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The Montebello Unified School District, which serves over 30,000 students, passed a resolution February 19, 2015 making Ethnic Studies a High School Graduation Requirement within the next two years! This resolution also requires implementation of Ethnic Studies pre-K -12 within the next 4 years. School board members passed the resolution unanimously! Shout out to parent leader and organizer Lucila Chavez for speaking out at school board meetings numerous times, organizing parents and community, and making this dream a reality. Lastly, a quick shout out to Montebello School board members Lani Cupchoy, Montebello School Board Member and Edgar Cisneros for Montebello School Board for their support and leadership on this issue on the school board. Montebello now joins Los Angeles, San Francisco, and El Rancho Unified implementing Ethnic Studies in their local districts across all campuses.

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO SUPPORTED THIS CAMPAIGN!

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Click on the yellow button to send an email of support to MUSD Board Members,

Or copy and paste the email below:

TO: [email protected]

CC: [email protected]

Dear MUSD Board Members,
We urge the Board of Education to institutionalize the World Languages and World Studies program plan presented at the December 4, 2014 Board of Education meeting which includes:

-The extension of the seal of biliteracy to the elementary schools.
-The strengthening of existent dual language programs by assigning site & district facilitators.
-A Mandarin enrichment program at selected elementary schools.
-A required A-G Ethnic Studies course for 9th grade students.
-College credit courses in Chicana/o Studies for high school students.

Today, students, teachers, parents, and community organizations are coming together asking to institutionalize the World Languages and World Studies in ALL schools as outlined by the plan. Through the examination of multiple languages, counterstories and often times neglected narratives of all people, students learn to humanize and respect themselves, their families, and their communities. Students will think critically about language, race, ethnicity, and culture in the context of their own identities and their lived experiences. With a curricular content and pedagogy informed by the need for social justice and equity, Dual Language and Ethnic Studies provides students with the critical lens necessary to engage in transformational resistance, collectively address issues in their own lives and make positive change in their communities.

Thank you!