A Victory For SF Youth!
In a unanimous vote at the SFUSD School Board meeting on Tuesday, February 23rd, the Board commissioners approved an Ethnic Studies pilot program in five San Francisco high schools; a large victory for youth throughout the city.
We are excited about our victory last night, but know that this is only the beginning of our fight, we'll have to continue fighting to keep the program in the years to come.
Read more about Youth In POWER's role in this campaign below and read more about their victory in the SF Examiner.
In the last several weeks Youth In POWER has collaborated with a coalition of students, teachers, parents, youth organizations, SFUSD administrators and SFSU in a push to pass a resolution to bring Ethnic Studies into 5 SF High Schools.
The immediate goal of the campaign is to secure funding from the SFUSD to pilot the Ethnic Studies course at five high schools during the 2010-11 school year. In this time of financial crisis, we need to get the biggest bang for every buck we spend, and the Ethnic Studies course has tremendous potential to improve the district's educational efficacy by keeping students in school and improving their academic performance.
We are addressing the lack of and misrepresentation of communities of color in our public education system, attempting to connect young students with their histories to decrease drop-out rates and increase their engagement with community organizations and social justice efforts.
As a coalition, we believe that Ethnic Studies is important for the following reasons (amongst others):
For students
- Explore your ethnic, racial, cultural and national identity.
- Learn the history of your own community and family.
- Learn the history of other racial, ethnic, and cultural groups.
- Learn how to create change in your school and your community.
- See yourself in the curriculum for a change!
For parents and the community
- Ethnic Studies provides a rigorous academic course with topics that students can get excited about, thus raising students' self-esteem.
- Ethnic Studies is designed to foster strong ties between students and their teachers, families, neighborhoods, and schools; Ethnic Studies develops a sense of civic engagement and social responsibility.
- Ethnic Studies reduces inter-racial tension and prepares students for 21st century demographic realities in California.
- Ethnic Studies keeps students out of the juvenile justice system by bringing relevance to school and community.
For the SFUSD
- Ethnic Studies addresses the shortcomings of California's History and Social Studies standards by focusing on the history of people of color in California since from the early 19th century to the present.
- Ethnic Studies offers a rigorous academic program that is centered on the development of multi-disciplinary literacy and critical thinking.
- Ethnic Studies is designed with social justice as a central organizing principle. It creates critical leaders who engage directly with movements for school and community reform.
- Ethnic Studies develops deep partnerships between SFUSD teachers and SFSU College of Ethnic Studies teachers and students.
- Ethnic Studies reduces inter-racial tension and prepares students for 21st century demographic realities in California.
- Ethnic Studies keeps students out of the juvenile justice system by bringing relevance to school and community
Official endorsements:
The Campaign for Ethnic Studies is proudly supported by:
HOMEY (Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth), The Filipino Community Center, POWER (People Organizing to Win Employment Rights, JACL (Japanese American Citizens League), The College of Ethnic Studies at SFSU, College of Education at SFSU, Pin@y Educational Partnerships, San Francisco Freedom School, ALAY (Active Leadership to Advance the Youth), Chinatown Community Development Center, Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, Brothers of Chi Rho Omicron, SFSU (XPO), Latin American Teachers Association, San Francisco Association of Bilingual Educators.
