With the current school year coming to an end, preparations for the 2025-26 school year have begun. On Monday, Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District’s (NCLUSD) Board of Education approved the Ethnic Studies course curriculum for next year.

The approved curriculum will have four foundational disciplines taught in the incoming Sthnic Studies course. Those disciplines are Indigenous, Black American, Chicano & Latino and Asian American & Pacific Islanders Studies.

The approval comes with the implementation of California Assembly Bill 101. The assembly bill, which was approved by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2021, will require all California high schools to offer a one-semester Ethnic Studies course for the next school year. The course will be a graduation requirement for high school students graduating in 2030 and onwards.

The district’s Ethnic Studies course curriculum was developed by three social science teachers at Orestimba High School: Renae-Chance Dominguez, Pablo Flores and Harold Peeples.

The group began their work on the course’s curriculum nearly three years ago. Throughout that time, all three teachers attended training sessions held in the state where they learned about the upcoming curriculum. The course’s curriculum approval was not a step into preparing for the statewide mandate, but a testament to the group’s effort in its development.

“I was happy that it passed. Sounds like everybody was on board, which I think we had a little bit of trepidation initially with because it was something new,” Flores said. “I think it was just happy that our work that we put into it got across everybody exactly what it’s going to be, and it seems everybody was on board with it. And that was a positive for me.”

Chance-Dominguez shared a similar sediment, saying it was great to hear the support of the board and local community throughout this process.

When the next school year begins later in August, groups of incoming freshman students will split into two courses. One group will take the Ethnic Studies course taught by Flores while the other group will be in Success 101, a course that all incoming freshman take which focuses on preparing them for their respective career path and their transition after high school. Michelle Marroquin, a social science teacher at Orestimba, will teach Success 101.

In the following semester, both groups will switch classes. The group who took Ethnic Studies will go Success 101 while another group of freshman students will take Flores’ course after they completed Marroquin’s preparation course in the Fall. This is a way to ensure that incoming students will meet the requirement in their first year.

Since November 2024, the group has made significant progress in developing the curriculum. In  January, a Socratic Seminar was held with a student leadership class about the laws of changing a mascot and what it meant for Orestimba’s mascot. In February, a open house session was held at Orestimba that offered incoming freshman students a chance to get familiarized with the campus, learning about the classes offered at the high school and register for their classes. Students and their parents also learned about the upcoming Ethnic Studies course.

In that same month, the group received their first community story for the Ethnic Studies collection.

This started when Chance-Dominguez met the Newman Historical Society’s president, Mary Vaz Moore. The Newman Historical Society is a local organization founded in 1995 that focuses on preserving the history of the city of Newman and its surrounding area.

Vaz Moore grew up in Newman during World War II, residing near the Q Street in the city. With Vaz Moore having immense knowledge about Newman, Chance-Dominguez informed her about the opportunity to tell local stories for the course. Vaz Moore was intrigued to get involved.

“We’re writing down the history of people who are here and a part of the community. And for students who just living here right now, just emphasizing how important everybody’s story is here in the community and making it as local as possible,” Chance-Dominguez said.

For Vaz Moore, this was her opportunity to tell her story to the next generation. Her fondest memory growing up was hearing the announcement that the World War II had ended. Vaz Moore found out about the news when she was fixing a bicycle’s flat tire and when the announcement was made by a lady she was working, the Newman native along with the individual’s two sons went to a local church where they rang its bells.

Vaz Moore’s involvement with the city’s historical society started when she heard about the idea from one of her classmates. While her family’s history originated from the Azores, Vaz Moore loved the city of Newman and wanted to get involved, especially since she is a first-generation of her family to live in California.

“My history didn’t come from here, but I liked Newman. I’ve always loved Newman and so I just got involved that way,” Vaz Moore said.

While the course will only take place at Orestimba, it doesn’t rule out the possibility of it being taught within the NCLUSD’s Independent Study and Alternative Education Programs. According to the district’s website, a student can get accepted into the Independent Study Program based off a recommendation from their school counselor. On the other hand, the Alternative Education Program are for students who are falling behind academically. Westside Valley High School is the high school within the Alternative Education Program for students who aren’t performing well at Orestimba.

Heather Vargas, the Curriculum & Instruction Director for NCLUSD, said freshmen aren’t typically deficient in credits and they should complete the course at some point during their first year. However, in the event where a student goes to Westside Valley or Independent Study while needing to complete the Ethnic Studies requirement, Vargas mentioned that the district will look into an alternate online Ethnic Studies course.  

While there are still more things that need to be finalized for the course and its curriculum, Chance-Dominguez, Flores and Peeples are excited for what this implementation could mean for the district’s short and long-term future.

“I think the process of kind of creating this course has, for me personally, really helped me as an educator to hear different perspectives of two teachers that I respect and admire quite a bit,” Peeples said. “I feel like I’ve become a better teacher through this process of creating this curriculum.”

Navtej Hundal is a freelance journalist in Stanislaus County