Montgomery County Public School Board testifies on Capitol Hill on antisemitism in K-12 schools
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — In a contentious hearing on Wednesday afternoon, K-12 leaders testified on the rise of antisemitism in public schools before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education.
“Congress does not set curriculums – you do. So can you let us know what you’ve done to make sure students are understanding the Jewish experience?,” Rep. Jahana Hayes (D) of Connecticut asked Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Education President Karla Silvestre.
Silvestre, who is currently serving a second term as the president of the Board of Education, testified before Congress assuring lawmakers she is working to have a curriculum that is reflective of her student body, which has a large Jewish population.
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“We’ve been looking to have our social studies curriculum better reflect our student population,” Silvestre said. “For the first time, we’re having hate bias training starting this summer for all staff.”
MCPS has grappled with numerous antisemitic incidents across their schools, including reports of a sign saying “Jews are not welcome[d]” at Walt Whitman High School.
The rise of hateful incidents in schools across the county has made both students and teachers feel unsafe.
“Students there [were] saying bring ‘back Hitler, kill the Jews,’” said Brooke Meshel, an MCPS teacher.
She shared how the rise of hateful acts has personally impacted her mental health.
“I shut down,” she said.
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In her testimony, Silvestre said her school district is rolling out strict protocols for staff who support hate speech, but students are demanding more to be done.
“I think having proactive events like they do for other groups is really important to make sure Jewish students are heard,” said Darci Rockind, an MCPS high school senior looking to study Jewish studies in college.
Parents echoed the same sentiment at Wednesday’s hearing.
“There’s some flurry of action,” said Margery Smelkinson, who is the leader of Maryland Jewish Alliance, a small organization working to prevent antisemitism in Maryland, and a parent of children at MCPS. “We’re going to have this training, we’re going to have the curriculum changes, but I haven’t seen anything.”
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