Weston parents urge board to expand ‘No Place for Hate’ after school swastika report

Stephanie Feingold, speaking at the Sept. 15 Weston Board of Education meeting, asked the district to expand efforts to address antisemitism and other bias after another swastika was discovered around the start of the school year. Feingold said she spoke on behalf of Mothers in Blue, an eight-person group of local Jewish mothers formed after similar incidents surfaced last year. She thanked district leaders for recent steps — including middle school adoption of the Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate program and recognition of Jewish American Heritage Month — and said students and parents have seen early signs of progress. Mothers in Blue asked the district for updates on an anonymous reporting system explored last year, continued work from the curriculum review committee, clearer communication about the student code of conduct, consideration of a DEIB website, expanded social‑emotional supports and more teacher professional development. Feingold said Mothers in Blue is working with Superintendent Erica Forte and school leaders and urged the board to consider extending No Place for Hate programming to Weston Intermediate School. The board read its public‑comment disclaimer at the start of the meeting and did not respond substantively during the comment period, noting a practice of deferring detailed discussion to staff or future agenda items to avoid Freedom of Information Act concerns. The public comment closed after Feingold’s remarks; board members thanked her and noted they would continue work through the district’s committees and administrators.