2 EDCAL May 6, 2019
AAPI
Continued from page 1
to be promoted to a management role —
less likely than any other race, including
African-Americans and Hispanics.
While stereotypes about the AAPI
community, such as being quiet, respectful
of authority, and technically competent,
tend to appear positive on the surface,
these categorizations can have a negative
impact if they are misunderstood to mean
that Asians are meek, submissive, just
worker bees, and therefore lacking the skills
required to be a successful leader.
“One of the greatest challenges for
the AAPI community is the pervasive yet
silent assumption that effective leadership
is defined in a way that often precludes the
styles that AAPI leaders hold,” said Victor
Tam, principal of Edwin and Anita Lee
Newcomer School at San Francisco USD.
“Successful leadership incorporates all
different styles. To provide true equity in
education, the ranks of educational leaders
need to reflect the cultural diversity found
in our student population.”
Asian American and Pacific Islanders
are often left out of conversations when we
talk about equity and the glass ceiling, or in
this case the “bamboo ceiling.” The term
“bamboo ceiling” was first used at ACSA
by ABC USD Superintendent Mary Sieu
during her 2018 talk at the Leadership
Summit Women’s Breakfast.
“I wanted to focus on the cultural issues
that may inhibit AAPIs from moving for-
ward in various leadership roles,” Sieu said.
“Many people may not have heard of the
term ‘bamboo ceiling’ before, and it was a
means for me to integrate the challenges
we face and means to overcome them.”
The Pew Research Center says AAPIs
are the fastest growing racial group in
the U.S. Despite their largely immigrant
status, data show that Asians tend to be
better educated than other ethnicities.
Asians overall are twice as likely to have a
college degree than the average American.
Furthermore, statistics also say AAPI
households are more likely to surpass the
U.S. median household income.
“For these reasons, even though data
shows that 74 percent of AAPIs are
born abroad (including myself ), Asian
Americans & Pacific Islanders are not con-
sidered underrepresented minorities and,
therefore, are given little priority when it
comes to diversity and equity programs,”
said Senior Director of ACSA Member
Services Margarita Cuizon-Armelino,
whose department currently oversees and
funds equity networking events.
ACSA’s Asian American and Pacific Islander equity network held a meeting recently in San Francisco.
“One of the greatest challenges for the AAPI
community is the pervasive yet silent
assumption that effective leadership is defined
in a way that often precludes the styles that
AAPI leaders hold.”
Victor Tam
Principal, Edwin and Anita Lee Newcomer School, San Francisco USD
That is not the case at ACSA, where all
subgroups are provided a voice and a sup-
portive platform to have discussions around
their unique issues.
“This event was rewarding on so many
levels,” Tam said. “Some points include the
ability to network with AAPI leaders from
outside my own district, learning from
their experiences, and being inspired by
their stories of overcoming challenge.”
Assistant Principal of Roosevelt Middle
School Krishna Kassebaum, whose roots on
his mother’s side are from India, also added
that hearing from fellow AAPI leaders
from neighboring districts and counties
was exhilarating because they provided
another voice to this conversation about
our own identities and how important and
impactful they are in the work school lead-
ers do.
“I felt that I belonged to this communi-
ty of educational leaders, and through this
event, I was able to connect,” Kassebaum
said. “That feeling of connectedness is the
power of having a common experience.
I really appreciated this event because it
enabled all of us to learn and share with
one another in a meaningful and safe
space.”
Those stories of inspiration and com-
mon experiences came from several AAPI
school leaders who managed to break
through the “bamboo ceiling,” including
Santa Rosa City Schools Superintendent
Diann Kitamura, who believes that we
should own our stories and allow our
uniqueness to help us lead.
“Understand and be proud of your
identity,” said Kitamura. “It is the cultural
wealth you bring to all that you do, and
will actually set you apart from others in
a positive way when you create your own
narrative about who you are and what you
stand for on behalf of students.”
Partnerships with other organizations
are important and should be intentional.
ACSA often brings in like-minded organi-
zations to broaden the network of support
and expand the knowledge base.
