Stockton students trace their family trees in a Filipino-American Studies class that counts as an alternative to U.S. history

At Cesar Chavez High School in Stockton, California, a Filipino-American Studies course now in its second year lets students study their heritage as an alternative to traditional U.S. history. On 22 October the class worked with the Filipino Farm Center to explore students' family trees.

Students at Cesar Chavez High School in Stockton are learning about their heritage through a Filipino-American Studies class that connects their family histories to the broader story of the United States, CBS Sacramento reported.

The Stockton Unified School District is among the first in the country, and the first in California, to allow students to take ethnic studies courses as an alternative to traditional U.S. history. The Filipino-American class, now in its second year, is taught in a city that was once home to the largest Filipino population outside the Philippines.

A teacher with Stockton roots

Jerick Ladaro teaches Filipino-American Studies and Intro to Ethnic Studies at the school. His mother is from Boracay and his father is from Ilocos; they met in Stockton, where Ladaro was born and raised before becoming a teacher.

"I think that having that as an alternative is powerful because it shows our students that our history is U.S. history," Ladaro said.

He told CBS Sacramento that when students learn about themselves, they gain "a stronger sense of identity, belonging," and that the course is grounded both in the Filipino-American experience and in the city itself.

Family trees with the Filipino Farm Center

During a class on 22 October, students worked with the Claramo sisters of the Filipino Farm Center to explore their family trees and learn more about their ancestry. Hoodline notes that the Filipino Farm Center was originally formed in Lathrop in 1941 as a resource for farming interests and a community gathering space.

Students described learning about family members' origins in the Philippines, including Sorsogon and Cebu. The president of the school's Filipino club, who helps teach traditional dances including tinikling, said the class matters for students in general because it connects American culture to other cultures.

Stockton Unified also offers Native American, Black and African American, Mexican American and Asian American studies as alternatives to U.S. history.

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