Sinai Ortiz
5th Grade Teacher
at Robert Louis Stevenson Elementary School

Sinai Ortiz was born and raised in Southern California. She attended California State University Northridge where she received her bachelors degree and teaching credential simultaneously, and she is now getting her masters degree there, as well. She is part of the district’s Justice & Equity team (JET) for fifth grade. She is an educator who is passionate about incorporating social justice into her classroom to ensure every student feels seen.

Q: Why is DEI important in our classrooms?

A: Diversity, equity, and inclusion are invaluable in the classroom, and our district as a whole. I remember growing up and never having any teachers look like me until my high school Spanish class. Not only that, but the books we learned and history we studied rarely felt relevant and always felt surface level and Eurocentric. In school, we learn about the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his famous speech. We study figures like Cesar Chavez when we learn about California’s agriculture. There are often a few paragraphs dedicated to Rosa Parks in the textbooks, which just so happen to coincide with the month of February. Black, Indigenous, People of Color stories are regularly erased and over-simplified by mainstream histories in curriculum.

Q: What is your approach to teaching?

A: I always start off my year with teaching the students that whenever they are reading a textbook or any informational piece of literature, they should ask themselves these three questions: who wrote this, who does this benefit or paint in a good light, and who is missing. Not only is it imperative that we teach about the civil rights movement and the formation of America, but it is also important that we teach students the whole truth. That means the good, the bad, and the ugly are addressed. 

With that being said, I not only teach about the injustices that marginalized groups have faced, but I make a point to highlight the contributions and culture that these groups have. Too often Black people and People of Color’s stories are told from a surface level perspective, and we only explore one or two things pertaining to that group. This leads to gross misconceptions about entire groups of people. This is why I am also sure to teach about figures that are lesser known such as Bayard Rustin and Claudette Colvin, and we discuss why these figures are left out of our textbooks. The best way for students to learn is to feel valued and for them to see the relevance in what they are learning. 

Q: How can we best support our students, especially when it comes to current events?

A: With so much going on in our world today, I think providing students with a space they can ask difficult questions and share their emotions is imperative. While some students may not be directly affected by some things happening in the world, that does not mean they should not know and care about them. Therefore, I am passionate about incorporating current events and ongoing social justice topics into the lessons I teach, as well as figures that they might not know about. I choose novels with diverse main characters and hold class discussions about topics that these characters face such as wrongful incarceration, immigration status issues, racism, and prejudice. I use these types of books to teach the standards, but they do so much more than just that. I choose books that students can relate to, learn from, and remember forever.

Q: Why is teaching diversity important to our future?

A: Students in my classroom today will soon be the future of this country, and that includes all people and groups in this country. It would be a disservice to the future if I did not include diversity and the whole truth about America’s history when teaching my students.