This May was Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. AAPI Heritage Month celebrates people from all around Asia and Oceania, spanning many different cultures, all with their different traditions and people. But is it celebrated at Haldane? What do AAPI students have to say?

At Haldane Middle School, many students are familiar with the bulletin board next to the front desk. It is changed regularly by the PTA to teach students about a group being appreciated that month, people in that group, and the amazing things they’ve done. Sena Kes- ter, an AAPI student in eighth grade, said, “The school has the board in the hallway, which celebrates each month as they pass. I think it’s pretty neat because you get to look at the poster as you transition to other classes.”

Recently, a poll was taken by 10 middle schoolers at Haldane, and 9 of them said that the school does not celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Eighth grader Eleanor Pearson said, “I personally think that besides the bulletin board, Haldane doesn’t do a lot to celebrate any ethnic heritage month.” With that said, what else can the Haldane community do to make AAPI students feel more seen? What do other schools do?

At the Garden Grove Unified School District in California, AAPI students and teachers were interviewed and spotlighted. They talked about what it means to be represented in their school. Garden Grove has a history of using social media to spotlight and raise awareness about its diverse student population. Things like this, reaching out and putting ethnic voices in the spotlight, mean a lot to many AAPI folks and minorities in general.

This is exemplified by Delaina Maae, an athlete in the district. In a post on the school’s Instagram page, she said, “I believe celebrating AAPI heritage is important because growing up, I didn’t have that many role models to look to, and I didn’t see that many girls on the Can Haldane Do More for AAPI Heritage Month? By Parker Fyfe field that looked like me, and honestly, just generally, in life, I just had my family.”

Maybe in the future, Haldane can do something similar to celebrate our AAPI students. But what can we do now? Middle school and high school students can make their AAPI peers feel even more seen in the community by showing small acts of appreciation. Doing things like listening to music by an AAPI artist, making an AAPI dish, or even watching a movie or reading a book with AAPI representation can make someone feel more accepted in our community. As eighth-grader Kaya Grahn said, “To me, representation means being more included and [feeling] like you belong. It means feeling like you are not alone.”