“As a Chinese-American who grew up in a predominantly Chinese neighborhood, YYGS expanded the horizons of my world.”
Public schools have been empirically plagued with constant issues like underfunding and chronic absenteeism. Seeing the vast difference between public and private schools, I decided to call for change in the public school system.
I recognized that we would need to make changes in the California public education laws to change the system. I gathered a group of like-minded high schoolers who all believed a change in public education would benefit everyone. Then I remembered my internship with Assemblyman Philip Chen, who explained that many assemblymen are open to taking constituent feedback and implementing change - people just need to reach out.
This whole process started CAPE, the California Alliance for Public Education. Formed in 2019, we ask our peers for feedback on the education system. Then we compile our results and present this to assemblymen along with suggestions to better the public education system. We have already established multiple chapters around schools in Southern California and are making efforts to expand to more schools.