Open Letter
My proposal for Pennsylvania public school administrators.
Dear Pennsylvania Public School Administrators,
I write to you to address the urgent need for standardized anti-racism education at high school levels across the state. Within the past year, 13 states have banned Critical Race Theory from being taught in schools.[1] These states have effectively banned any topic surrounding race from being taught in the classroom with other states continuing to introduce similar legislation. In order to combat these harmful policies from effecting schools in Pennsylvania, I propose to you a course focusing on anti-racism education and African American history to be created by school districts with the intention of being included into the statewide high school curriculum. This multi-pronged solution will make the course as effective as possible for students and teachers alike.
Due to these recent bans that have been put into effect across the country, the ability to teach openly about race in the classroom has become something that is no longer guaranteed. Teachers in the states and school districts that have banned this subject matter could potentially face suspension or termination if they speak about racism during class. While there is no statewide ban in Pennsylvania regarding this subject, it has become the topic of heated debate amongst politicians within the state. The Teaching Racial and Universal Equality Act (TRUE) was introduced in the state in 2021, although it has not moved out of the state House Education Committee.[2] This bill along with newly proposed “transparency bills” pose threats to teachers who want to speak openly about racism in their classrooms, encouraging conservative parents to examine teaching materials for content they find “offensive.”[3] Certain school districts have taken to creating their own bans, forcing teachers to change their curriculums to avoid telling the truth about our country’s past. As is the case at Central York High School in York, PA where administrators have prohibited anti-racist books and teaching materials from being used in their school.[4] This ban was met with immense backlash from students, resulting in protests led by the school’s Panther Anti-Racist Student Union. These protests showcase how strongly students care about social issues and do not want to see important pieces of history ignored in their classrooms.
Many students understand that it is their education and their future at stake. It is up to you, school administrators, to ensure that Pennsylvania students learn the truth and are able to see themselves in their classroom curriculums. Ignoring the effects of systemic racism throughout America history will only create more division and ignorance in our country. This was emphasized in my interview with Dr. Thomas Ralston, former superintendent at Avonworth School District in Allegheny County, PA. Dr. Ralston spoke on the importance of addressing topics that have been deemed controversial, saying “If we want to strive to become a more just nation, we’ve got to tell the stories of where we come from, both good and bad. We can’t be afraid of what that story reveals.”[5] The omission of “controversial” subject matter is detrimental for students and prevents them from forming the critical thinking skills needed to properly engage with the people around them. Learning about the past, both the positive and negative components of it, will make for a more informed and empathetic generation going forward.
Allowing students from marginalized communities to see their history given the same time and attention as the “traditional” narrative undoubtably has a positive effect. A study focusing on a group of minority students in San Francisco found that, with the creation of an inclusive curriculum focusing on social justice and equality movements, these students had increased attendance and higher GPAs.[6] This clearly shows that teaching students history from diverse perspectives creates a more engaging classroom environment that directly benefits their grades. Ensuring that all students see themselves in the material they are learning allows for growth and a deeper understanding of one another.
One of the most important aspects of implementing an anti-racist course is ensuring that teachers are well equipped to discuss the topics at hand- from slavery to Jim Crow laws to the Civil Rights Movement. Along with this, teachers need support from their school administration when faced with backlash. Forcing teachers to avoid topics surrounding racism in fear of controversy prevents educators from having honest conversations with their students. The proposed standardized course would ensure that teachers have the support of not only those in their district but the built-in support of the statewide standards to speak on these issues. An idea that was brought to my attention in my interview with Dr. Ralston was the inclusion of guest speakers within the course. While these speakers would likely differ depending on the school’s location, hearing from local activists would help further solidify why the course is important. These speakers would ideally come from within Pennsylvania’s black community and give insights into our current climate that many teachers may not feel qualified to speak about.
In order to create the proposed course, educators from across the state should partner with activists and organizations within the state that advocate for diversifying education. A course focusing on African American history and anti-racism would then be formulated with the intention of including it as mandatory course for high schoolers. School districts will then be provided with the necessary material as well as other suggested items, giving teachers to room to adapt the course to their school’s community. These resources will include textbooks, novels, recommended primary sources, and documentaries for educators to use to successfully teach the course at schools across the state.
