National Korean American Organization Joins Widening Coalition Against New York City Mayor's Specialized High Schools Plan
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Korean Americans in Action (KAA), a national advocacy organization, is joining a widening coalition of parents, alumni, and organizations who oppose Mayor Bill de Blasio's wholesale changes to the admissions policies of New York City's Specialized High Schools. These changes, according to the Department of Education's own projections, would result in a dramatic 75% reduction of Korean-speaking students.
"It was wrong for Mayor de Blasio to announce and pursue a plan that will significantly harm the educational opportunities of our community without consulting a single Asian American leader or organization," said KAA's Sam Yoon. "It highlights what can happen to us when we don't have a seat at the table."
Sam Yoon is the Executive Director of KAA, a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization based in Washington, DC. Yoon is a former elected official, having served two terms on the Boston City Council At-Large and a former urban public school teacher. Sam and his staff have been working with a diverse group of Korean American and other community leaders in New York to mobilize the community to defeat the mayor's bill.
"Our community supports diversity, and we will not be pitted in a zero-sum game against other minorities," he added. "We acknowledge the deep-rooted problems in New York's educational system, and welcome the opportunity to discuss real solutions. But when Asian Americans are hurt by policies that devalue us, we will not sit silently and be bullied."
KAA is planning a grassroots lobbying campaign focused on the Korean American community called "Keep Politics Out of Our Children's Education" and has so far raised over $100,000 to support it. KAA will hold a community meeting co-sponsored by the Korean American Parents Association of Greater New York and the Asian Youth Center in Flushing on Thursday, December 6.
The mission of KAA is to engage and mobilize Americans of Korean descent to influence public policy and to elect representatives who will work with us to advance our priorities.
For more about KAA, visit kaaction.org.
CONTACT: Jina Kang
[email protected]
571-527-4651
SOURCE Korean Americans in Action
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