How can districts and schools successfully implement Ethnic Studies courses?

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How can districts and schools successfully implement Ethnic Studies courses?

Ethnic Studies is never done alone. It's always done in community and solidarity.
Artnelson Concordia

Resource Page Summary

On April 2nd, 2024, the High School Ethnic Studies Initiative held an online discussion for Ethnic Studies educators on successfully implementing Ethnic Studies courses at the high school and district level. This event featured a discussion between Ethnic Studies educator Artnelson Concordia and UC Berkeley Academic Coordinator Ricky Aguirre, and a Q&A segment for high school Ethnic Studies instructors. 

Artnelson is a veteran teacher who helped develop the San Francisco Unified School District’s Ethnic Studies program that was the focus of a 2014 Stanford study that highlighted the academic benefits of the district’s ninth-grade Ethnic Studies Class. Currently, he coordinates the Santa Barbara Unified School District's (SBUSD) Ethnic Studies program.

During the discussion, he provided a comprehensive overview of successfully implementing Ethnic Studies classes, from initiating pilot programs, and harnessing community support to addressing resistance and administration accountability. Artnelson meticulously shared insights into how educators can approach the implementation of Ethnic Studies requirements in their local districts and provides resources and strategies on how to address problems of practice they might encounter. 

Panelists

Ethnic Studies is the history of communities of color in the United States in the first person…Ethnic Studies is critical consciousness.
Artnelson Concordia

Resources

Student standing in front of a mural

SFUSD Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum

The SFUSD Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum is a draft of sample resources (course overview, unit plans, slide decks, and unit introductory videos) created by a cohort of veteran Ethnic Studies teachers during the summers of 2021 and 2022 designed especially to support new Ethnic Studies teachers. 

Artnelson shares the Model Curriculum as a valuable resource intentionally designed for new instructors by instructors like himself and his fellow pilot cohort members. He reflects on how the model curriculum is a cumulative product of his and other advisory committee members’ experiences advancing the Ethnic Studies requirement in SFUSD and the lessons they learned developing their pedagogy.

Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales

Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales and Ethnic Studies Veteran Educators

Throughout the conversation, Artnelson emphasizes the value of reaching out to veteran Ethnic Studies educators and leaders for support in implementing Ethnic Studies curricula in their school districts. Artnelson cites to the work of Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales as one of the scholars who was especially impactful in his pedagogical development. He referenced Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales as a leading scholar who helped actualize the SFUSD Ethnic Studies requirement resolution and recruited him and other instructors to participate in SFUSD’s Ethnic Studies instructor pilot training program. His lasting relationship with Dr. Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales is one way that connections have enabled local Ethnic Studies initiatives to grow and evolve.

Dr. Tintiangco-Cubales is an award-winning distinguished professor in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. She is the founder of many trailblazing community Ethnic Studies and pedagogy programs. Instructors can explore some of the initiatives Dr. Tintiangco-Cubales has developed below:

Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP)

Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium

Community Responsive Education (CRE)

Teaching Excellence Network (TEN)

Pedagogy of the Oppressed cover

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire is a book publication that serves as a key foundational, theoretical piece that Artnelson and other members of SFUSD’s Ethnic Studies instructor pilot training program used to develop classroom lessons. This publication can aid Ethnic Studies instructors seeking to engage in similar collective programs and for applications in critical pedagogy and anti-colonial analysis of education. 

Key Takeaways

Identifying Key Elements for Successful Ethnic Studies Implementation

Artnelson provides a comprehensive overview of lessons he learned throughout the different roles he has held and initiatives he has partaken in to implement Ethnic Studies at the K-12 level. He speaks about why developing relationships with the different stakeholders within a school community was critical to ensuring that these initiatives would flourish. He especially emphasizes how community plays a crucial role in successful implementation, while also acknowledging that the landscape varies from district to district. He also addresses collective study practices that allowed the SFUSD Pilot cohort to develop impactful pedagogy.

