[Black History Curriculum]
Philadelphia Enquirer: “Cherry Hill would be the first district with the requirement, said Michael Yaple, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Education. Many schools teach Black history, but not as a prerequisite for graduation.”
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The Cherry Hill School District could become the first in New Jersey to mandate that students take an African-American history course in order to graduate.
The school system is considering a proposal to add the requirement, partly in response to students who organized Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white officer.
“All kids should learn it,” said Joy Thomas, 16, a rising senior at Cherry Hill High School East. “It would be a good example to other districts.”
Cherry Hill would be the first district with the requirement, said Michael Yaple, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Education. Many schools teach Black history, but not as a prerequisite for graduation.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania require history to be taught, but districts decide the content of their courses.
In Philadelphia, a course in African-American history, including the civil rights movement, is a graduation requirement.
“A high school course as a graduation requirement is wonderful,” said Stephanie James Harris, executive director of the New Jersey Amistad Commission, which helps schools implement a 2002 law that requires all public schools to teach African-American history. “I like the idea.”
Read the rest of this Philadelphia Enquirer story here: https://www.inquirer.com/education/cherry-hill-nj-schools-african-american-history-20200727.html
