The school’s new Ethnic Studies course for freshman students finishes its first semester despite low enrollment, which some teachers attribute to misunderstandings from misadvertisements.

In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom introduced the Assembly Bill 101 policy, which states that one semester of a course in ethnic studies will be mandatory for graduation starting with the class of 2030, and that schools must offer the course beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. 

Two years ago, Brianna Milholland — AP Language and Composition, Ethnic Studies Honors and Ethnic Studies teacher — designed the curriculum with 14 other teachers across the school district with the understanding that it would be a state expectation by this school year.

“Much of our curriculum [is] inspired by the California model curriculum for ethnic studies,” Milholland said. “There have been other school districts that have been leading this type of work … Ethnic studies is a standalone class in other districts. I believe [the course] could be led by history teachers in particular. It was decided upon at the administrative leadership level in terms of the district that it would … fulfill an English nine class.”

Earlier this year, Newsom’s proposed budget did not provide enough funding to make the course mandatory for all students, so the SDUHSD district made it an optional elective for this school year. This contributed to the low enrollment in both the honors and regular classes, with 24 and 14 students in each, respectively. 

“With the low numbers, I had questions about that,” Milholland said. “I am not sure how exactly the course was marketed or described, or what exactly happened in regards to communication to eighth grade families. I did have a conversation with a counseling colleague of mine at the start of the year. It seemed that it was her understanding that the label of the course was a bit misleading. The [class] is English nine college prep or English nine honors with ethnic studies.”

From the course’s name, many people believed it would be different from a regular English course, or, according to Milholland, “students and families assumed this was a course with a higher workload or more homework.”

“That bummed me out because that’s not the framework of the course,” Milholland said. “We’re still meeting English 9 California state standards. It’s my understanding that in terms of communication, some expectations weren’t clear … English 9 with Ethnic Studies fulfills the same exact requirement of any other English 9 course. It’s just that I’m piloting this specific, diversified curriculum that is different from the typical English 9 course, so it only fulfills the English component for English 9, no other levels of English. It’s not a standalone course.” 

In other words, students in the course discuss literature in Socratic Seminars and learn the same English and structure as other English 9 courses; the main difference is the learning content. For example, in their first semester, the class read Sandra Cisneros’s “House on Mango Street” and August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” instead of William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies.” The class reads more diverse works from diverse authors.

“I don’t exactly remember how I heard about it,” Jessica Rall (9), a student enrolled in Ethnic Studies Honors, said. “I just know I was looking for options for English, so I was looking for an advanced English course, and I somehow came across the ethnic studies. I’m really glad I did because I got to read the course description a little bit, and it kind of seemed like it was under advertised, but it seemed like a really cool opportunity.” 

The curriculum aims to include more voices, such as “Black voices, Asian American voices, Latino voices and indigenous voices,” according to Milholland.

“In comparison to prior years that I have led English 9, I am utilizing different books and with ethnic studies, the learning that goes on for the students is under the framework and themes of each unit,” Milholland said. “So Unit One was identity, and students talk about identity, reflecting on their sense of identity. That could be a possibility in any English 9 course, but it’s just done with more depth and more fidelity with ethnic studies.”

In the future, Milholland hopes that the district “revamps or works on communication with middle school families or any interested students to potentially boost enrollment,” and highlights the importance of why students should take the course.

“It’s been such an interesting, wonderful experience, teaching different literature, teaching different voices,” Milholland said. “I believe that it’s so empowering and valuable and meaningful for students to see themselves in school in books that they read and learn about others. I think it deepens our empathy and it widens our national global scope and understanding of the world.”

Milholland said that including an Ethnic Studies course “empowers students when they learn about their own history, cultures and experiences that they may not have learned otherwise, and then also have the opportunity to learn about other cultures as well.”

Ethnic Studies student Ezekiel Magallanes (9) noted that the class allows him to understand the people around him, learn “other people’s perspectives” and “know more about [his] culture.”

“It’s a really diverse class, so you can make a lot more friends, and it’s a really fun class,” Magallanes said. “Mrs. Milholland is a really great teacher … I would recommend this course to everyone.” 

Magallanes, who originally signed up for the course because his mom had also taken the course when she was in high school, finds the course “interesting” because “it is kind of like history mixed with English.” 

Like Magallanes, Rall also finds the importance in taking the ethnic studies course. 

“It expands people’s knowledge of different backgrounds and ethnicities, and provides multiple perspectives,” Rall said. “I think it’s really important to have a lot of perspectives, not just have one single story or a single narrative of like, what the world is or what people think or feel. Because if you have that and you’re very closed minded in that way, I think it can really limit your potential.”