It was 7:30 a.m. and the sun was just beginning to rise, spilling light across the quiet hallways of the high school. In one classroom, students sat together, some still shaking off sleep, but all ready to dive into conversations that mattered. This was the racial awareness class—a unique social studies course.
For nearly a decade, the racial awareness class offered students a rare opportunity to explore systemic racism and their roles in creating equity. Despite its powerful impact on those who participated, the class was discontinued this year after only seven students enrolled.
Designed by former teacher at the high school, Malcolm Cawthorne, the course encouraged the open conversation often missing in other classes.
“I felt kids were yearning for those spaces, I felt like it was actually really hard to [teach about race] explicitly in a content class,” Cawthorne said. “It was to meet a need that I had heard expressed a lot.”
After deciding to offer the class to sophomores and pitching it to the guidance counselors, it was held during Z-block twice a week in its first year. It was not until the following year that the class was integrated into the regular schedule.
Cawthorne and his team contacted 9th grade teachers to identify students who might be interested in the class. The program then sent personalized letters to these students through their advisory, encouraging them to apply.
Junior Siona Sigel took the class in the 2023-24 school year, and said it was transformative.
“It definitely made me realize that there’s a lot of different people in this world and there’s also a lot of hate,” Sigel said. “I feel like this class was taking that good step forward into making a difference.”
The first unit focused on learning key terms surrounding racism and how to engage in meaningful conversations. Cawthorne said that one of the lessons, titled “No Box Fits,” explored the idea of rejecting labels.
“[The unit was] to show how for every person, there’s an identity where you don’t really fit one of the checkboxes,” Cawthorne said.
The next segment of the class involved studying historical context, focusing on racism in the United States and the experiences of people who have faced racism. It then shifted to understanding systemic racism and how to recognize it.
The final unit was centered on taking action and exploring ways to make a difference.
“It really prefaced that the small act is as important as the huge act,” Cawthorne said.
Junior Elise Kutka took the class her sophomore year and said that the content she learned in the class was different from typical classes.
“A lot of the stuff that we learned wasn’t like regular classes where you learn about a certain thing,” Kutka said. “A lot of the time I could bring it up in my social studies classes or my English classes, which was cool because it was sort of something that I could talk about.”
Kutka said there was a unique sense of community in the classroom.
“There were only seven or eight people in my class, we all got to know each other really well and were really comfortable with each other,” Kutka said. “I feel like that helped us all learn better.”
Sigel also said that the sense of community in the class was strong, making the space feel more comfortable.
“A lot of people got along and respected each other; it felt like a very safe place, which is kind of the point of the class,” Sigel said.
Cawthorne said he appreciated the students in his class, noting that there was a strong camaraderie among them.
“There was a real bonding of being in those spaces and thinking about this in a real complex way, but yet it was safe; it was school,” Cawthorne said. “I think kids left feeling empowered in that way.”
For Sigel, the lessons from the class continue to resonate in her life.
“I feel like it was a really big learning experience that often people feel like they know everything about, but you really don’t,” Sigel said. “It’s something that can make a big change in the long run, I definitely encourage people to take that step in making the difference.”
