Advancing Educational Opportunity for our Pacific Islander Students and Communities

We bring together community leaders, advocates, educators, researchers, and partners to elevate the experiences of Pacific Islanders, strengthen their voice in education policy, and advance solutions that help more students thrive from early learning through college and beyond.

Our work is rooted in a simple belief: Pacific Islander students deserve to be seen, supported, and represented in the decisions that shape their education and future.

Pacific Islander community members together

Our Mission

Our mission is to advance educational opportunity for Pacific Islanders in California through research, coalition-building, and advocacy.

We work to ensure that the experiences and priorities of Pacific Islander students and families are visible in the data, heard in policy conversations, and reflected in the decisions and investments made across California's education systems.

What isn't measured doesn't get changed. Our work begins with insisting that Pacific Islander communities be named, counted, and heard in every system that shapes their future.

Our Story

Built by community, for community.

Pacific Islander communities have deep roots in California, but their experiences are often overlooked in education research, policy, and public decision-making.

The term "Pacific Islander" itself represents many distinct communities, cultures, languages, and histories. Yet these differences are frequently obscured when data are aggregated into broader racial categories. This can make it difficult to understand where students are thriving, where disparities persist, and what resources communities need.

At the same time, Pacific Islander organizations and leaders across California are already doing powerful work in their communities. What has been missing is a stronger statewide infrastructure to connect those efforts to education research, policy, and advocacy.

Pacific Islanders for Progress was created to help fill that gap.

PIP brings people together across communities and regions to build a stronger statewide voice for Pacific Islander students. We connect what communities are experiencing with data and policy, identify opportunities for change, and advocate for an education system in which every Pacific Islander student has the opportunity to succeed.

What We Do

Three fronts. One mission.

Research makes the case. The coalition builds the priorities. Advocacy carries it forward.

Evidence-Based Research

What isn't measured isn't visible.

What we focus on

Disaggregated education and economic data for Pacific Islander communities in California
Outcomes across early education, TK–12, postsecondary pathways, and workforce development
Translating findings into accessible briefs, fact sheets, and tools

Coalition-Building

Turning shared values into shared priorities.

Building a coalition that

Connects organizations and individuals across California into a shared agenda
Shares data, amplifies campaigns, and shows up at key moments together
Builds relationships grounded in our cultures and accountable to our communities

Join the coalition →

Advocacy

Bringing Pacific Islander voices to the table.

How we advocate

Equipping community members to speak directly to decision-makers
Mobilizing coalition partners to advance strategic advocacy
Grounded in evidence and community voice

Policy priorities coming soon →

What We Stand For

Guided by community values.

Our work is grounded in values carried across Pasifika cultures.

Tauhi Vā

Nurture Relationships

Rooted in Tongan culture, tauhi vā calls us to care for the relational space that connects us. We build our work through trust, reciprocity, and meaningful relationships across communities. We believe lasting progress is not achieved alone, but through the relationships we nurture along the way.

Tautua

Serve Our Communities

In Samoan culture, tautua speaks to service and the understanding that leadership is earned through serving others. We center the needs and aspirations of Pacific Islander students, families, and communities. Our work is not about speaking for our communities, but working alongside them and using our collective strengths in service of their futures.

Kuleana

Carry Responsibility

Kuleana reflects the Native Hawaiian understanding of responsibility and our obligations to one another, our communities, and future generations. We take seriously our responsibility to advocate for educational opportunity and to hold ourselves and decision-makers accountable for creating the conditions in which Pacific Islander students can thrive.

Mana

Build Collective Power

Across Pasifika cultures, mana speaks to spiritual power, authority, and strength. We recognize the mana that already exists within Pacific Islander communities. Our role is not to give communities a voice, but to create opportunities for that voice, leadership, knowledge, and collective power to shape the policies and systems that affect our students.