“I believe education changes lives. It changed mine. … That belief took me from a small town in China to Beijing, Germany, and the United States, where I earned two PhDs and eventually helped shape national health policies affecting millions of Americans. … I want every student to have the opportunities my children had—and the support they need to reach their full potential.”
Dr. Lanlan Xu, a U.S. federal policy expert, is running for the Howard County Board of Education in the November 3 election. A parent of two children who attended Howard County public schools, Dr. Xu served as the inaugural chair of the Howard County Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Commission and has worked closely with the Asian American community and the broader local community for the past 12 years.
One of Dr. Xu's key pledges is expanding the hiring of Asian American teachers and administrators.
“Asian American students account for 23.7% of HCPSS enrollment, yet Asian Americans represent only 5% of instructional staff and 2% of school-based administrators,” Dr. Xu noted. She said she would champion “strengthening the recruitment, retention, and advancement of Asian American educators and school leaders so that our school workforce better reflects the diversity of our student population.”
As a first-generation immigrant who understands the challenges immigrant families face, she also proposed ways to strengthen communication with Korean American and other immigrant parents.
Dr. Xu called for making “school information and decision-making more accessible to Korean American and other Asian American families through clear communication, translation and interpretation services where needed, and meaningful opportunities for parent participation,” and for efforts “to prevent and address bullying, racial harassment, and discrimination, with clear reporting procedures, timely responses, and accountability.” She added that the experiences of Korean Americans, “from the history of Korean immigration to the contributions of Korean American leaders, entrepreneurs, educators, and community members,” should be “thoughtfully integrated into existing history, social studies, and literature curricula.”
“As a first-generation immigrant and a parent, I share many of the experiences and aspirations of immigrant families,” Dr. Xu said, asking Korean American voters for their support. “I would be honored to earn your trust and support on November 3. Together, we can keep Howard County schools strong for this generation and generations to come.”
