LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — There's a growing push across the country to add Asian American and Pacific Islander history and heritage into school curriculum.
New Jersey and Illinois recently became the first U.S. states to require those teachings in K-12 schools there. Locally, Clark County's AAPI Community Commission is also exploring the idea of incorporating it into valley classrooms in some way.
The chair of that commission, Arlene Samona-Markthepharack, says they were tasked by county commissioners with researching and compiling AAPI history in Southern Nevada. The AAPI Community Commission's History and Data Subcommittee recently submitted those preliminary findings to the Clark County Commission for review.
Samona-Markthepharack said county commissioners will let them know what the next steps are.
Samona-Markthepharack says this is all in the very early stages, and there is still more research to be done. But her eventual goal is to introduce the history they've compiled into school curriculum to recognize the cultures and contributions of Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders here in the Vegas valley.
"It helps address any unconscious biases that are out there, and it's kind of great to know the history here locally, so folks can understand what brought the AANHPI communities to Clark County," she said.
According to Census estimates in recent years, the AAPI community is the fastest-growing group in Clark County.
"We are definitely within the fabric of helping build Las Vegas to where it's at today," Samona-Markthepharack said.
She said they don't know yet if their goal is to make this a requirement in K-12 coursework here, or if they just want it offered as an option or some sort of pilot program.
If they go the mandatory route, it would need approval from the state legislature. If they decide to propose it as an elective course, it would likely have to be approved on a local level.
Samona-Markthepharack noted that the current term for Clark County's AAPI Community Commission is about to end, so the plan is for the next group of community commissioners to carry on this effort.
