Educators and Students Convene at St. Margaret’s for Asian Educators Alliance Conference

St. Margaret’s served as host of the Asian Educators Alliance Conference (AsEA) last weekend, a national gathering that brought 180 educators and students to San Juan Capistrano. 

 

The two-day conference brings teachers, administrators and students together to celebrate their AAPI identities and learn ways to thrive on school campuses. St. Margaret’s Upper School English teacher Kimberly Kim and Early Childhood School Director Cris Lozon served on the planning committee and hosted the event, which was attended by several St. Margaret’s professional community members and Upper School students. 

 

While educators attended workshops and affinity groups over the two-day event, students worked in groups to create presentations and thought-provoking questions to the adult educators in attendance. 

 

The keynote speaker on the conference’s first day was renowned author and activist Phil Yu, who stayed afterward and signed copies of his latest history book Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now for adults and students. On day two, Dr. Liza Talusan, author of The Identity Conscious Educator gave a master class to both adults and students through key principals in her text. 

 

“The AsEA Annual Conference was inspiring and affirming,” Dr. Lozon said. “As a Filipina-American, the conference provided me with a time of reflection, a greater understanding of the Asian community in history and present culture as well as time of fellowship with peers from around the nation.”