Our History

  • April 2018-- Ethnic Studies panel discussion at BESJ (Boston-area Education for Social Justice) conference brings together student and educator advocates

  • June 2018-- $15,000 grant awarded from the BPS/BTU Teacher Leadership Fund to bring Ethnic Studies professional development to BPS educators

  • September 2018-- Ethnic Studies Now (ESN) Committee starts regular monthly meetings

  • November 2018-- First Ethnic Studies Institute for BPS educators with V and Carlos from the Acosta Educational Partnership

  • January 2019-- BPS social studies department convenes a grant-funded ethnic studies curriculum working group

  • Spring 2019-- Existing Ethnic Studies unit and lesson plans from BPS teachers collected and archived on BTU website

  • May 2019-- ESN Committee participates in Sarah Greenwood Ethnic Studies showcase

  • May 2019-- $15,000 teacher-led Teacher Leadership Fund grant awarded for second time

  • November 2019-- Second Ethnic Studies Institute for BPS educators with Prof. Christina Villarreal and Carlos from the Acosta Educational Partnership using funding from Teachers Leadership Fund grant

  • December 2019-- ESN Retreat with Prof. Christina Villarreal

  • February 2020--1st round of Professional Learning Community (PLC) for teachers interested in teaching Ethnic Studies is conducted using funding from Teacher Leadership Fund grant

  • May 2020-- ESN Proposal made public and sent to BPS Central Office leaders

  • May 2020-- ESN Committee starts meeting regularly with district representative and Collaborative of Asian American Native American Latino and African American (CANALA) Institutes directors at UMass Boston

  • June 2020-- 2nd round of PLC for teachers interested in Ethnic Studies and in the core ESN Committee is co facilitated and conducted on a volunteer basis by the facilitator and two participants from the 1st PLC.

  • June 2020-- BTU ESN Committee members testify at the School Committee

  • August 11, 2020-- BTU ESN Committee sends letter to BPS superintendent urging the funding of Ethnic Studies in the district with detailed budget outlining line items needed for pilot year. Cassellius responds saying that Chief Academic Officer will respond soon with their "progress."

  • August 2020-- ESN participates and leads sessions at Boston Through a Wider Lens, a training for teachers led by CANALA Institutes of UMass Boston.

  • August 2020-- 3rd Round of PLC for teachers interested in Ethnic Studies is co facilitated and conducted on a volunteer basis by ESN Committee members.

  • September 2020-- Curriculum working group of teachers convened by the BPS history department in 2019 launches the curriculum website which houses the pilot Ethnic Studies curriculum

  • September 10, 2020-- ESN Committee members send a letter to Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, Chief Academic Officer Andrea Zayas, Chief Equity and Strategy Officer Charles Grandson, the School Committee, the City Council, Mayor Marty Walsh, and others calling the district out for its lack of response to their proposal and detailed budget despite the "anti-racist" rhetoric used by the district to launch the start of school

  • October 2020--ESN Committee members run a Train the Trainers for teachers who have interest in running a PLC for other educators at their own school.

  • October 2020-- First Open Meeting for anyone interested in ES in Boston. Over 50 participants joined the meeting.

  • November 2020--Indigenous People's Month: Showing of Precious Knowledge and Thanksgiving Teach-In for teachers wanting to debunk the Thanksgiving myth.

  • December 2020--4th Round of PLC for teachers interested in Ethnic Studies is co facilitated and conducted on a volunteer basis by ESN Committee members. Educators from California and Minnesota join Boston teachers.

  • December 7, 2020--ESN Committee members present at Boston City Council hearing on Ethnic Studies.

  • February 2021--ESN Committee members design a Black History Circle Teach-In and Curricuilum for Black Lives Matter Week of Action at schools

  • February 2021--ESN Committee members speak on an Ethnic Studies national panel hosted by Holyoke Public Schools.

  • March 2021--After 6 months of a public campaign of the BTU ESN Committee to sustainably fund ES, Boston Public Schools hires a BTU ESN member, Katie Li, as the district Ethnic Studies Instructional Coach and Coordinator

  • April 2021--ESN members draft a second set of priorities and a proposal for implementing ES in BPS for the next five years. ESN Committee hold community forums for the public to give input on the draft demands and proposal.

  • May 2021--ESN has a Week of Action, including a panel to reflect on the Ethnic Studies Movement in Boston so far, and an Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Teach-In about How Boston's Wealth and Institutions are Built on Dealing Drugs in China. ESN releases a revised set of priorities for the public to endorse.