EdTrust-West is a California-based research and advocacy group that seeks to improve racial equity in education. According to EdTrust, “Historically, educational tracking in California systematically diverted Latino students into vocational or non-college-prep courses.” Its analysis goes on to state, “this legacy persists today, leaving a disproportionate share of Latino students unprepared for University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) admission.”

In 2010, the East Side Union High School District Board of Trustees sought to address the structurally racist practice of tracking Latino students into vocational curricula. The solution was creating a landmark policy that provided all students with access to the A-G curriculum, the series of courses required for UC and CSU admission. I served on that 2010 Board of Trustees.

ESEReport will share the East Side’s A-G story in a multi-part series, beginning with Part 1 today.

The idea of simply aligning the state’s minimum high school requirements with A-G requirements hasn’t gained steam because of the concern that it would result in fewer students graduating. ~Mayra Lara, Director, Ed Trust-West

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It was Spring 1981, my senior year in high school. I sat nervously in the counselor’s office at James Lick High School. The counselor was a portly Irish man in his late fifties with piercing blue-green eyes, thinning black hair slicked back so it looked as if it were stuck to his scalp, and a large head with thick jowls hanging from his face. Sitting behind his desk and talking in a booming voice, he looked and sounded intimidating as he opened my file and began to lay out my options. 

He told me that my poor study skills, a mediocre 2.72 grade point average, and an average SAT score left me with few options other than trade school, work, or maybe community college. I sat in front of his desk stunned, scared, and confused. I told him that my parents, friends, siblings, everyone, expected me to go to college. I quietly listened as he bluntly told me that community college was the only option.

The next day, my counselor called me into his office for another meeting. That time, my dad was there too. Dad never took a day off work. I stood motionless, trying to figure out what was going on. The counselor explained to me that my grade point average and SAT scores met the minimum requirements for acceptance at San Jose State University (SJSU). He was prepared to help me with the application process. Dad saved the day. 

Dad also proved the counselor wrong. I graduated from SJSU, had a productive career, served on the East Side Union High School District (ESUHSD) Board of Trustees, and was inducted into the ESUHSD Hall of Fame. 

Twenty-nine years after the two meetings in the counselor’s office, I was President of the ESUHSD Board of Trustees. A group of students representing Californians for Justice (CFJ), “a statewide youth-powered organization fighting for racial justice,” requested to meet with me to advocate for a district A-G policy. I knew nothing about A-G. 

The group explained that it was the list of courses students needed to complete to be eligible for admission to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU. They went on to point out that not all students had access to the A-G curriculum, especially students of color. Graduating from an ESUHSD school didn’t guarantee college eligibility, the group informed me. The students advocated for an A-G graduation policy at ESUHSD. I was intrigued.

Memories of those two days in the counselor’s office in 1981 entered my consciousness for the first time in nearly three decades. Had it not been for Dad’s intervention with the counselor, my education and career path may have been different. Would I have been another Latino East Side kid who was denied a chance to pursue my dreams of going to college and a fulfilling career? That question inspired me to fight for an A-G graduation policy. I met the CFJ students again and shared my story. I was all in. A-G or bust! 

It was also the right and politically smart thing to do. Who would be against high standards for students, I reasoned. My tenure on the Board was going well. I led the effort to save after-school sports from the budget axe the year before. I made statewide news by taking a stand against a leading Republican gubernatorial candidate who disparaged an East Side school as part of his campaign against public education. Passing an A-G policy would all but secure my reelection bid later that fall.

Securing the education community’s support would be a slam dunk, I thought. When I met with the superintendent, he expressed unconditional support and offered to draft a policy proposal. Principals and administrators were positive and shared ideas on how to make a policy actually work. I planned to announce my A-G intentions during the annual State of the District Address as President of the Board of Trustees. 

An endorsement by the East Side Teachers Association (ESTA) was perhaps the most politically important stamp of approval to ensure passage of A-G. Trustees hold ESTA in high regard. Teachers are the most important and respected adults in an educational institution. For sitting Board members and potential candidates, an ESTA endorsement can make or break a campaign. To give the policy proposal its best chance at success, the teachers needed to be on board.

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Next week: Meeting with ESTA’s president