The Stockton Unified School District is making additions to how U.S. History is taught, with pioneering efforts to include ethnic studies as an alternative for students.

“Ethnic studies is US history, that’s the thing,” Destiny Rivas, Stockton Unified Native American Indian Center Coordinator, said. “It’s just told from a different lens. It’s being told from these different stories that you don’t often hear because there’s so much history to be heard. So, you have to kind of focus in. So when you go to a study and you’re learning just from one perspective, you’re understanding that it’s just from one perspective. So, then, you’re understanding that there’s so much more.”

Aldrich Sabac, Ethnic Studies curriculum specialist, says that as far as they know, they will be the first district in California to offer these alternatives to U.S. History with integrated courses, such as Native American, Black and African American, Mexican American, Asian American, and Filipino American studies.

“Those are actually all U.S. History classes with U.S. History standards and they’re going to be options that students can take in Stockton Unified instead of just U.S. History,” Sabac said. “You can still learn U.S. History but through the context of a specific community.”

Sabac, who is from Stockton, says students who are learning about themselves through ethnic studies have higher attendance, a higher GPA, and are more likely to go to college.

“U.S. History is such an important class to take, there’s a reason why that is a graduation requirement in the State of California,” Sabac said. “We’re still going to make sure that happens, it’s just, we’re going to contextualize it more, provide more information, more experience, more background. We can talk about different perspectives and times in history for different communities, while still teaching the same content, curriculum, standards, but also making our students see that it’s more relevant to who they are, so that they also see themselves in U.S. History and American history.”

It’s why Rivas, also from Stockton, is passionate about this curriculum. It’s a theme throughout the program, how teachers are from Stockton and want to give back to students in Stockton today.

“I grew up in the Native American Indian Center,” Rivas said. “I was very much one of the kids that could’ve absolutely went down a different path. It was through the Native Center and through one of our field trips to San Francisco State that I started my college journey and I learned about it. And I came back to come and help other kids do the same thing.”

That includes students such as Keana Lebeau, a student rep, and would encourage other school districts to   offer these classes into their curriculum.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for students to be able to pick what they want to learn instead of just going straight into a regular history class,” Lebeau said. “They get to pick to learn about either their culture or someone else’s culture, such as Asian-American Studies or African-American Studies. It’s just a good opportunity to be able to know that there are other things to learn out there.”

Lebeau also said “it gives me inspiration to use my voice, speak out, and not be afraid to be who I am.”

Rivas also says that they were voting on Tuesday to name a building after a Native-American Educator, Dale Fleming. If it passes, the building would be the first in Stockton to be named after a Native-American.

The Stockton Unified School District ethnic studies program is community-focused, highlighting the local narratives and history of Stockton, while making connections with national and global events.