Overview
The UC Berkeley High School Ethnic Studies Initiative (HSESI) is a collaboration between The American Cultures Center, Department of Ethnic Studies, and History-Social Science Project developing curriculum materials to support Bay Area teachers and school districts offering California's Ethnic Studies high school graduation requirement.
Background of California's Ethnic Studies Graduation Requirement:
In 2014, California's El Rancho Unified School District (ERUSD), which serves the area of Pico Rivera, became the first school district in California to require an ethnic studies class as a graduation requirement. That year, the Ethnic Studies Now Coalition (ESNC) an independent, grassroots coalition of teachers, parents, students, academics, elected officials, and non-profits from across and beyond California, was formed. ESNC sent emails and letters and placed thousands of calls to elected officials advocating the expansion of Ethnic Studies to all California school districts.
In March 2021, the California Board of Education approved a high school Ethnic Studies model curriculum that included contributions of Asian, Black, Latinx, and Native Americans. On October 8, 2021, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 101 into law, which will require all local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools, serving high school students, to provide a full-year course in ethnic studies by the 2025-26 school year, for students graduating in the 2029-30 school year and beyond.
HSESI Rises to the Occassion:
In response to this statewide legislation, in 2021, the High School Ethnic Studies Initiative (HSESI) was created. The collaboratory initiative focuses on building a curriculum infrastructure for California educators, addressing immediate and long-term needs.
Key resources include:
- Robust, teaching tools for curriculum content
- An Ethnic Studies resource hub, publicly accesible on Notion
- Access to the Ethnic Studies Library's extensive collections and curated library resource guides
- Faculty experitise in Ethnic Studies and critical race studies pedagogy
- A website dedicated to the Third World Liberation Front, including teaching resources, oral histories, and interactive timelines
- An annual Ethnic Studies Summer Institute for current educators and practicioners
We invite you to explore the rest of this website to learn more about the resources and impacts of the program. To connect with HSESI partners, please email hsesi@berkeley.edu.
