Jerry Almendarez is the Superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District. Almendarez has a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Redlands, and a bachelor’s degree in business/finance from Cal State San Bernardino. Almendarez’ career in education spans 27 years, and includes experience as a classroom teacher, an assistant principal and a principal. He has also taught as an adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University and the University of Redlands, and in March was named a 2019 Ted-Ed Innovative Educator.
Linn Lee is the History and Social Science Curriculum Specialist for Santa Ana Unified School District. Lee has a a master of education degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor’s degree in history from UC Santa Cruz.
The Santa Ana Unified School District is the 12th largest school district in the state of California. In June 2020, the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt a resolution creating a new graduation requirement that will mandate students to complete a one-year course of ethnic studies before receiving their diploma, making Santa Ana one of the first districts in the country to require this curriculum starting this school year of 2022-2023.
Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on Ethnic Studies is a series of discussions about race, ethnicity, indigeneity, and the strategies used in historical movements for social transformation, resistance, and liberation.
Guests: Jerry Almendarez and Linn Lee
Host: Jon-Barrett Ingels
Produced by Past Forward in partnership with Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.