  • (Around 18:52) “[Instructors engaged in] regularly meeting, studying, supplementing that collective study with individual study and then application of all of those learnings within our specific contexts.”
  • (Around 19:33) “The other piece was the deep community support because the board resolution actually was responding to community demands for an education that reflected, that was responsive and reflected the needs and experiences of our communities of color in SFUSD.”
  • (Around 20:06) “[We needed] someone within the district to help navigate and shepherd the project, university scholars grounded in the history and the theory and the practice, willing teachers…And I know that will probably be a challenge in our rural, predominantly white communities.”
  • (Around 27:53) “We had willing teachers. We had university partners at both or higher ed partners at both [Santa Barbara and San Francisco]...And so those relationships have been key. Ethnic Studies now, Santa Barbara grassroots folks representing multiple different communities were key. Our school board support and the, pressure that they received from our students who marched to demand an Ethnic Studies requirement…”
  • (Around 34:30) “I know districts throughout the state are documenting and capturing student experience. And to me, it’s really reverse engineering. How do we get to that result?”
  • (Around 51:59) “Something that I learned early on about change making is that you never do it by decree…It comes down to relationship building, and raising awareness in a way that folks want to invest in the initiative. As we discussed earlier about the importance of community to young people, feeling that they are a part of a larger community of practice, of learning, the same goes for our teachers, and our adults. This whole system of education is so isolating.”

Encountering Resistance to Ethnic Studies

When discussing key issues that Ethnic Studies educators should address, Artnelson emphasizes the need to increase understanding of Ethnic Studies. He explains the importance of succinctly conveying fundamental principles of Ethnic Studies when interacting with new teachers and community members. He further elaborates on the need for instructors to demonstrate not only the content of Ethnic Studies but also its teaching methods and potential impact. This approach helps to provide a comprehensive view of Ethnic Studies, promoting a deeper understanding and impact among the community.

  • (31:02) “There is some misrepresentations of our commitment to Palestine or the field's commitment to Palestine and teaching about Palestine. And that that gets conflated with in some way, like anti-Semitism.
  • (31:45) “We have nothing to hide. Ethnic Studies, we’re absolutely committed to, it’s a law. And we’re going to do the best we can be the origin, purpose, and practice of this field. And it’s new, right, in K-12. And so I think there’s a lot of anxiety. There’s a lot of fear.
  • (32:39) “When I came in, there were three lawsuits that had been thrown out and then two active lawsuits about our district’s ‘anti-Christian, anti-male, anti-white’ teaching practice. And it’s like, okay, we disagree. And you know, we just keep it moving because ultimately with Ethnic Studies there’s incredibly strong community support and strong leadership within the district backing this work.”

Engaging with Problems of Practice

When discussing key issues that Ethnic Studies educators should address, Artnelson emphasizes the need to increase understanding of Ethnic Studies. He explains the importance of succinctly conveying fundamental principles of Ethnic Studies when interacting with new teachers and community members. He further elaborates on the need for instructors to demonstrate not only the content of Ethnic Studies but also its teaching methods and potential impact. This approach helps to provide a comprehensive view of Ethnic Studies, promoting a deeper understanding and impact among the community.

  • (36:05) “There is a lot lost in translation when it comes to defining and helping raise awareness about what Ethnic Studies is…How do we make sure it’s Ethnic Studies and not multicultural studies?”
  • (38:14) “Ethnic Studies centers communities of color in the United States from their point of view. It’s not a secondary analysis of what happened to brown people and Black people by non-brown and Black people.”
  • (38:35) “We have to equip young people to think causally. I know that’s a standard, but we really define what that means. It means thinking historically. The past is shaped, it’s not determined. This is happening through systems and relationships of power…Thinking causally, thinking historically, thinking systems and power, that’s another cornerstone of Ethnic Studies.”
  • (39:15) “[Ethnic Studies] It’s not just academic. It can’t just be academics, not just learning to memorize, regurgitate, and take a test to pass the class and peace out. It’s that they have some meaningful application of the learning…The list is long for all of these real opportunities for young people to help be a part of problem-solving.”
  • (40:27) “[Ethnic Studies] is concerned with the wellbeing of our most marginalized. And of course, we are intersectional. It’s not a narrow race. It’s an important aspect of us. If anything, it’s the entry point to developing and fostering criticality.”