their first community survey and dialogue focused on the Chinese community. Over thirty community parents participated in this dialogue, raising numerous questions and suggestions regarding safety, education, and government information dissemination in Baltimore County, demonstrating the growing civic awareness of community parents (to be continued).
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