Bright Star's Dr. Eliza KimLy featured in EdWeek!

Bright Star’s co-Head of Schools, Dr. Eliza KimLy, is featured in two stories on EdWeek!

Recently, Dr. KimLy spoke with Denisa R. Superville about her experience as an Asian American educator, school leader, and now co-Head of Schools for Bright Star Schools. She shared her own experience, as well as how to attract more Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to education. Read more:

Recruiting Asian American School Leaders: Tips From Educators

By Denisa R. Superville

“If the goal is to increase the number of leaders of color in K-12 as student enrollment becomes increasingly more diverse, how can states, schools, and district leaders recruit more Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to the profession and keep them? In 2021, Asian American students represented 5.4 percent of K-12 public school enrollment nationally.

“Education Week spoke with four Asian American school leaders about their career paths, what worked for them, and what recruiters should do if they want to attract Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, some of whom may not even be thinking about education as a career path.”

Bright Star Schools’ Dr. Eliza KimLy says:

• “If we are looking at specifically trying to recruit people who identify as AAPI, I think you have to go to already set formats where there is a level of education going on, and try to build those relationships, and build that trust,” KimLy said. “It’s already inherent in the culture.”
  
  “School recruiters can’t just rely on holding one-off recruitment events and hoping that those from the communities they’re seeking to woo will show up, KimLy said.”

• “I think being very clear about your school’s mission and the school’s culture and the support system you are going to be able to provide for the candidate is important. Having that clarity and being able to sell that is invaluable,” KimLy said.

Read the full article on EdWeek: Recruiting Asian American School Leaders: Tips From Educators

Why Aren’t There More Asian American School Leaders? Here’s What We Heard

By Denisa R. Superville

“Education Week spoke with four Asian American school leaders, from different backgrounds, about their career paths.They offer insights into why more AAPI talent may not even consider an education career, along with tips for district leaders and policymakers to consider as they seek to increase the share of educators of color in schools.

Examples Matter.

“People have to see themselves in a role to consider that it might be for them. It may sound like a chicken-and-egg dilemma because there are so few AAPI leaders in schools. But district and school leaders can do a better job of making the leaders and educators they have more visible and empowering them to share their stories and experiences.

“Because [Dr. KimLy] was always surrounded by various teachers from Asian backgrounds—in after-school and church programs, for example—education didn’t seem like a career out of left field. It was something she knew she always wanted to do.”

Read the full article on EdWeek: Why Aren’t There More Asian American School Leaders? Here’s What We Heard