Hmong American runs for Elk Grove Unified board to give back to where he was raised

Four positions on the Elk Grove Unified School District Board of Trustees will be open at the end of the year. A Hmong American who is an alumnus of the district has announced his candidacy for a seat.

Sean Yang is the only person so far to run in the November election. The candidacy filing period will open from Jul. 13 to Aug. 7 for the board position for District 3 to open up in December.

Yang advocates for a safe and nurturing learning environment, cultural relevance and equity, among other goals. He said he wants to give back to the community that raised him.

A Hmong refugee who left Thailand with his parents to come to the U.S. at age 12 after the Vietnam War, Yang lived in Fresno, then south Sacramento and now Elk Grove. Growing up on welfare, Yang graduated in Valley High School in 1996. The 42-year-old studied at Sacramento State University before transferring to the Bay Area and receiving a degree in electronic technology. He is a medical image specialist with Kaiser Permanente.

“At a young age, I was lucky enough to recognize the significance of education through my parents because they had always believed that education is the key to a bright future,” Yang said.

The father of four said his reasons for running is also personal: his two older children are enrolled in middle and elementary schools in the district.

“I want my children to be exposed to the best educational system possible,” he said.

Elk Grove Unified is the fifth largest school district in California based on student population, with an annual enrollment of 63,000 students. Students in the district speaks more than 110 languages at home. As of 2018-19, around 31 percent of students are Asian by ethnicity – the largest group – followed by 27 percent Hispanic or Latino students. Around 2 percent are Pacific Islanders.

Elk Grove Mayor Steve Ly, a former trustee on the school board, is endorsing Yang. He talked about the importance of representation.

“What I witnessed is high-performing students,” Ly said of the school district. “But what is key here is that we also have to make sure that we have school board members that are invested in the community, that are connected, that are making appearances, that are representing the community.”

Kal Phan, a former high school principal in the Sacramento City Unified School District, discussed cultural diversity intolerance in the school district.

“Elk Grove is one of the most diverse school districts in the country... but strangely we have the least diverse staff and leaders in the country,” Phan said.

According to Phan, despite the number of Asian students, only 4 percent of the teachers and administrators are Asians or Pacific Islanders. The lack of representation makes it hard for students to find role models to relate to and build their self-esteem, he said.

Phan said more support and resources are needed to make sure all students from various backgrounds can succeed academically.

“Every school has successful students, but not all students are successful at school,” he said.

Data in the district shows that around 56 percent of students met or exceeded test score standards last year, he said, but only 15 percent for English learners, 15 percent for students with disabilities, and 35 percent for African Americans.

As a community organizer, Yang said he believes every voice matters and needs to be heard.

In his spare time, Yang works to promote Asian Pacific Islander youth leadership. He has been overseeing seven chapters of the advocacy organization Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs as the region chairman for three years, including that of Sacramento and Elk Grove. He is in charge of programs giving stipends to students to enroll in internships working at offices of elected officials and encouraging participation in community civil engagement and public affairs.

“He is really 100 percent giving person,” C.C. Yin, co-founder and chairman of APAPA, said of Yang. Yin cited how Yang volunteered “day and night,” receiving no pay nor gratitude for his efforts, to build the chapters and get Asian Americans to vote, to run for offices to train programs like voter registrations and voter education.

Yang said he felt obligated to run for the school board.

“It is a calling,” he said.

This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.