Abstract
In 2022, it was found that 85% of Latinx were graduating high school yet less than half were entering a 4-year university (CDE, 2022a; Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2021). Latinx have been unsupported in advancing economically, socially, or educationally. There have been social movements within education such as bilingual education, heritage language education, and ethnic studies that have fought to support the needs of marginalized communities such as the Latinx community. Although there have been positive outcomes of these social movements there is still a need to continue to advocate for the Latinx community and other marginalized communities. Currently, in a northern Sacramento high school, there is a need for a space where Latinx can use and extend their whole language repertoire. There is also a need to provide a space where students can talk about their lived experiences.
This project focused on Spanish heritage speakers and their need for a space that includes their language, culture, and lived experiences. This project is a model unit for an Ethnic Studies Heritage Spanish Speakers class curriculum with a focus on the ethnic and racial identity of the Latinx community. This project used the framework of LatCrit and culturally responsive pedagogy as part of the development of the curriculum. The model unit addresses Latinx issues that the Latinx population faces such as language, ethnicity, and cultural identity (Solorzano & Bernal, 2001). Within this curriculum, students will be using their heritage language as a form of communication, while also reflecting on their own lived experiences and their sociocultural environments from an ethnic studies paradigm.