Ethnic Studies gave student sense of self, he says. Fresno teachers plead for investment

Jesus Castillo, a senior at Roosevelt High, said he found his identity and understood his family’s journey when he took a Chicano Studies class last semester.

“I started to see my journey from elementary school, middle school and high school after we did the course,” he said. “I feel empowered by learning the untold history, I feel differently about what I had and my goal.”

He recalled his childhood while learning about “Redlining.” The term references the discriminatory mortgage policies that led to further racial segregation in the 20th century. West Fresno had been marked red on federal maps and labeled undesirable, because of the urban planning from the city’s inception in the 1800s located landfills, factories and slaughterhouses on the west side of the railroad tracks. Immigrants and people of color were denied the opportunity to live on the east side of the railway.

For a long time, Castillo’s family lived in a small shack, he said. His parents and friends’ homes were often crowded with households, and they felt isolated from the city as they had to cross the highway to reach almost anywhere. His parents were always worried about safety.

“The class was considered to be an elective, that makes me sad, because this part of history is to be shared not just as a (high school graduation) requirement,” he said, speaking at a board meeting’s public comment session in March.

As Fresno Unified faces a budget shortfall and re-evaluates priorities, teachers and students spoke to the board about the importance of Ethnic Studies, not only to fulfill a high school graduation requirement but also as an invaluable way to learn about community and the roots of their cultures.

A state law passed in 2021 requires high schoolers to take at least one semester of Ethnic Studies or its topical courses to graduate, effective from the class of 2030. As the third largest school district in California with a diverse student population, Fresno Unified went further, passing a resolution in August 2020 to affirm its support to expand the curriculum. It aimed to implement two semesters of Ethnic Studies as a graduation requirement as early as the class of 2027, and promised a TSA position for Ethnic Studies to help with administrative tasks, such as expanding the courses, mentoring new teachers, and outreach for resources.

However, the proposal of “two semesters of Ethnic Studies” was never written into Fresno Unified’s high school graduation requirement. Only nine out of 14 middle schools have an introductory course, and the district has just started to train elementary teachers to bring Ethnic Studies elements to primary classes. When The Fresno Bee asked about student enrollment in Ethnic Studies classes every semester, the district didn’t provide the numbers, saying in an email from the district’s communications office that high school sites “have the capacity to serve all students interested in Ethnic Studies.”

Teachers said the district isn’t moving fast enough to accomplish the state requirement, not to mention providing affluent learning opportunities that align with students’ ethnic representation. Teachers also told The Bee that they had to fight to keep resources for Ethnic Studies, amid the tightening budget, so the years of efforts to expand the curriculum are not wasted.

They just fought to reinstate the TSA position, as Fresno Unified has been engaged in budget discussions and sent out preventive layoff notices. The district was proposing to reassign 60 teachers who were “On special assignments” back to classroom teaching. The Ethnic Studies TSA position was among the cuts, but dozens of teachers, students, and community members showed up in board meetings to speak against the removal.

Under pressure, the district said the role will continue for the next school year, though the decision won’t be finalized by the human resources department until the board approves the budget in June.

Marisa Rodriguez, an Ethnic Studies teacher at Roosevelt High, said teachers regard reinstating the TSA position as a “win,” but there is a long list of concerns they would like to address to the board, such as the lack of Ethnic Studies classes and teachers, and the flexibility for using latest materials for the course.

“I’m moving to Farber Educational Center next year, and I’m concerned regarding the fact that I’m the only Ethnic Studies teacher between the three sites,” said Mercedes Rodriguez, an Ethnic Studies teacher at eLearn Academy, at the public comment session. The eLearn Academy will consolidate with JE Young Academic Center and Cambridge High later this year. “The importance of hiring more FTEs and providing the necessary training to those are teaching Ethnic Studies is crucial to ensure that this discipline is not watered down,” she said.

Rodriguez said teachers were told the course materials need to be approved by the superintendent or designees, while Ethnic Studies is not textbook-based, it examines reality and is closely knitted with the local community. Fresno Unified Board Policy requires course materials to be either given or approved by the district.

“These groups of people are not even required to complete training to familiarize themselves with the content of this discipline,” said Rodriguez. “In the past two years, I’ve come across many instances in which the administration and counselors at my site are unfamiliar with what is taught in my classroom and the importance of Ethnic Studies.”

Some students also said that the district inadequately emphasizes the changing dialogue in race and ethnicity, even though over 90% of Fresno students come from ethnic minority backgrounds and more than 59 languages are spoken throughout school sites. Ethnic Studies filled the gap to provide a safe space for students to learn and discuss.

“I realized my passion for the history of people of color and the need to learn, share and understand this knowledge,” said Izzy Garcia, senior student at Edison High. “We created a space where we could learn and help each other grow. Because my school does not provide opportunities to build community with students of color, we must do it ourselves.”

She said the opportunity to learn the subject has changed her life. After learning about the Third World Liberation Front at San Francisco State in the AP African American, she was inspired to apply to the San Francisco State and major in Ethnic Studies.

“Too often the students of color who make up the majority of your district are neglected in the places they’re supposed to feel safe, and seen. We’re so often taught white history in history that doesn’t represent us,” she told the trustees at a recent board meeting. “So the question I have for you is, where does this board stand on the issue of Ethnic Studies?”