Ethnic Studies Initiative

This project supports the Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality (RIDGS) Studies, Ethnic Studies Initiative, which is a multi-pronged, intrinsically collaborative project, aimed at building the infrastructure for K-12 schools and communities in Minnesota, to receive high-quality, culturally responsive Ethnic Studies instruction. This project includes the following activities: 1) developing an extensive database of curricular materials; 2) hosting professional development workshops for K-12 educators; 3) hosting events and externships to bring K-12 educators, staff, and community organizations together, to exchange ideas about how community knowledge can be brought into the classroom; 4) creating spaces to empower students to gather data and design ideas for ethnic studies coursework; 5) support licensure workshops made up of faculty, K-12 educators, and community members, to serve in an advisory capacity to the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB); 6) organize and host a regional conference in the spring of 2025 to bring together Ethnic Studies practitioners from throughout the Midwest; 7) conduct an evaluation of the Saint Paul Public Schools' Critical Ethnic Studies course, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), to gather data on the impacts of the course on students throughout their academic careers.