PRESS RELEASE NO. 15-2023
Consul General Emil Fernandez engages in an interactive discussion with the Filipino Curriculum Project collaborators regarding their initiative. (Photo courtesy of Joel Bulos)
16 February 2023, Honolulu – The student collaborators of the Filipino Curriculum Project (FCP) called on Consul General Emil Fernandez last 15 February to brief the Consulate on the progress of their initiative. Through continuous coordination with various state-level stakeholders, the students aim to integrate a curriculum centered in Filipino history, culture, and identity in Hawaii's basic education system, particularly at the high school level.
Its founder, Ms. Marissa Halagao, a senior at Punahou High School, shared that the Filipino Curriculum Project was started after recognizing the lack of instruction on Filipino history in the education system despite the huge number of Filipinos in Hawaii.
Consul General Fernandez applauded the efforts of this student-driven group and expressed hope that this project will shed light to the valuable contributions that Filipinos have made in Hawaii and in the US.
The FCP contingent comprised of student collaborators from Farrington, Roosevelt, Kamehameha, and Punahou high schools and the University of Hawaii-West were accompanied by Dr. Patricia Halagao, Professor and Chair of the Department of Curriculum Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, during the call.
Consul General Emil Fernandez (front row, 3rd from left) and Ms. Marissa Halagao (front row, 3rd from right), Founder of the Filipino Curriculum Project, are joined by officers of the Philippine Consulate and members of the Filipino Curriculum Project. (Photo courtesy of Joel Bulos)
