Executive Director of ARISE, Chanda Womack, represented ARISE at the Southeast Asian Resource and Action Center’s first annual "Moving Mountains Equity Summit" in October. Womack spoke at a plenary that convened key leaders of the successful individuals Asian American and Pacific Islander data disaggregation campaign in California, Rhode Island, and Washington. The speakers discussed the history of data disaggregation campaign in their state/region and shared information about their campaigns, challenges, lessons learned, and the fight moving forward with summit participants.
Rhode Island House Passes Act That Would Expose Asian-American Achievement Gap
“The high percentage of undiagnosed PTSD in our community results in intergenerational trauma for our students,” Womack explained. “Southeast Asian students also experience intergenerational conflict, as their acculturation is not guided by their parents.”
Rhode Island’s act would call on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to break down demographic data on a variety of stats, including educational proficiencies, graduation rates, attendance rates and access to educational resources. Womack said this would enable lawmakers, along with fellow Rhode Island residents, to get a better sense of what the Southeast Asian community’s true needs are.
