by AIELOC Leadership Team | Dec 2, 2025 | Blog
AIELOC strongly objects to the U.S. Department of Education’s recent designation of certain degrees as “not professional,” including graduate degrees in education. This classification is both inexplicable and harmful. We work with educators across the world—including many certified in the United States—who should never have the legitimacy of their credentials questioned because of an arbitrary federal list.
It is worth noting that the current Secretary of Education’s official biography highlights her work “advocating for policies to empower teachers and help students excel.” This decision accomplishes neither. Instead, it diminishes the teaching profession and raises a critical question: Were education professionals meaningfully consulted before this list was developed?
This announcement reflects a troubling misalignment with the needs of educators and students in the United States. The most constructive path forward is clear: rescind the list entirely and affirm that education degrees, including teaching master’s degrees, are and should remain recognized as professional qualifications.
Thank you.
by AIELOC Team | Sep 23, 2025 | Blog
Effective immediately, the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color (AIELOC) hereby suspends all engagement with Search Associates. This decision stems from persistent and substantiated concerns raised by our members and applicants regarding exclusionary practices, a profound lack of accountability, and an insufficient commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) within Search Associates’ recruitment processes.
This action is a direct response to repeated reports from educators of color who have experienced or witnessed discriminatory treatment during recruitment activities facilitated by Search Associates. Such systemic issues are fundamentally incompatible with AIELOC’s core mission and values, which prioritize equity and justice in international education.
To consider reinstating engagement in the future, AIELOC calls on Search Associates to take the following concrete actions:
Appoint a Qualified Full Time DEIJ Leader:
Recruit and hire a DEIJ leader with proven expertise in anti-racism, inclusion, and equitable hiring practices. This individual must possess the authority to enforce accountability mechanisms across all associates, including the immediate dismissal of personnel who fail to adhere to established DEIJ standards.
Implement a Transparent Grievance Process:
Develop an independent and accessible mechanism for candidates to report incidents of bias, discrimination, or misconduct. This process must ensure guaranteed follow-up, robust accountability measures, and clear consequences for violations.
Partner with Marginalized Voices:
Collaborate meaningfully with individuals from historically underrepresented and resilient communities to review and reform recruitment policies and practices, ensuring they reflect inclusive and anti-oppressive principles, and pay them for their service.
Make Amends for Harm Caused:
Acknowledge and take responsibility for harm experienced by candidates, including issuing refunds and other appropriate remedies for those impacted.
Until these critical steps are fully and demonstrably implemented, AIELOC will maintain its suspension of engagement with Search Associates. We strongly urge all individual members, schools, partners, and allies within the international education community to join us in this stance as a collective commitment to upholding ethical standards.
AIELOC remains steadfast in its dedication to championing just, equitable, and inclusive hiring practices across all recruitment platforms. Should you have concerns regarding harmful practices by other recruitment organizations, we encourage you to contact our team at AIELOC via https://aieloc.org/contact-us/.
by AIELOC Leadership Team | Mar 21, 2025 | Blog
Friday, March 21, 2025
The Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color (AIELOC) strongly opposes any proposal to dismantle the United States Department of Education. As an organization dedicated to advancing equitable and inclusive education for all students, we firmly believe that the Department of Education plays a vital role in ensuring access to quality education, protecting civil rights, and upholding educational standards across the nation.
Dismantling the Department of Education would have devastating consequences for millions of students, particularly those from marginalized and underserved communities. The Department is responsible for administering federal financial aid programs, enforcing Title IX and civil rights protections, and supporting historically underfunded schools through initiatives such as Title I funding. Without this oversight, the risk of educational inequities and disparities would increase significantly, leaving many students without the resources they need to succeed.
Furthermore, the Department of Education provides essential support for teachers, administrators, and school districts, offering research-based best practices, grant opportunities, and policies that help drive student achievement. Its role in collecting and analyzing educational data also ensures that lawmakers and educators can make informed decisions to improve learning outcomes nationwide.
