‘It is like a dream come true’

BIPOC students gain district support in creating new Ethnic Studies course

A group of juniors from Centaurus High School have begun the work of helping to create a new Ethnic Studies course, which they hope will be ready before they graduate next school year.

“We are planning on taking the class next spring,” said Centaurus junior Isaiah Williams, with a smile.

Williams and his classmates say this has been a dream that has been a long time in the making. The BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students came up with the idea when they were seventh graders, while working with University of Colorado Boulder School of Education’s branch of Public Achievement, a group that encourages youth-led, civic engagement.

The idea didn’t take root initially and couldn’t have been considered over the last few years because of a freeze on new course proposals during the pandemic. Recently, however, thanks in part to connections made through the Youth Equity Council, the students were recently put in touch with a district administrator, who immediately agreed to help them turn their passion into a course. When finished it will join other approved courses, including Race Relations, which is currently taught at some high schools.

“It is like a dream come true,” Williams said.

“I am so excited,” added Centaurus junior Elycia Riso. 

The students, who spoke about their vision for the course during a panel at Centaurus on a recent school night, say they want the class to represent them, their cultures and to provide all students with better understanding about the role of BIPOC in our society and history. They say that they do not feel represented in their schools and classrooms currently.

“Not being represented is one of our main motivations [for wanting to create the new course], said Riso. “Although you wouldn’t really think it, it takes a bigger toll on your mental health. You feel like you’re alone, especially culturally and racially.”

“When only one culture is being represented, it kind of makes them look superior,” Williams explained. “I think sometimes, ‘my culture is not being represented, but their culture is. My culture isn’t as important.’”

“We are finally speaking up and I think that is important too. We aren’t just doing it for ourselves, but for other students as well,” Williams added.

They envision a class in which the walls are decorated with materials representing many cultures and wherein students can experience food, dances and other cultural experiences. Their goal is to not only create an environment that makes them feel welcome, but can build greater understanding for all students, regardless of their race or culture.

“I feel like it makes us more together, because it is not just focusing on BIPOC cultures only – but everyone’s culture. Everyone is feeling represented and feeling valued,” Williams said. 

They will be working with BVSD Director of Academic Studies Lynn Gershman, whose major at CU was American Studies, back before it evolved into Ethnic Studies.

“I really enjoy working with the kids. I think they have amazing ideas. It was very easy to fall in with their groups and understand what they want,” Gershman said. 

She says that there is a lot of work to be done between now and Spring 2023.

“We need to go over the standards and we need to do some backwards design. What do we want the end product to look like? How are we going to show our learning? Once we have that, we’ll determine our units of study and then after that look at some materials that the kids might want to engage with, then we write the units,” Gershman said.

Ultimately, they hope that the course is something that will be at Centaurus and other BVSD schools for years to come.

“My hope is not only for us to take the class, but also generations afterwards,” Williams said. “I don’t want them to feel the same way of being under-represented or not represented correctly.”

“I have younger siblings so I really want them to experience these classes and learn about their own histories, because I didn’t get that myself,” Riso said.

“This isn’t just a BVSD problem. The lack of equity in cultural representation across many curricula is a public education problem,” admitted Gershman. “I just am proud that these kids are forcing the issue in our district.”