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The song Mother Blue’s is sometimes wildly inappropriate, but I can’t help but feel inspired when Ray Wylie Hubbard gets to one of the last lyrics. “And the days that I keep my gratitude higher than my expectations,” Hubbard sings, “well, I have really good days." 

Last week marked the start of the Grade Groups for K-2, 5, and 7.  As I Zoomed in and out of each group, I observed teachers sharing stories about what’s been going on in their classrooms – the good, the frustrating, the sad, and the glimmers of hope.  Grade Groups is an experiment for us in the CHSSP network.   We didn’t know what it would be like to pull together teachers from Poway, Kern, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Stockton, and dozens more cities, and strategically plan for so many teaching contexts.  What I’ve seen so far has confirmed what we hoped could happe

Starting Thursday, November 5, three of our nine statewide grade-level series, Grade Groups, will begin.  Educators will reflect, connect, and strategize about how the history-social science material from their grade level can best engage their students. 

“How did we get the world we have today? How do we make it better?”  These are core questions that Nicole Gilbertson, Director of the UC Irvine History Project looks forward to addressing with the 10th Grade Group, which is scheduled to begin in just a few weeks.  Nicole, who holds a Ph.D. in Modern European history, will lead the 10th Grade Modern World History Group.

“Relevance, urgency, interest, and a time where change is both accepted and expected by many educators.”  This is how Brianna Padilla, a Kindergarten teacher at Venetia Valley School in San Rafael, and Teacher Leader with the UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project (UCBHSSP) describes her interest in the K-2 Grade Group, which she will lead with Rachel Reinhard, the UCBHSSP Director.

“With the reduced time to teach, being purposeful and selective is critical.”  This is how Katharine Cortes, Associate Director of the UC Davis History Project recently explained one of her goals for the 8th Grade Group that she will lead with Mary Robillard, a veteran 8th grade teacher from Rancho Medanos Junior High School in Pittsburgh.  Katharine and Mary will work with 8th-grade teachers to select, prioritize, and map essential content and skills that are especially important right now.&nb

Alison Waterman is really excited about 6th grade this year.  The veteran teacher from Orinda is determined to help her students connect the past with their current reality.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, arguably one of the most popular Supreme Court justices of all tim

“Ethnic Studies teachers are traditionally siloed and probably more so now.

“Teachers thrive on person-to-person contact. We all want to feel connected during this unprecedented school year. The Fifth Grade Group will strive to create a community of dedicated educators, while providing content and strategies that are ready to use in a distanced or traditional classroom.”  This is how Kate Bowen, a veteran 5th-grade teacher from Davis and long-time CHSSP teacher leader, described one of her goals for the Grade Group.

“We only need to read the news to see that we are in a critical moment in U.S.

Stella Nagac D’Arceaux believes that, “…there is a need to amplify indigenous voices and diverse perspectives to history.”  The elementary school teacher at Westwood Charter in Los Angeles is especially excited to address indigenous history and modern-day civil rights efforts as she partners with CHSSP historian Shelley Brooks as together they lead the 3rd and 4th series in our newest online program, Grade Groups.

UC Irvine Historian Andrew R. Highsmith is a specialist in modern U.S. history with particular interests in metropolitan development, public policy, racial and economic inequalities, and public health.

Shennan Hutton and Stacey Greer are excited about 7th Grade.  The two longtime world history leaders are eager to explore how to “teach about race and social inequality in 7th grade world history,” according to Hutton, a former high school world history teacher, current UC Davis lecturer, and writer of the 7th grade Framework chapter along with the Sites of Encounter Blueprint Unit (including this fantastic map).  Hutton is partn

Justin Leroy studies the history of the United States in the 19th Century, specializing in African American history. This blog post originally appeared as an article in "Teaching in 2020" - the fall 2020 issue of our online magazine, The Source.

By Justin Leroy, Ph.D., Department of History, UC Davis