Education is the foundation of our democracy and our economy. Eliminating the Department of Education would undermine decades of progress in expanding access to high-quality education and closing achievement gaps. We urge ALL to reject any efforts to dismantle this crucial institution and instead focus on strengthening its ability to serve students, families, and educators.
We welcome the opportunity to engage in further discussions on how to enhance our education system while maintaining the necessary federal support and oversight that the Department of Education provides.
by Kanako Suwa, AIELOC Fellow | Mar 12, 2025 | Blog
This weekend, I attended a DEI exchange in Laos, hosted by Vientiane International School, for the second year in a row. One of the workshops I took part in was about seeing autism and ADHD through an equity lens, during which the facilitator, Jonathan Norlin, asked us to peruse stories about individuals who lived with intersectional identities; AuDHD/female, AuDHD/POC, and AuDHD/LGBTQ+. I naturally found myself curious about the stories of queer people with autism and/or ADHD and while listening to them speak so candidly about how their neurodivergence affects their queer identity or vice versa, a seed started to grow in my brain. How does MY neurodivergence (ADHD) affect my queer identity?
I’ve given a lot of thought to my sexuality over the last few years. I’ve even recorded a monologue about my queer discovery journey. In it, I talk about how growing up, I had “crushes” on boys and girls – my attraction to both genders was never a question, even when I struggled to put a label on it. Things clicked once I discovered the term “bisexual” through Tumblr, and since then, I’ve identified as bisexual, pansexual, and queer. Bisexual, because that was the label I stuck with for so long. But pansexual because that is more inclusive of trans and non-binary people. And queer, because it allowed me to continue the self discovery without putting myself into a box, and because something still felt amiss.
As we got older and everyone around me began dating seriously, I felt no sense of urgency or need to find myself a romantic partner. Living in SE Asia, it is so easy to meet travellers who are passing through the city, people who are here for a fun time but not for a long time. That, to me, was enough. I went on dating apps, swiping left and right, and honestly enjoyed messaging “strangers” and finding out new things about new people, but I also never felt real interest in grabbing coffee or going on an actual date. Conversations from dating apps would fizzle out, once they realised I had no intent to meet up with them in person, and I always closed the apps feeling a slight heartache and confusion. Why am I speaking to strangers on the internet, on an app designed for finding true love, when it never went beyond a few messages?
After being diagnosed with ADHD, my therapist told me about the spoon theory in the neurodivergent community. The Spoons Theory, by Christine Miserandino, is this idea that we all start with a certain number of spoons to start the day, and each activity you engage in takes spoons away from your pile. Learning about The Spoons Theory early on in my ADHD journey allowed me to rationalise my lack of interest in “going on a date” as a lack of spoons. I thought that by the time the end of the day rolled around, I would have no spoons left to doll myself up for a date or to spend an evening with a stranger because social interactions take a lot of spoons for me too.
This rationalization gave me a way to explain my lack of interest in dating, almost blaming my neurodivergence and its challenges. And even though this afforded me a little bit of comfort, the confusion and wonderings about myself, and my sexual and romantic identity, didn’t really dissipate. Because if I’m being honest, it wasn’t always true that I didn’t have the spoons to go out to dinner or do other activities after work – on average, 2 days out of the 5 work days, I had enough spoons left in the day to go to the gym or go to dinner, or even do both sometimes. So this “excuse” I had built in my head about the spoons were beginning to collapse and I started to think that I was broken for not having any interest in something everyone around me seemed to find easy – most of my friends are married now, even the ones who “swore off” dating a few years ago.
Now, I’m no stranger to the emerging terms in the queer community. I spoke to my therapist about the possibility of me being aromantic, someone who experiences little to no romantic attraction, but that didn’t really sit right with me either. Because I had crushes and been in relationships, and even though none of it amounted to a long-term committed relationship, I still thought I felt attracted to the people I was dating.
