Sequoia revises curriculum for ethnic studies

By the end of the four-hour meeting, trustees unanimously affirmed the district’s commitment to the community that no changes will be made to course offerings without board approval, including streamlining decisions and new coursework. 

The agenda was included at the request of community members who asked that next year’s course offerings were changed to restore advanced and honors classes for freshmen. The board did not approve such a change, rather affirming that the course offerings next year will be as previously presented to families during the spring’s course selection process. 

“District and site administration leadership continues to believe that a common ninth-grade experience in core courses has significant merit while acknowledging that there are community members who disagree,” a board memo read. 

While trustees did not approve changes to what advanced or honors courses will be offered to freshmen, they did update the curriculum for one of their required courses that has drawn similar public attention and critique. 

District staff presented on its progress toward revising its ethnic studies curriculum, which was proposed to align closely with the state’s model curriculum and considered the past five years of student, teacher and parent experiences. The update included progress toward revising its ethnic studies curriculum, which is proposed to align closely with the state’s model curriculum and considers the past five years of student, teacher and parent experiences. 

In a refreshing bout of enthusiasm at a tense meeting, ethnic studies teacher Diana Nguyen bounced to the lectern and shared the love she has for her work, and her belief in the revisions presented to the board. Nguyen worked on the curriculum updates along with other teachers, district staff and outside consultants. 

“We have learned a lot over the last five years, we are better educators, and we know how to make a curriculum more relatable to students to make it joyful, meaningful, relevant and serious at the same time,” Nguyen said. 

Approximately 10 parents and community members argued the course is divisive and asked the board to no longer require the course for graduation. 

In 2020, district trustees voted to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement beginning with the Class of 2025, this year’s seniors. Sequoia Union was one of the first districts in the area to offer the course, and made it a graduation requirement ahead of the state’s passage of Assembly Bill 101, which will make ethnic studies a requirement for graduation by 2030. 

The district has faced in recent years criticism from families over what they described as a classroom environment that cultivates fear from Jewish students, creates a binary of oppressor and oppressed, and burdens freshman with too-intensive course material. 

The district’s staff and Board of Trustees agreed sincerely that the implementation of ethnic studies so far has not been perfect. Associate Superintendent Bonnie Hansen spoke somberly to the district’s efforts to “ensure students are part of solutions, not part of the problem” and reiterated that the updated curriculum is a reflection of the community’s response. 

“We don’t believe that we got this all wrong, and we sure don’t believe we got this all right,” Hansen said. “This is worth conversations about, but it’s not easy.” 

Teachers in attendance shared their experiences in the classroom, and asked that the board and parents trust their work. 

“They ask that you trust their expertise, believe that they want the best for students, understand that their goal is to help your children navigate the world, and know that ethnic studies teachers spend months on building a safe learning environment and classroom community,” Edith Salvatore, president of the teacher’s union and teacher at Sequoia High School, said.  

The district’s intention for ethnic studies is to use a curriculum that will foster “uncertainty reduction,” or lessen discomfort surrounding intercultural dialogue, Dr. Oyame Selassie, the district’s executive director of People, Culture and Collaboration, said. 

“Students really are able to find space to belong, expand their worldview through diverse connections, and graduate ready to pursue their dreams here in SUHSD,” Selassie said. “I believe in that, I know the board believes in that. The faculty and staff believe in that. I hope that we get more people who are parents and community members to believe in that.” 

Parent concern 

At the meeting, parents said they felt the course was divisive and taught in a way that made students fearful of sharing their opposing opinions. One, Karen Orzechowski, described lesson questions as having a “biased framing that skews answers rather than inspires exploration,” while another said radical ideology “hides in plain sight in this curriculum.” 

“Unfortunately, our implementation of ethnic studies to date has not gone well,” Orzechowski said. “We ask that the district develop a constructive ethnic studies curriculum, one that builds understanding, inspires mutual respect, confronts racism, celebrates ethnic accomplishments and does not glorify violent resistance.” 

It is not the intention to create a binary of “oppressed” and “oppressor” when teachers discuss systems of power, but rather to establish an understanding of why ethnic studies has come to be taught in schools in the first place, Victoria Dye, executive director of Curriculum and Instruction, said. 

“Power isn’t represented as a negative throughout the curriculum,” Dye said, “Power isn’t vilified, it isn’t taught as being an evil.”  

The group of parents, who largely appeared to represent the Menlo-Atherton High School community, said they submitted a petition with more than 300 signatures to the board. The petition requests a further revised curriculum that would provide a “more balanced, broad and approachable” course to freshmen, parent Michelle de Haaf said. 

Melissa Diaz, an ethnic studies teacher at Sequoia High School, said she works hard to make the curriculum more inclusive, local, relevant and joyful for her students. 

“Ethnic studies is about questions, fostering curiosity, introspection, it’s about reading the world around us,” Diaz said. “Teaching about race doesn’t divide us, it helps us understand how history has shaped our world and helps students realize that everything you see has a history.” 

While acknowledging that ethnic studies, and high school curriculum, is not a “fix all” for everything, Trustee Maria Elena Cruz shared her appreciation for what ethnic studies courses attempt to do in telling the stories of underrepresented communities. As an ethnic studies professor at San Jose State University, Cruz shared she is impressed with all her son is learning as a freshman, and is pleased he gets to learn about his Latino heritage.

“I’m so glad that everybody came out to speak their voices, we hear you, but a big part of the community of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, they’re not here,” Cruz said. “I’m speaking up for my community, people that are not here to speak up for themselves.” 

Building trust

During the board’s discussion, President Sathvik Nori said he would not vote in favor of the proposed amendments, and said he felt the course should be made optional. The amendments did not include enough of the “contribution of minorities to the country,” he said, and he felt it would not sustain court challenges. 

“There’s clearly deep mistrust here and I’m really worried that pushing forward at this point will drive our community further apart without some more careful consideration,” Nori said. 

However, his fellow trustees spoke to the need to instill trust and confidence in the teachers. 

“I don’t want to underestimate the power of incredible teachers who know what they are doing in the classroom and know how to respond  in the moment,” said Trustee Mary Beth Thompson, who is a credentialed history teacher. “A lot of the comments I heard tonight were about what was happening, and I think what tonight’s vote is about is about these refinements that are coming.” 

Trustees were split 3-2, but ultimately approved the updated curriculum, with Nori and Trustee Rich Ginn opposing.