Board of Education approves books for junior core curriculum
The books “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates and “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead were approved by the CVUSD Board of Education on Sept. 15. The vote was unanimous and they will be a part of the core curriculum literature for juniors in high school.
Published in 2015, “Between the World and Me” is a nonfiction book written as a letter to Coates’s teenage son about the hardships and paths Black men face in the United States.
“The Underground Railroad” is a historical fiction novel about a young girl named Cora. Whitehead writes about her journey growing up and the increasing danger she faces on a plantation. Using an underground railroad, she travels from state to state so that she can find her freedom. As she flees, Cora is hunted by various plantation owners with a warrant out for her arrest.
During the board discussion on Sept. 15, prior to the vote, vice president Jenny Fitzgerald, said, “I appreciate both of these books for that reason, for addressing issues around systemic racism and providing more racial diversity in both authors and characters.”
To get material approved from the district, it must first be presented at an English Language Arts (ELA) Articulation meeting, with a written rationale by a teacher. Then, the members of the ELA Articulation committee that have already read the book will discuss it and the material must be voted on in order to move it to the Secondary Curriculum Advising Committee (SCAC). If no members have read the material, they may volunteer to review it and the process will proceed as previously described. While in the SCAC stage, the materials will be once again presented and voted on to be passed onto the CVUSD Board of Education, where it will stay on the agenda to discuss for four meetings. Parents will then be able to review the book(s) and discuss it at these board meetings before the district will vote on whether or not the material should be adopted.
“I’ve only heard positives from people… A lot of people have talked about how these are actually books that are more authentic voices, talking about certain experiences.” said Cindy Goldberg, president of the CVUSD Board of Education.
