Sunset Park school pilots program teaching the ‘hidden voices’ of US history

P.S. 94 in Sunset Park is one of 14 schools selected by the Department of Education to pilot the Hidden Voices program.

News 12 Staff

May 1, 2023, 4:36 PM

Updated 522 days ago

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A new curriculum launched this year in a Brooklyn school is teaching students more about Asian American-Pacific Islander history.
P.S. 94 in Sunset Park is one of 14 schools selected by the Department of Education to pilot the Hidden Voices program. 
The DOE launched the curriculum this past fall with a goal of teaching students about the unsung heroes of U.S. history. 
For 9-year-old Niki Wang, she says learning the curriculum is especially important.
"It helps me understand about me and my family history,” she says.
Wang says she and her fellow students have been learning about the Chinese Exclusion Act, a time when Chinese laborers were banned from immigrating to the U.S.
Wei-Ting Lu has been teaching the curriculum to her students and says while some are shocked about the treatment of Asians in the past, she feels it’s important to learn how they persevered.
"They feel upset, angry when they know what happened back then. The more I share with my students, the more they understand what's going on, and that is part of their history and how do they see the strengths of the immigrant families,” says Lu.
Lu was the first teacher at the school to teach the curriculum before it expanded to the entire fourth grade this month.
The DOE is looking for bring the program citywide in 2023.