LiberatED: San Bernardino City Unified School District 

The San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) contracted an outside provider to develop its Ethnic Studies curriculum at the cost of over $100,000.

The outside group, called the Ehecatl Wind Philosophy (EWP), LLC, was hired to train teachers, administrators and staff “to develop critically conscious lens, create and engage is dialogic spaces, contribute to a paradigm shift, and implement Ethnic Studies with fidelity and consistency.”

Teachers will ensure lessons are “aligned to the Common Core, Social Justice Standards, Ethnic Studies Standards, and your district’s mission statement, Ethnic Studies definition, Ethnic Studies statement of purpose, SEL, and Community Cultural Wealth guidelines.”

The district also said it would provide EWP with data such as grades, GPA, standardized tests, attendance, tardies, behavior issues, and homework tracking “to assess, analyze and report statistical information to the district and all stakeholders.”

Professional development includes workshops on implicit bias, microaggressions, identity, race, power, privilege, systems of oppression, trauma-informed SEL, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, “Centering Love and Critical Hope as pedagogy,” “Establishing dialogic spaces, safe & brave spaces to navigate courageous conversations about race, privilege, and power,” “Art as ARTivism” to “explore the role cultural arts play in discovering self-identity and expressing social justice issues” and “Non-racist vs. Anti-Racist” teachings.

Students are also supposed to participate in “Youth Participatory Action Research Projects.”

The EWP Ethnic Studies Implementation Plan for SBCUSD states that Ethnic Studies classrooms “critically examine the experiences and honor the contributions of historically marginalized communities.”

The Statement of Purpose also explains that “A cornerstone of Ethnic Studies is to analyze and interrogate the intersectionality of identity (race, gender, class, and sexuality, among others) and the dynamics of discrimination, privilege, and power.”

The stated goal is to “significantly improve academic achievement for all students, especially historically marginalized students.”

The district contracted EWP in 2024 at a cost “not to exceed” $117,000.