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Redondo Beach pilots English‑ethnic studies ninth‑grade course and approves new 11th‑grade options and ASL
Summary
The Redondo Beach Unified board heard a staff presentation and student testimony on a pilot English 9: English & Ethnic Studies course and approved four new RUHS courses, including an American Voices class that fulfills the state ethnic‑studies requirement and an American Sign Language 1 offering for 2025–26.
The Redondo Beach Unified School District board heard a presentation Feb. 14 on a pilot English 9 course that combines English with ethnic‑studies content and approved four new high‑school courses for 2025–26, including an English 11 class that meets the state ethnic‑studies model and an American Sign Language 1 course.
The presentation, led by Mr. Brown, described the English 9: English & Ethnic Studies pilot, which the district launched this year with three sections as a way to meet Assembly Bill 101’s requirement that schools offer an ethnic‑studies course by 2025–26 and that the course become a graduation requirement by 2030. Brown said the district is piloting the course now to refine curriculum and supports before the requirement becomes mandatory.
"English nine ethnic studies is a tremendous opportunity to bridge an English class with the content of an ethnic‑studies class," Mr. Brown told the board, saying the course aims to improve students’ reading comprehension by situating texts in social and historical context. He introduced teachers who helped develop the course and described a committee of students, parents, teachers and administrators that studied the state model curriculum and made recommendations.
Two students who take the course described classroom experiences and outcomes. "We learned about assimilation and how people struggle and overcome it," said Brianna Vasquez Leon. A second student, Tara Bigs, said the class is "collaborative" and helped her analytical writing: "It enhances our literacy skills, especially with analysis."
Board members asked detailed questions about how the district awards embedded honors credit in the course. Staff described a four‑benchmark system: students must demonstrate "advancing" on each benchmark and reach "exceeding" on at least one benchmark to earn honors credit for the class. Staff said benchmarks are assessed on different texts across the year so students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery.
The board later approved four new courses for Redondo Union High School: English 11 Gothic Literature & Science Fiction; English 11 American Voices (the course that will satisfy the English 11 and ethnic‑studies requirement); English 11 Literature & the Environment; and American Sign Language 1. Dr. Garland said American Voices is aligned to the California Department of Education ethnic‑studies model curriculum and will be one way for students who did not take a ninth‑grade ethnic‑studies course to meet the requirement at a later grade.
Trustees discussed course sequencing and enrollment logistics. Staff said initial material‑purchase estimates will depend on actual enrollment and that some learning‑recovery grant funds are being used in the near term; long‑term material and staffing costs will be reflected in future budget cycles. The board voted in favor of the new courses; student advisory member vote was recorded with the board.
