We are the Student Engagement Advancement Board (SEAB) with 13 students from SPPS district. Our mission is to help amplify student voices. One of our 3 projects this year for 2018-2019 is the focus on Ethnic Studies. Our purpose is to incorporate Ethnic Studies into the core curriculum in our school district.

SEAB’s definition of Ethnic Studies:

-The centered presence of people of color in our curriculum.

-Critical Pedagogy: 

• An analysis of power, oppression and organizing for resistance 
• Learning critically and analysis of power

SPPS district has one of the most diverse groups of students in terms of race, ethnicities, and cultural background. As students of color, we are sick of the focus on White cultures and histories. Our proposal to implement ethnic studies is not a new one, but one that has been ignored for years. We have seen benefits from having ethnic studies such as an increase in graduation rate, participation in class, and positive school climates.

Ethnic Studies will help students learn more about different cultures. It will also help shape who they are as a person, especially if they learn more about their own cultural background.

From a student:  As a student of color, my history and culture isn't represented at all in school. One of the biggest struggles I face is self-identify. Who am I and how do I fit in two different world. One is my own cultural roots, and the other is a world where I am force to learn to be seen as successful. Just like the natives, my culture is being lost and taken away by another.

Your voices matters.
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