Weston schools mark Holocaust Remembrance Day; Anne Frank exhibit to visit in May
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Summary
Shauna Johnson told the curriculum subcommittee the district ran multiple Holocaust Remembrance Day programs across middle and high schools with guest speakers and survivor testimony; an Anne Frank traveling exhibit will come to the high school in May.
Shauna Johnson, the district curriculum and instruction leader for secondary social studies, told the Weston Board of Education curriculum subcommittee on April 1 that Holocaust Remembrance Day programming reached students across grade levels with guest presenters, survivor testimony and artifact-based lessons.
Johnson said the middle school ran three programs while the high school ran three concurrent programs. Presenters included the local Jewish Student Union (JSU), Rabbi Freeman, community member Mark Fontaine, who described family history in The Netherlands during the Second World War, and a long-time survivor speaker who met with smaller groups in the library. Johnson said the mix of speakers and pre-lessons prepared students to engage with the material beyond a textbook.
The district is also coordinating an Anne Frank traveling exhibit that Johnson said will visit in May. She said teachers and student docents will guide high-school visits and that the exhibit will serve as an opportunity to connect first-person histories to students’ classroom reading and social studies work.
Chair (speaker 2) thanked Johnson for evolving the Remembrance Day programming and noted the increasing challenge as firsthand survivors become fewer. Committee members praised the curriculum approach for turning historical testimony into classroom connections and community events.
