About AAVEd

Our Vision

Asian American Voices for Education

We envision a Georgia where all students and families understand our interwoven histories and create meaningful social change in solidarity with one another.

Our Impact

Lifting up Asian American voices and honoring the stories of all people to transform Georgia schools.

We value our students and their right to inclusive classrooms where they feel seen and represented. In order to incorporate Asian American history and ethnic studies in classrooms across Georgia, we work with:

Teachers and schools by

  • Providing Georgia K-12 teachers and teachers-in-training Asian American Studies Professional Development.

 

  • Creating and sharing interwoven history lesson guides in alignment with Georgia K-12 standards.

 

  • Uplifting teachers incorporating Asian American Studies with leadership opportunities, in collaboration with schools and school districts.

Parents and Community by

  • Engaging parents of Georgia Asian American students to be actively involved in their children’s schools and local education policies.
  • Empowering Georgia youth to lead change by teaching Asian American history and its impact on current social movements.
  • Hosting community building events teaching Asian American history, how it affects current events, and how our understanding can drive change.

15000+

K-12 Students in Georgia

have received learning opportunities, bite-sized lessons, and AANHPI Heritage Month Kits.

800+

Teachers and Teachers-in-training

have received Professional Development and curriculum materials through GCPS and AAVEd’s GEFC.

800+

AANHPI Heritage Month Kits

history education curated by our board of educators and distributed across Georgia classrooms.

30+

School Districts

in Georgia reached through Heritage Month Kits, Professional Development, and curriculum materials.

1st

Asian American History

curriculum materials and professional development introduced to Georiga educators in 2022 through AAVEd.

Impact Report

Check out our impact through past projects below:

Transforming Georgia’s K-12 classrooms so that all Asian Americans and other students of color are affirmed, valued, and empowered to become community change makers.

Grants and Awards

Thank you to our Partners and Funders

Teacher Testimonials

Thank you to our Teachers and Volunteers

Our Story

Out of a desire for her three children to learn their and others’ history in the public school setting, one mother began seeking out a path to make Asian American history an integral part of Georgia K-12 education.

After reading Time Magazine’s ”A ‘History of Exclusion, of Erasure, of Invisibility.’ Why the Asian-American Story Is Missing From Many U.S. Classrooms,” which  included an interview with Sohyun, a Kennesaw State University teacher educator and fellow Georgian parent, Weonhee immediately emailed Sohyun. Sohyun, who had been dedicating her career to ethnic studies, responded within hours. In the next twenty-four hours, numerous emails were exchanged and a virtual meeting was scheduled. From there, something incredible happened.

In partnership with Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta (AAAJ-Atlanta), Weonhee hosted a town hall meeting on May 25th, 2021 featuring Dr. Sohyun An, Dr. Chris Suh, and AAAJ-Atlanta.

A steering committee of Asian American parents, community members, educators and allies formed to take steps towards transforming the current GA K-12 US History and Social Studies standards.

Our Team

We are a grassroots group of parents, community members and educators committed to advocating for comprehensive US history to be taught in Georgia K-12 schools.

 

Join us!

Get in touch

Want to learn more about AAVEd or leave us a message? Fill out this form, and a member of our team will contact you shortly. 

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Asif Jessani

Board Member

Asif Jessani is a professional volunteer. He currently serves as a board member for Artworks Gwinnett, Gwinnett County Parks Foundation, and Gwinnett County Public Library Foundation. He also serves as an advisory board member for the United Way of Greater Atlanta – Gwinnett and Atlanta Speech School. With a passion for early childhood education, he is also involved with Gwinnett County’s early learning initiative, Building Babies’ Brains. As part of the Ismaili Muslim Community, he has been a volunteer preschool teacher for the past 24 years.

Asif is also actively involved with the communications and outreach team for the Ismaili Muslim Community and previously led the marketing and media team for the United States Ismaili Games. When he isn’t volunteering, Asif takes on the responsibility of partner at CCS: Marketing & Technology, which provides chief marketing and technology officer services and branded items for mission-driven organizations.