Rachel Torres

2025 Yale & Slavery Teachers Institute Cohort Member

Newtown High School, located in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, serves a total enrollment of 1,276 students within Fairfield County. While the majority of students are white (81%), the school also includes African American (2%), Hispanic (12%), Asian (3%), and multiracial students (2%), reflecting a gradual and growing diversity of the region. The school fosters an inclusive learning environment, emphasizing academic excellence and critical thinking.
As a History Teacher of Black & Latino Studies at Newtown High School, I am committed to engaging students with a more nuanced understanding of the history of slavery. I want to revise my unit on slavery to provide a more comprehensive view of how the census data reflects the changes in Connecticut laws about slavery over time. This information is critical for students to understand the complexities of racist systems that were established. Students will examine the primary documents of CT Slavery statutes, slavery and abolition, and gradual emancipation. They’ll also analyze colonial censuses and records to understand what laws based on race affected demographics, and explain how changes in laws affected the enslaved. By refining this unit, I hope to provide students with a deeper and more accurate understanding of Connecticut’s complex history of slavery.