Delaware schools to include AANHPI in curriculum

Delaware schools will soon be incorporating Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders into their curriculum.

According to WHYY, Delaware Governor John Carney recently signed legislation that requires Delaware public schools to include all racial and ethnic groups in the curriculum. The legislation was a follow-up to a law passed in 2021 that required schools to teach Black History to students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Delaware, according to analysis from the Committee of 100, would join 33 other states that include ethnic studies in their academic standard requirements. Currently, 19 states explicitly require some form of Asian American studies in their curriculum.

Holly Golder, supervisor of social studies at Red Clay Consolidated School District, told WHYY that her district began updating its Black history curriculum by doing an inventory of past lesson plans and identifying gaps. They then collaborated with universities and other organizations to fill in the gaps. Golder anticipates a similar process with the new requirements.

She also said her district has begun reaching out to AANHPI community groups.

“Within our community, we reached out to the Chinese Community Center and had discussions with them about what would be topics that we would want to include, things to consider, and themes that we should include,” Golder said. “So taking that approach, I think, is really key and important to ensure that it’s authentic and it is presented in a culturally responsive way.”