The Chandler Unified School District’s governing board recently approved two new high school electives focused on African American and Mexican American history.

The proposals for these classes came from Chandler High School teachers Manny Cartagena and Russell Tribby who felt it was important to offer these subjects due to their school demographics. More than half of Chandler High students identify as Black or Latino, according to data from last school year.

“We both thought it was really important to really look at who’s at our school and to try and make sure that they saw themselves in the curriculum," said Tribby who will be teaching the course titled “US History: The African American Experience.”

Cartagena, who will be teaching the “US History: The Mexican American Experience” course, said he found out through the proposal process that Mexican Americans were largely absent from the U.S. history books the high school has used. 

“I think our textbook is around 900 to 1,000 pages. Mexican Americans are mentioned on maybe 80 of them,” Cartagena said.

The teachers are hopeful that these courses will make history more appealing to students, since some have told them it's their least favorite subject. 

The courses are expected to be offered at Chandler High next school year and will be dual enrollment certified, meaning students have the chance to earn college credits for the classes. 

→ Get more Arizona education news