High School Ethnic Studies Initiative (HSESI)

Topic for resources, events, and opportunities relating to UC Berkeley's High School Ethnic Studies Initiative (HSESI).

Ethnic Studies Student Panel

About

On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, UC Berkeley's High School Ethnic Studies Initiative held a panel discussion exploring the Ethnic Studies curriculum at the high school and university-level. This discussion featured Ethnic Studies students from Berkeley High School and alum from UC Berkeley, who offered insights into the challenges, opportunities and immense significance of Ethnic Studies courses in today’s academic landscape.

Panelists: Berkeley High School Students Mariarosa Cerritos and Camille Jacala and UC Berkeley Alum Niyatt Mengis....

HSESI Third World Liberation Front Panel

About

On June 12, 2023, UC Berkeley's High School Ethnic Studies Initiative held a panel discussion on the history of the 1969 Third World Liberation Front Strike at UC Berkeley.

Featured panelists: Clementina Duron, 1969 TWLF Student Striker, and UC Berkeley Alum and a public school teacher and principal for 30 years in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco. Harvey Dong, 1969 TWLF UC Berkeley Student Striker, and UC Berkeley Alum and Faculty, Ethnic Studies Vicci Wong, 1969 TWLF UC Berkeley Student Striker, UC Berkeley Alum, Cofounder, Asian American Political...

Explore the Initiative

About

This section will help you gain insights into the background and significance of California’s high school graduation requirement. We've included historical information on California's high school Ethnic Studies graduation requirement and our initiative's potential impact on California high school teachers and school districts through an exploratory report. We're also developing an oral history project for you to trace the roots of Ethnic Studies and immerse yourself in the activism of the original 1969 Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) strikers at UC Berkeley.

Teaching Tools

About

Explore our curated resources to support your Ethnic Studies teaching! Discover media clips libraries, oral histories, and our HSESI Teaching Resource Hub. Please note that our resource hub is currently in development, but is available for early preview, especially for feedback and suggestions on how to best develop it. For any questions, please email hsesi@berkeley.edu.

Ethnic Studies from K-12: A Teaching Conversation

Event Description

In March 2021, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 101, adding an Ethnic Studies graduation requirement for all California high school students graduating during the 2029-2030 school year; it also states that high schools must start offering approved Ethnic Studies courses beginning in 2025-2026. The American Cultures Center, along with several other units and academic departments, is developing a campus-wide initiative to support high school teachers and districts in meeting the requirement rollout.

On November 14, 2022, the...