The Palo Alto Educators Association is holding an emergency representative council meeting this evening to discuss the actions of Palo Alto Unified School District board member Rowena Chiu.

The PAEA meeting follows a series of interactions starting at last week’s board discussion about a proposed ethnic studies requirement, which passed that night. Chiu said that she did ‘not feel very safe’ during the Thursday board meeting, prompting a response from Danae Reynolds, the district’s executive director of curriculum & instruction. A post referencing Reynolds’ statements was uploaded on Monday by a group called Asians Against Wokeness. Chiu reposted the post, which sparked controversy due to racist and threatening language in the comments. The repost has since been removed, though Chiu’s comment remains.

Since then, Chiu has received backlash from former Palo Alto school board trustees and the Palo Alto Management Association, which have issued letters signed by 13 former board trustees, district schools’ administrators and psychologists.

According to PAEA site representative Erin Angell, though the agenda is not official, the objective is set. 

“It’s my understanding that we are going to be discussing what PAEA’s reaction should be to the current situation,” Angell said. “This is a private meeting for representative council members only.”

According to a PAEA member speaking on condition of confidentiality, the PAEA, which endorsed Chiu during the 2024 school board election, may be asked to withdraw its endorsement.

“There is a strong possibility that the rep council will be asked to consider revoking the endorsement of Ms. Chiu,” the member said. 

PAEA site representative Daniel Nguyen said he is interested to hear fellow members’ thoughts at the meeting.

“In terms of what actions come next, it’s important for me to hear what’s going on,” Nguyen said. “I want to hear how other people feel. I’m still trying to learn more.”