PVUSD Holds Townhall for Ethnic Studies
The Pajaro Valley Unified School District held a town hall at Aptos High School on Tuesday night, giving parents a venue to talk about the ongoing debate around the district's Ethnic studies program.
The President of the School board was at the townhall, who says they need events like these to talk to concerned parents as Board meetings are too short and do not provide the right venue to have a dialogue with their constituents.
At the meeting, parents brought up concerns about the district's lagging grades and how Ethnic Studies may impact students. Many advocating to simply listen to students and teachers and providing for what they need for a healthy classroom environment, and for some, that means ensuring the Ethnic Studies Program returns and is taught by the right people.
Other attendees were concerned about how these studies might impact how students treat each other.
The meeting also brought back past events for a former student of Aptos High, Omar Diguez, who said that the old Ethnic Studies Program in the 1990's was the reason he came to school everyday and made him feel like he had a place to belong. Now, he's hoping that current students can get the same out of the program.
School Board Leaders say that the Board is doing research into how surrounding school districts handle their Ethics Studies programs. Those findings could be shared at PVUSD's next board meeting.
