DESE outlines web resources, rubric and grant tracking to expand Holocaust and antisemitism education

Acting Commissioner Russell Johnson of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education told the Special Commission on Combating Antisemitism that the department has consolidated guidance and is preparing a rubric and additional supports for districts teaching about antisemitism and genocide.

Johnson said the department has created a single web page gathering existing guidance and is developing a rubric to help districts evaluate curriculum materials and related professional development. “We have a strong foundation upon which we can build even more efforts related to antisemitism,” Johnson said.

The department framed the work as two phases. Phase 1 grouped existing federal and state guidance, curriculum-framework references and the agency’s Safe and Supportive Schools tools on a new web page. Phase 2 will publish a draft rubric for public comment this spring; the department plans to analyze feedback over the summer and post a final…