#OurHistoryMatters

Providence's students are overwhelmingly (91%) people of color, yet our history curriculum is deficient in stories about the history of Black, Southeast Asian, Latinx, and Native American cultures—not to mention the stories and struggles of people outside of the United States. Simply put: we are not being taught OUR history in our schools.

We need curricula that value our background, which is why PSU is calling on the Providence School Department to offer a for-credit Ethnic Studies class in every Providence high school.

Moreover, ethnic studies works. From the National Bureau of Economic Research:

"Our results indicate that assignment to this course increased ninth-grade student attendance by 21 percentage points, GPA by 1.4 grade points, and credits earned by 23. These surprisingly large effects are consistent with the hypothesis that the course reduced dropout rates and suggest that culturally relevant teaching, when implemented in a supportive, high-fidelity context, can provide effective support to at-risk students."

Will you join our call? Please sign and share our petition, and follow @pvdstudentunion on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all the latest updates!