But as I sat in this workshop listening to neurodivergent queer person describe themselves as neuroqueer, that seed in my brain began to take a life of its own. I thought specifically about my crushes and relationships, through an ADHD lens, and started to realise that they may have actually been one of my “hyperfixations”. A hyperfixation is an intense occupation a person with ADHD may have towards a certain subject or activity, and in my case, these crushes were my hyperfixations. I thrived on the dopamine rush I got from talking to my crush or getting attention from them, but they never evolved into anything substantial or long-lasting, because just like a hyperfixation meal can feel wrong all of a sudden, the crushes would also disappear overnight. Dating apps gave me hits of dopamine that my brain was craving, because of the notifications on my phone, the excitement of meeting new people, and, with an endless amount of people to swipe through, even simply matching with someone felt like a game.
While I haven’t entirely let go of the idea that it would be lovely to find a partner to share life with, I now feel more comfortable using aromantic as one of my labels, leaning towards the “having little interest in romantic relationships” side of the spectrum. I recognised that my past crushes and relationships were truly based on my need for attention and dopamine, more than true romantic feelings. Looking back now, I also notice a pattern in my break-ups. It was always because I lost interest. Because the relationship became too familiar and I lost that excitement around being with that person.
Upon further reflection, I realize now that I probably care for my friends and even my students more than I cared for my romantic partners, and that should’ve been a sign. I’m always interested in what’s going on in my friends’ lives. I love hearing about their new accomplishments. And I definitely feel an immense amount of pride and joy when students share their achievements. I care deeply for friends and students, and I do try to give all of my love, because I’m not incapable of feeling love. It’s just that romantic love has never really been an interest to me and I didn’t realize it because I kept finding other explanations for why I wasn’t wired the way most of my friends were.
So unbeknownst to me, ADHD has been affecting my sexual / romantic identities for the longest time, probably even before I was diagnosed. And if it hadn’t been for DEIx25 and Jon’s workshop, I wouldn’t have actually sat down to think about how neurodivergence affects queer identity for me, so thank you to VIS and to Jon!
Kanako Suwa (she/her)
LinkedIn / Instagram / Website
by AIELOC Leadership Team | Feb 18, 2025 | Blog
The Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color (AIELOC) acknowledges the challenging times ahead as we navigate a landscape marked by uncertainty. In light of recent federal guidance concerning the awarding of grants to educational institutions and organizations, AIELOC would like to reaffirm its unwavering commitment to protecting our community and advancing our mission.
As outlined in the recent communication regarding Executive Order 14173, AIELOC understands the requirement for grantees to certify compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws and the stipulation against operating programs that promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) that violate these laws.
While we acknowledge the complexities introduced by this directive, AIELOC remains steadfast in its belief that fostering our values, beliefs, and focus on a culture of dignity, respect, learning, and fairness is essential to the educational experience and the well-being of our communities.
AIELOC’s Position:
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Commitment to Culture of dignity, respect, learning and fairness: AIELOC believes that well-being and care are fundamental to achieving educational excellence. We will continue to advocate for practices that support these values within our community.
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Support for Grantees: We understand that the new certification requirements may pose challenges for our partners. AIELOC is committed to providing guidance and support to help navigate these changes while ensuring compliance with federal regulations.
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Ongoing Advocacy: AIELOC will continue to advocate for policies that enhance visibility, recognition, and support for the needs of students, educators, and leaders globally.
As we shift to understanding the evolving landscape, it is crucial that we stand together to protect the values that define our community. AIELOC will continue the important work we have set forth to do, advocating for opportunities and the well-being of all members of our community.
As we move forward, AIELOC encourages open dialogue and collaboration among all stakeholders. We invite our partners to reach out with any questions or concerns regarding the new federal guidelines and how they may impact our collective mission. For more information about AIELOC and our initiatives, please visit www.aieloc.org.
