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FUSD Teacher Coalition Pushes For Ethnic Studies Curriculum

Fresno Ethnic Studies Coalition

Acoalitionof five Fresno Unified School District teachers is asking the district to develop an ethnic studies program for the K-12 curriculum. 

Right now ethnic studies classes are considered elective and are currently only offered in high school. Lauren Beal, an ethnic studies teacher at Edison High School, says the class should be a requirement at every grade level.

“We believe that equality can’t be granted; it must be assumed and fought for. Our students deserve nothing less than to see themselves in their curriculum and to have an anti-racist curriculum,” said Beal. 

The teachers began working on a proposal two months ago to create an ethnic studies curriculum for the district. Uziel Jimenez, an ethnic studies teacher at Sunnyside High School, says the coalition’s demands are not unreasonable.

“The first one is getting a board resolution to pass an ethnic studies graduation requirement. We also want the board resolution affirming their support both structurally and financially for the development, addition and integration of ethnic studies,” said Jimenez. 

The coalition will present all of its proposals to the FUSD Board at the budget meeting on June 17th.   

 

Madi Bolanos covered immigration and underserved communities for KVPR from 2020-2022. Before joining the station, she interned for POLITCO in Washington D.C. where she reported on US trade and agriculture as well as indigenous women’s issues during the Canadian election. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in anthropology from San Francisco State University. Madi spent a semester studying at the Danish Media and Journalism School where she covered EU policies in Brussels and alleged police brutality at the Croatian-Serbian border.