Westminster High School students perform onstage during the Saturday program Sept. 27 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Anaheim–Garden Grove. 
Attendees gather for a photo with Dr. Stefan Bean following his keynote address Sept. 26 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Anaheim–Garden Grove. 
Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen offers welcome remarks and shares her family’s story and career journey at the start of the conference. 
Orange County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stefan Bean presents the opening keynote, reflecting on his refugee experience. 
Westminster School District students perform onstage during the Saturday program. 
A lion dance performance makes its way through the grand ballroom Saturday. 
Julie Hull, coordinator of OCDE’s GATE and National History Day programs, smiles as she waits to have her copy of “The Yellow Áo Dài” signed by illustrator Minnie Phan. 
Attendees listen as UCLA professor Thúy Võ Đặng delivers the Saturday keynote address. 
Dr. Marika Manos, OCDE’s history and social science manager, embraces program specialist Tori Phu as they thank Westminster High School teachers and students for their participation in the closing session.
Quick look: More than 400 educators and community members attended the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum Conference Sept. 26–27 in Garden Grove, featuring 26 sessions, three community tours and keynote presentations.
More than 400 educators and community members gathered Sept. 26-27 for the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum Conference, hosted by the Orange County Department of Education.
The two-day event at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Anaheim–Garden Grove was part of a statewide series supporting the Vietnamese American, Cambodian American and Hmong American curriculum projects developed by OCDE with input from educators, scholars and community partners.
The program featured nearly 30 sessions, three community tours and keynote presentations to help teachers and administrators integrate the Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum into classrooms across grade levels. The open-source project includes lesson plans, primary sources and instructional tools exploring Vietnamese American history and culture.
The conference opened Friday with welcome remarks from Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen, followed by a keynote by County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stefan Bean. Saturday’s keynote was delivered by Thúy Võ Đặng, a UCLA professor and oral historian whose research highlights Southeast Asian communities and histories. Her address was preceded by lion dancing, drumming and student performances presented by Thiên Ân Performing Arts, which included students from Westminster High School and the Westminster School District.
Across both days, sessions ranged from dual language immersion and refugee resettlement to oral history projects, children’s literature and cultural storytelling through food and art. Attendees also joined guided tours of the Vietnamese Heritage Museum in Westminster and viewed the HẺM mural, a 35-by-130-foot public artwork celebrating Vietnamese alleyway culture on the back of Advance Beauty College in Garden Grove.
Westminster teachers, students help close out conference
Six Westminster High School students capped the event during the closing panel, sharing how leadership, culture and identity connect on their campus and in the community. Vietnamese language teacher Mai Khanh Công-Huyền said the weekend underscored the importance of elevating local history.
“There is so much history in the Vietnamese American and refugee community here that needs to be shared with so many others in the wider community,” said Công-Huyền. “Although some of these stories and experiences are maybe traumatic to some, they all deserve a place to be shared and told because it could be part of someone’s Vietnamese identity today.”
Reflecting on the student panel, she added that hearing teens speak about their personal challenges and triumphs was a “testament that they are using their heritage and identity to lead themselves and others into a better future.”
Teacher Pauline Đồng said the experience will translate directly into instruction.
“It was an honor and a privilege to have been part of a conference and to have been able to bring some of our Vietnamese American student leaders,” said Đồng. “The Viet and Viet Dual Language Immersion teacher team at Westminster High School gained a lot of knowledge and resources from the conference that we will apply to our classrooms.”
The statewide series continues with the Cambodian American Studies Model Curriculum Conference, scheduled for Oct. 24–25 in Stockton, followed by another Vietnamese American Experiences Model Curriculum Conference Jan. 16–17 in San Diego.