Gala to benefit Hmong identity-focused educational program

Each week of the Hmong Language and Cultural Enrichment Program (HLCEP) summer program has a different focus, including kinship, history and religious beliefs. A gala Saturday will support the program. (Hmong Language and Cultural Enrichment Program)

On Saturday, April 30, the Hmong Language and Culture Enrichment Program will hold a gala to support their summer program. Aiming to improve academic performance of Hmong American children, the program offers cultural education and support.  

The dinner will feature keynote speaker Dr. Nengher Vang, an assistant professor of history at UW-Whitewater, cultural performances and a silent auction featuring unique homemade Hmong artwork.

The program was originally formed in response to data that showed Hmong American students in Madison were struggling academically.

Up until recently, academic data in the Madison Metropolitan School District grouped all Southeast Asian students together under a single category. While the overall group was faring well, some thought this data didn’t accurately represent the struggles of the Hmong American student population. 

Mai Zong Vue, intercultural program coordinator at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said without this data, it was difficult for these students to receive the necessary resources and attention.

Vue and others lobbied the district to segregate the data for K-12 Asian students, and in 2012, their request was granted. The data showed that 93 percent of Hmong American children were not reading at grade level and 74 percent were performing below grade level in math.

“We felt we had to do something,” Vue said.

Vue and Peng Her, assistant director at Center for Resilient Cities, worked with a core group of Hmong American families to take action. By the following summer, they had formed the Hmong Language and Culture Enrichment Program, a six-week intensive summer program that teaches Hmong children about their culture, history and language through immersion.

Mornings consist of academic learning about language and culture, and the afternoons focus on hands-on activities like researching ancestral backgrounds and singing traditional songs. Guest speakers from the Hmong American professional community visit and encourage children to consider their future careers.

The program provides a safe place for Hmong children to better understand their heritage, Vue said. The hope is that by cementing their cultural identity and improving their self-esteem, the children will be better equipped to focus on academics.

“Once they know who they are and they have confidence, then they’ll be able to be more active academically,” Vue said. “When they’re in high school, they’ll be left with dealing with normal teenage issues but not the cultural identity issues.”

When MMSD ungrouped student data, they found that Hmong students were struggling. The HLCEP summer program aims to bridge these gaps with cultural programming. (Hmong Language and Cultural Enrichment Program)

Students in the program have already shown strong academic progress, according to  pre-tests and post-tests that track learning in Hmong reading and writing. Last summer, the difference between the tests showed an improvement of over 40 percent.

Although the program consists of eight-hour days, the children enjoy it. On the last day of the program, parents enjoy a potluck dinner and watch their children perform what they’ve learned.

Vue remembered one child who was so sad the program was ending that he gave his teacher a helpful suggestion. 

“He said, ‘Teacher, teacher, we should not go home. We should sleep here because then Friday would never come, and the program would not end,’” Vue said.

The gala will take place this Saturday, April 30th, from 5:30-8pm at the Badger Rock Center, 501 E. Badger Road. Walk-in registration can be done the day of the event, or online.