Over the past 15 years, I have raised three children in the San Dieguito Union High School District. Not much has changed when it comes to overt Eurocentric biases that continue to dominate pivotal decisions being made at the highest levels of the district.

State Assembly Bill 101 mandates that, by 2030, high school students must complete a course in ethnic studies by graduation. But the initial draft of the curriculum — first shared back in September of this year — has glaring omissions. Where you start your story matters — it signals who and what you find most important. However, Lesson 1, titled Immigrant Contributions, focuses exclusively on Ellis Island, the port of entry where 12 million Europeans made their way into America.

Angel Island, however, the West Coast gateway for over 1 million Asian immigrants, didn’t bear mentioning. Never mind that San Dieguito Union High School District is nearly 20% Asian. Never mind that we are in California. And while the debate on southern border policy remains contentious, how should students of Mexican descent discuss their immigration story without acknowledging that a good portion of the U.S. Western region, including Texas, California and Arizona, were once a part of Mexico? How can the Indigenous discuss ancestral history filtered through euphemisms like migration, or restricted movement, without us facing the ugly truth of genocide and cultural decimation? How can students have meaningful context when reading the poetry of Langston Hughes as it relates to Black oppression that traces back to the origins of slavery?

I am not alone in my frustration. A recent community letter about ethnic studies sent to San Dieguito Union High School District — addressed to superintendent Anne Staffieri, associate superintendent Bryan Marcus and executive director of curriculum instruction Brieahna Weatherford — made several points:

Those of us in attendance on Oct. 8 to voice our concerns with the districts ethnic studies process, … were frustrated by your attempts to silence us in the initial group meeting. … For more than three years, we have been sharing our requests and advocating to prevent a weak and ineffective roll-out of ethnic studies that would render the course vulnerable to challenges by members of the community who are determined and intent on maintaining a white, Eurocentric education system.

Do San Dieguito Union High School District administrators recognize the hypocrisy from within as they aim to achieve such student learning outcomes as, “Working toward greater inclusivity; Furthering self-understanding; Developing a better understanding of others; Supporting a community focus; and Developing interpersonal communication,” when they themselves have not met a single one of these goals?

Are they aware that California is the birthplace of ethnic studies, which began in 1969 with the Third World Liberation Front student protests at San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley?

Are they aware that the fight for educational reform to recognize histories of underrepresented communities have resulted in educational institutions, even outside of California, establishing disciplines of ethnic studies?

Instead, just in 2022, San Dieguito Union High School District was embroiled in controversy over xenophobic comments the then-superintendent made about Chinese Americans at a diversity, equity and inclusion meeting, stating her observation of an “influx of Chinese families moving into [her] community, sight unseen.” Concurrently, the former school board president confidently declared that the disparity in academic performance between Asian students to Black and Latino students is attributed to parenting style associated with cultural attitudes on teen dating.

This type of ignorance is the culprit that lurks among us as it perpetuates myths and misinformation that can cause harm, especially if these attitudes are held by people in positions of power. However, if handled with the care and respect it deserves, ethnic studies can be a powerful tool in helping to prevent history from repeating itself. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the Muslim immigration ban in 2017, the deplorable lies about legal Haitian immigrants spread by the 45th president of the United States — they are just a few examples of what can happen when we are incapable of expanding our minds beyond the safe confines of familiarity.

I am writing this on Indigenous People’s Day, once known as Columbus Day. The evolution of this major U.S. holiday should be a constant reminder about the power of educators to influence generations of students grossly misled to honor one of the most dishonorable men to have ever lived.

San Dieguito Union High School District board members, its time you practice what you preach when it comes to the true meaning of inclusion.

Tsao is the current board vice president of the San Diego chapter of OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates and was on the data support team for the Asian American Native American Pacific Island Serving Institution grant at San Diego Mesa College, Office of Research and Institutional Effectiveness. She lives in Carmel Valley.