Coronado High School freshmen are now challenged with a new class to meet graduation requirements: ethnic studies. The new course, which is required by the State of California of all 2030 graduates, is now operating at CHS a pilot and will likely undergo several adjustments and revisions before the curriculum is solidified, according to Dr. Megan Battle, CUSD Director of Learning.
The new state requirement was signed into law back in 2021 by Governor Gavin Newsom. This came after studies showed ethnic studies classes foster improved educational outcomes such as higher attendance, higher graduation rates and increased enrollment in college. CUSD made the ethnic studies class a requirement for all current freshmen, a year ahead of the state requirement.
According to Battle, the new offering at CHS will foster academic achievement and critical thinking skills.
“Ethnic studies promotes critical thinking by encouraging students to analyze and evaluate complex social issues, prompting them to consider multiple perspectives and actively engage with historical and contemporary events,” said Battle. “Ethnic studies has been linked to increasing overall academic achievement by fostering a sense of personal connection to the material, and developing analytical skills that are transferable to multiple disciplines.”
While the State of California offers up a sample curriculum, it allows each district to tailor their lesson plans and teaching materials to meet their unique needs and demographics. For CUSD, this means developing a course that focuses on educating and building understanding, while tackling challenging issues through an analytical lens, according to Battle.
The class will explore the experiences of African Americans, Asian Americans, Chicanas/os and Latinas/os, American Indians and other minority groups in the United States. Some of the pilot instructional materials include “The California Ethnic Studies Collection” from the online resource Newsela, as well as the book, “A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America” by Ronald Takaki. It also includes primary historical documents, supplemental readings and video clips.
“It will span from past to present and allow students to identify social patterns and universal qualities present in all ethnic, racial, and cultural aspects of society, including their own,” said Battle.
Ultimately, students will become more civically responsible through exposure to multiple perspectives and develop respect, empathy and value for individuals and groups of people locally, nationally, and globally.
As the district is currently in the pilot stage of adoption, the course will likely continue to evolve over time. According to Battle, the piloting process allows for instructional materials to be reviewed and evaluated by highly-qualified teachers and students in the classroom for an extended period of time.
For parents of students already in the class, all course materials are accessible via Canvas. The rest of the community will be offered an opportunity to review the course materials and provide feedback after the February school board meeting, where the curriculum will be presented to the board.
Battle said the district values the involvement and input of parents and other members of the community in the selection of instructional materials.
“Between the February meeting and the March meeting, all of the materials will be in the foyer of the district office, with cards for community members to give feedback,” said Battle. “Community members can come anytime we’re open and spend as long as they want, and review all the textbooks and all of the materials for the class, and leave comments up until the March meeting.”
She said the class is designed to be academically rigorous and promote higher order cognitive skills.
“We want to make sure our students aren’t just memorizing the facts and regurgitating information, but they are actually internalizing the information and thinking critically about it, and analyzing it,” said Battle. “Those skills can transfer over into science, or transfer into a job in the real world so it’s important that our kids are challenged.”
If parents are concerned about what their children are learning in the class, Battle suggests reaching out to the teacher.
“If there’s a concern, we would encourage parents to reach out directly to the teacher so they can provide the context to the lesson and explain what they’re teaching, and why they’re teaching it,” said Battle. “The teachers are the best source of information and they’re experts in their fields, so we welcome that communication. We want our parents to be partners with us.”
Overall, Battle hopes the new class will provide a space where students can learn about diverse cultures, histories, and experiences.
“For all of our kids, I think it will build empathy and give them time and space to explore their own heritages and identities,” said Battle. “I think that’s awesome.”
What is a Director of Learning? Is this administrator taking the place of the VP of Academics?
Ethnics Studies should include ALL ethnics, not just people of color, The are plenty of differences in the various ethnicities in the Caucasian race (which includes many Hispanics) to warrant examination and discussion. Caucasians may be the majority group at the moment, but not necessarily in all locations. If the goal is to encourage students of color to stay in school, there are better ways to do that, such as a diverse collection of inspiring teachers or inviting interesting and successful individuals from various communities. The governor wants to impose a “progressive view” on everything, but progress comes with unity, not separatism, which is what the basis of this course implies. This course should be taught in an inclusive way, and that includes ALL races.
I am so glad Coronado is catching up with the real world, and preparing our children for that world, by studying the history and lived experiences of all Americans. As studies show, ethnic studies classes have a remarkably positive impact on students, increasing their overall engagement in school, probability of graduating and likelihood of enrolling in college. Surely, it also helps students grow empathy and understanding, which can only help them be more successful in their own lives, and in the world.
Is this a one semester or two semester course? What class did this course displace? I agree with the comments above.
This “learning” is distructive to children and societies.
We are all human beings, biologically the same.
Therefore, what should be taught is to judge based
on behavior, not irrelevant characteristics.
agree
Agree, this sounds like DEI indoctrination and Liberal bias against Caucasian people disguised as learning about other peoples hardships at the hands of white oppressors. This is Socialist nonsense and should not be a requirement.
We need to teach getting along with everyone. Judge people by the content of their character not the color of their skin or ethnicity.
I would suggest also talking to the non Caucasian freshmen students about their experiences in this class. I have several of these students in my sports team have had conversations about this class. They think that some of the stuff being taught seems a bit racists. They also feel uncomfortable with being in class with mostly white students and being looked at when sensitive question comes up about other ethnic groups , although they are not part of that ethic group. I over heard them talking about a pie chart with black white Latino and other shades of brown ??? If that is true that would be a red flag to me as a parent …. Just my opinion as a parent of children who graduated Coronado, Alumni and a Coach of younger girls
Thanks JC