“The formation of these types of net-
works and affinity groups allows for a
deeper level of discussions which is highly
relevant and can provide for more focused
advocacy, professional development and
strategic support, which can be shared and
applied in the real work of leaders,” said
Darlene Lim, former SFUSD administra-
tor and AAAA representative.
Ultimately, ACSA hopes to continue
bringing recognition and understanding to
the different cultural values found within
our membership and the students they
serve and to provide opportunities to learn
how to balance all of it with the expecta-
tions of different leadership positions.
For more information about ACSA’s Equity
work, visit www.acsa.org/equity.
Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
EdCal® (USPS 684-390, ISSN 0740-0357)
is published Weekly, except for the following
dates in 2018-19: 7/2, 7/9, 7/23, 8/6, 8/20, 9/10,
9/24, 10/15, 10/29, 11/12, 11/26, 12/10, 12/17,
12/24, 12/31, 1/7, 2/18, 4/8, 5/13, and 6/3, by the
Association of California School Administrators,
1575 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, CA 94010.
Periodical postage paid at Bur
lingame, CA
94010 and additional offices. Subscription
price: $90 value to members; offered to
non-members on a qualifying basis. For further
information, contact the membership depart-
ment at (650) 692-4300. POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to EdCal, c/o ACSA, 1575
Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, CA 94010.
EdCal keeps ACSA members informed of
association activities, efforts on their behalf
and issues pertinent to education and educa-
tion administration. Advertising or the mention
of products, services or programs in EdCal does
not imply endorsement by ACSA.
ACSA is affiliated with the National Asso
ciation of School Superintendents, Nation
al
Association of Secondary School Principals,
National Association of Elem
entary School
Principals, American Associa
tion of School
Personnel Administrators, California Associa
tion of Latino Superintendents and Adminis
trators, California Association of Education
Office Professionals and the American Associa
tion for Adult and Continuing Education.
Editorial Offices: 1029 J St., Suite 500,
Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 444-3216
• Job ads: e-mail [email protected]
• News: e-mail [email protected]
ACSA Executive Director Wesley Smith
Senior Director of Communications/PIO Naj Alikhan
Chief Operations Officer Scarlett Vanyi; Senior
Director of Member Services Margarita Cuizon; Chief
Marketing Officer Tatia Davenport; Senior Director
of Educational Services Margaret Arthofer; Senior
Directors of Governmental Relations Edgar Zazueta
and Adonai Mack; Senior Director of Information
Technology Tony Baldwin; Senior Director of Equity
and Diversity Marguerite Williams; Senior Director of
Financial Services Erin Grogan
This series introduces ACSA
staff to members. These are the
people working tirelessly for you
each and every day.
EdCal Editor Michelle Carl
Advertising/Website Coordinator Emily Agpoon
Content Specialists Michael Kelly and Darcy Totten
ACSA CareerConnect Coordinator Tracy Olmedo
ACSA Board of Directors
President Holly Edds
President-elect Linda Kaminski
Vice President Ron Williams
VP for Legislative Action Terri Rufert
Past President Lisa Gonzales
Members: Charlie Hoffman, Christine McCormick,
Daniel Hernandez, Tim Gill, Jay Spaulding, Parvin
Ahmadi, Denise Wickham, Juan Cruz, Ana Boyenga,
Barbara Martinez, Blanca Cavazos, Ted Alejandre,
Craig Helmstedter, Victor Thompson, Sue Kaiser,
Angel Barrett, Rafael Plascencia, Joe Austin, Mike
McCormick, Linda Hutcherson, Lisa Ketchum, Daryl
Camp, Derrick Chau
Burlingame, (650) 692-4300 • Sacramento, (916) 444-3216 • Ontario, (909) 484-7503 • toll-free (800) 608-ACSA
Who: Max McGrath
Job: Senior A/P Clerk
Max helps handle all payments for the association.
Favorite food:
Max finds it impossible to live without dim sum pork buns.
ACSA. We work for you.