The Department of Education will organize more field trips to the Museum of Jewish Heritage for 8th and 10th grade students in Crown Heights, Williamsburg and Borough Park to combat anti-Semitism, Schools Chancellor announced on Wednesday.
“As a former social studies teacher, I know how important it is for students to learn about the past in order to understand the world around them,” said Carranza in a statement. Since Dec. 23, 2019, there have been at least 28 anti-Semitic incidents in the city, according to numbers from the Anti-Defamation League. Data from NYPD shows that from 2018 to 2019 there was nearly a 20 percent increase in the number of anti-Semitic attacks.
The museum visits are the second prong in the DOE’s efforts to combat the uptick in attacks after announcing on Jan. 2. that they would equip New York City public school teachers with a new curriculum on the Holocaust.
DOE will foot the bill for the middle school and high school field trips while the museum will provide every public school student over the age of 12 with a fee ticket to the museum along with three free tickets for family members. The museum and DOE will continue to work together to provide professional development for teachers to help them learn how to better deepen students understanding of primary resources related to the Holocaust.
Today’s inaugural tour, from 8th grade students from P.S. 84 in Williamsburg, takes place about a week after Governor Andrew Cuomo in his State of the State address directed the Battery Park City Authority to expand the museum to address the “disturbing number of anti-Semitic and other discriminatory attacks in New York.”
“The lessons of The Holocaust must never be forgotten, said Carranza. ” We’re committed to helping students and school communities engage in thoughtful and respectful dialogue, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage is instrumental in achieving that goal.”