Suggested resources include:
From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans by John Hope Franklin and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham (2010, nonfiction)
A Shining Thread of Hope: The History of Black Women in America by Darlene Clark Hine and Kathleen Thompson (1999, nonfiction)
Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South edited by William H. Chafe, Raymond Gavins and Robert Korstad (2008, nonfiction)
Revolution by Deborah Wiles (2014, fiction)
13th by Ava Duvernay (2016, documentary)
A similar course has been implemented in the School District of Philadelphia since 2005 that focuses on African American history. This course is mandatory to graduate and is currently taught in 10th grade. The course was just recently updated to reflect the strides that have been made regarding anti-racism education since it was first developed. The course is shifting from relying only on textbooks to delving further into primary sources. Ismael Jimenez, the social studies curriculum specialist for the school district, explains the refocus as being an exploration of “intellectual genealogy of the African diaspora, Black resistance, and Black leadership in the United States, from Booker T. Washington to Malcolm X and beyond.”[7] This course and the success its had within the School District of Philadelphia for over a decade shows how powerful a course such as this one can be. Similar educational movements have come about throughout the United States, such as the “Teach The Truth” campaign. This is a national effort in which teachers have begun creating ways to combat anti-Critical Race Theory bans in their school districts. Resources and teaching materials provided by this movement, started by the Zinn Education Project, should serve as inspiration for the type of materials that can be used for the Pennsylvania course.
Administrators who may be uncertain about implementing the proposed course due to its content should consider those who will be most affected by the course: your students. Giving students the opportunity to learn the truth in your classrooms and creating a sense of belonging for all students should be a top priority of any school district. Along with its benefits for students, the standardized course would also give Pennsylvania school districts the opportunity to serve a model for other states looking to implement similar courses into their districts. As for funding, the resources for this class would not exceed the amount spent on other courses. Some of the resources, such as the documentaries, are available for free online or through streaming services that many teachers likely already have. Some may be wondering how this course would fit into the academic year as students already have such packed schedules. It is not unreasonable to ask that this course become the required history course for students for one academic year. Considering most high schools in PA only require a history course to be taken 3 out of 4 years, this course could be easily implemented into to the schedule with plenty of room for the other mandatory courses. To combat the bills such as the TRUE Act mentioned earlier, I would encourage like-minded parents to support school boards as they begin creating a course focusing on anti-racism.
The inclusion of this course into Pennsylvania school districts will greatly benefit students by allowing them to gain a wider perspective on our country’s history. Students will be provided with knowledge that is esstenial for understanding the world around them. While anti-Critical Race Theory legislation is still being debated, it is of the utmost importance that administrators in PA take the required steps to ensure that anti-racist topics can be safely taught in schools.
Thank you for your time,
Christina Gioia
[1] Sarah Schwartz . “Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is under Attack.” Education Week, Education Week, 21 June 2021, https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/map-where-critical-race-theory-is-under-attack/2021/06.
[2] Geli, “Are Lancaster County Schools 'Indoctrinating' Children with Critical Race Theory?”
[3] Laura Meckler, “New transparency bills would force teachers to post instructional materials,” The Washington Post, March 2, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/03/02/transparency-curriculum-teachers-parents-rights/
[4] Gabriela Martínez. “PA Students Protest Ban on Anti-Racist Teaching Materials.” WHYY. WHYY, September 10, 2021. https://whyy.org/articles/pa-students-protest-school-boards-ban-on-anti-racist-teaching-materials/.
[5] Dr. Thomas Ralston, Christina Gioia. Interview, March 17th, 2022
[6] Audrey Kim, et al. “A Culturally Rich Curriculum Can Improve Minority Student Achievement.” The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/culturally-rich-curriculum-can-improve-minority-student-achievement.
[7] Dale Mezzacappa. “Philadelphia Is Updating Its Mandated African American History Course.” Chalkbeat Philadelphia, Chalkbeat Philadelphia, 8 Mar. 2022, https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2022/3/8/22967115/philadelphia-public-schools-african-american-history-course-update-critical-race-theory.