News & Media
Press releases, media coverage, blog updates, and resources for journalists.
Latest from the Blog
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Navigating Critical Race Theory and Educational Disparities in Rural America
by Xitlaly Mendoza, AES 340 student As a daughter of immigrant, agricultural-working parents, I was mostly raised in rural Eastern Washington where many of the topics I have learned in AES 340 are lessons my school district would never consider teaching. Many members of my community are conservative and do not value perspectives unaligned with…
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Exploring the Controversial: Who owns the narrative of genocide education?
by Dr. Tracy Castro-Gill, WAESN Executive Director The 2024 legislative session saw a controversy that many people didn’t see coming. Senate Bill 5851 and House Bill 2037 sought to mandate, “Holocaust and other genocide education.” As the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization whose goal is to eradicate all forms of oppression, I support this…
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Unveiling Racism: A Critical Examination of Education, Identity, and Systemic Inequality Through the Lens of Critical Race Theory
by Anonymous AES 340 Student This month’s post comes from a student of Dr. Castro-Gill’s American Ethnic Studies course at the University of Washington. It is written by a student who requested anonymity to protect them from hateful retaliation from white supremacists. The American Dream In this class, some of the topics and takeaways we…
In the News
15 Seattle parent advocacy groups supporting education
The Seattle’s Child article lists 15 parent advocacy groups in the Seattle area, including WAESN, and highlights their roles in supporting families, influencing policy, and amplifying parent voices in education.
September 25, 2025
SERIES | Stop Performative Politics, Recenter Youth of Color, and Invest in Ethnic Studies Now
WAESN Youth Advisory Board and NAACP Youth Council leaders argue that political gestures around ethnic studies in Washington State are too often performative rather than substantive and call on lawmakers and school leaders to meaningfully invest in ethnic studies that center youth of color, support educators, and transform curriculum and pedagogy.
November 15, 2024
SERIES | After Decades of Advocacy and Minimal Action, It’s Time for Washington State to Invest in Ethnic Studies and End ‘Curriculum Violence’
After decades of advocacy with only token progress, the WAESN’s Executive Director, Dr. Castro-Gill, and Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Oliver Miska, push Washington State to seriously fund and implement ethnic studies and to end the “curriculum violence” that harms marginalized students via biased content, exclusion, and identity erasure.
October 1, 2024
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