Haverhill eighth-graders trained as docents for Anne Frank traveling exhibit
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Summary
A Haverhill teacher and 40 eighth-graders are piloting a student-led Anne Frank traveling exhibition after state grant funding and a teachertrip to Auschwitz informed a new curriculum component; the program will bring peer-led tours to middle schools across the district.
Ted Kempinski, a Haverhill Public Schools teacher, told the School Committee on Feb. 27 that 40 eighth-graders completed training this week to serve as student guides for a traveling Anne Frank exhibition from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
Kempinski said the district secured state grant funding tied to a Massachusetts mandate for genocide education, and that the district is the first to pilot the exhibit under the adapted curriculum that uses student docents. "The kids are doing the work," he said, adding that the exhibit includes 32 panels with English and Spanish text and that the district hopes to repeat the program each year while state funding remains available.
The teacher also described a professional trip to Auschwitz and contacts made there that informed the local program. Kempinski said the experience and follow-up work led to a designation he described as a Council of Memory honor from Auschwitz; he presented a two-minute news clip the committee watched during the meeting. "They're learning from each other," he said of the eighth-graders. "These students are going to remember this experience."
Superintendent Dr. Morata praised the initiative and introduced Kempinski to the committee; committee members repeatedly praised the peer-led approach during discussion. School Committee member Miss Collins said the student-centered model builds transferable communication skills, and Miss Lullamer said the program "brings honor to Haverhill” and helps students retain lessons from history. Attorney Magliochetti and Attorney Rosa both called the project important and said it would resonate with students.
Committee members noted the program's role in addressing contemporary intolerance: Kempinski told the committee he aims to teach analytical thinking, combat indifference and highlight how racism and antisemitism persist today. Committee members described the work as a model for leadership development and long-term civic learning.
Kempinski and the superintendent said the district would continue to seek funding and community partners to sustain and expand the work, and invited committee members and residents to contact him with questions.