The #TeachArmenianAmericanStudiesNYC task force is requesting the signature of your organization on the following letter. If you are authorized to sign on behalf of your organization please fill out the form below. Thank you! 

Letter text:

To:
David Banks, New York City Schools Chancellor
Carolyne V. Quintana, Deputy Chancellor of Teaching and Learning
Kenita D. Lloyd, Deputy Chancellor of Family and Community Engagement + External Affairs
Dr. Philip Composto, District 30 Superintendent

We welcome the New York City Department of Education’s call for feedback on its exciting new
Mosaic Curriculum. We call on the NYCDOE to include the voices of Armenian-Americans in New
York City and reflect the long, vibrant histories and experiences of Armenian-Americans in NYC
public education.

We write to you today firmly in support of the NYCDOE Mosaic Curriculum, the calls of Asian
American scholars to include West Asian American Studies, and the inclusion of
Armenian-Americans within that curriculum.

We thank you for your efforts and know how important inclusive education is to all children.
Armenian-Americans have long histories of racialization, refugeehood, erasure, immigration,
and marginalization. Many Armenian-American students are immigrants, children of
immigrants, and English Language Learners. Armenians have been subjected to racialized and
discriminatory practices similar to other communities of color, resisted state oppression in
coalition with other communities of color, and yet have been subjected to what Dr. Angela
Valenzuela calls “subtractive schooling” - educational and linguistic marginalization, and
assimilation through deculturalization. The Mosaic Curriculum will help young students make
sense of their realities, and Armenian students deserve to be included in sustaining and
culturally relevant lessons that reflect their stories.

Armenian-Americans’ long history within the United States and New York, and significant
contributions to the American social and cultural fabric should also be included in the Mosaic
Curriculum. It is imperative that Armenian-American students see themselves as part of the
larger New York City community and that all students in New York City also learn positive
aspects of Armenian history and culture, largely unrecognized and unknown. Education is
critical in dismantling this ignorance, as well as ambivalence and hate.

We thank you for asking for feedback from the community in this important work for our City’s
children and generations to come. We urge you to hear community voices calling for the
inclusion of West Asian American experiences within the Mosaic Curriculum, and the necessity
of Armenian-American histories within that experience. We also advise that
Armenian-American Studies scholars with this expertise be consulted in the writing of the
curriculum that represents this community.

Sincerely,

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For any questions, please email armenianactionnetwork@gmail.com