Educators from across California will gather at UC Merced for an up-close look at a curriculum that teaches schoolchildren about Hmong Americans — their history in Southeast Asia, their cultural traditions, and their journeys to the United States to escape war and deadly oppression.
The collection of courses and learning experiences for students in kindergarten through 12th grade spotlight a people who, in barely five decades, have become a significant part of California’s economic and social fabric. According to the latest U.S. Census, more than 107,000 who identify as Hmong live in the Golden State.
The San Joaquin Valley is home to tens of thousands of Hmong Americans, making UC Merced an ideal gathering place for the Hmong History and Cultural Studies Conference , scheduled for Feb. 28 and March 1 in the campus’s Conference Center.
The model curriculum — materials, learning experiences and resources that share the conference’s name — will be the center of attention. It includes more than 50 lessons for all grade levels. The lessons can be presented as a stand-alone course or integrated into an ethnic studies, social studies or history class.
Funding to develop the model curriculum came from the 2021 California Legislature. The curriculum, however, is not state-mandated. Local school administrations can decide to use all of it, some of it, or opt out.
UC Merced Professor Ma Vang , a research consultant on the curriculum’s development and a keynote speaker at the conference, said the extraordinary journey of the Hmong people provides a vehicle for elementary and secondary schoolchildren to see a bigger story.
“Hmong American perspectives give us a crucial angle to understand questions about home, belonging, identity, culture and history,” Vang said. “It provides insights informing broader ideas about the world and our collective experiences.”
Vang, a member of the Department of History & Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, was among hundreds of thousands of Hmong who sought refuge in the United States from war in Southeast Asia. She came at age 9 from a refugee camp in Thailand. Her family was driven from Laos by the so-called “secret war” between government and Pathet Lao forces, each backed by Cold War superpowers.
"Hmong American perspectives give us a crucial angle to understand questions about home, belonging, identity, culture and history, It provides insights informing broader ideas about the world and our collective experiences."
Vang noted that April marks 50 years since the retreat of U.S. military forces in Vietnam. She said it is instructive how the moment is referred to by different populations. Known commonly in the U.S. as the “the fall of Saigon,” Hmong Americans call it “the day Gen. Vang Pao left Long Cheng.” Vietnamese Americans call it “Black April.” Cambodian Americans mark the month as when the Khmer Rouge unleashed four years of genocide that claimed up to 2 million Cambodian lives.
“This 50th anniversary is a time to reflect on what war and forced migration teaches us about us and our society. It reminds us to fight for the kind of world we want to build for the next generation,” Vang said. “This model curriculum is right on time to help us do the work.”
The Orange County Department of Education led development of the model curriculum. Work started in late 2021. OCDE consulted with organizations, community leaders, cultural scholars and K-12 colleagues. Partners included the Fresno Center, the Hlub Hmong Center in Merced and Hmong Innovating Politics in Sacramento. The curriculum was finalized in June 2024.
“Collaboration was clearly a part of this,” said OCDE Program Specialist Ger Thao, who co-directed the Hmong curriculum project with History and Social Science Manager Marika Manos.
“One of the biggest challenges was determining how to tell these stories within the framework of an educational resource,” Thao said. “The experiences and perspectives of the Hmong community span multiple generations, geographic regions and historical contexts, making it essential to approach the curriculum with both breadth and depth.”
Elementary educators can introduce Hmong heritage in a first-grade cultural literacy unit. Sixth-grade history teachers might cover the spread of Buddhism or Christianity into Southeast Asia. Tenth-grade history teachers could explore the colonization of Southeast Asia.
Each curriculum lesson offers examples of how to tailor it to grade levels. For instance, the lesson on Hmong refugee experiences can, in 11th grade, examine camp policies and resettlement, along with how this shaped communities, family structures and personal identities. In second grade, a teacher might approach the topic by presenting personal and family migration stories. Students could read a Hmong migration story, such as anthropologist Dia Cha’s recollection of her family's journey from Laos to the United States.
Vang, the parent of two elementary schoolchildren, said the Hmong model curriculum is especially vital in this era of shrinking funds for teacher training and diminishing support for public education.
“I want my children to continue having access to learning and I want their friends at school to have that same access. Their friends, whose families might have mixed immigration status or struggle to make ends meet, enrich my children’s lives and vice versa,” Vang said. “Teaching youth is how we invest in our future, and it remains core to how we will be good ancestors to them.”
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