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Educational Resources for Exploring Sikh Heritage in Wisconsin

Tuesday, May 23, 2023


Event alert: For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, join our Perspectives in Equity gathering highlighting the partnership between the Wisconsin DPI and the Sikh community. Featured speaker Harman Singh, Education Director of the Sikh Coalition, oversees the education program area. Harman will speak about the ongoing work to ensure educators in Wisconsin and across the nation better understand and are better able to support Sikh students. Please join us via Zoom on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 from 3-4 p.m. to learn more!

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction would like to highlight the growing relationship between Wisconsin educators and the Sikh community, and the resources and professional learning opportunities which have come out of these valuable interactions and partnerships. Many of these resources are available through the Engaged Educator Coalition Hub in WISELearn, which is a space for Wisconsin educators to work together in community to support high-quality, standards-based teaching that affirms, responds to, and sustains students' cultural and linguistic identities. There, you'll find a collection of resources created and curated by the Sikh community, including videos, books, lesson plans, and other instructional resources for grades PK - 12.

New to the resources online, the Sikh Coalition is proud to announce the rollout of a lesson plan about the Oak Creek Sikh community. The lesson plan, developed in collaboration with Tejpaul Singh Bainiwal of the Sikh American History Project, explores the history and experiences of Sikhs in the United States. Through media and historical archives, students will study how the community has been impacted by anti-Sikh hate incidents from the early 1900s to the present day, and how the Sikh community has responded to these incidents. For more information on how to incorporate this lesson plan in your district, contact harman@sikhcoalition.org.

As part of ongoing work to create safer classrooms for students nationwide, the Sikh Coalition partnered with Wisconsin community leaders to collect Sikh student surveys in March 2023. The data collected will be used to draw conclusions about common experiences of Sikh youth, which in turn will inform future recommendations to policymakers, school officials, and educators. 

The Wisconsin DPI is committed to building and sustaining community partnerships to ensure Wisconsin educators have access to high-quality instructional materials and are engaged with professional learning. Our friendship and collaboration with the Sikh community strengthens our state and the quality of education we are able to deliver to all students.

This item appears with thanks and in consultation with Tamara Mouw, Director of Operations, Partnerships, and Innovation in the office of the State Superintendent.