Current:Home > InvestHolocaust museum will host free field trips for eighth graders in New York City public schools -FinanceMind
Holocaust museum will host free field trips for eighth graders in New York City public schools
View
Date:2025-04-14 08:32:38
NEW YORK (AP) — A Holocaust museum in New York City will offer free educational field trips to eighth grade students in public schools in a program announced Thursday aimed at combating antisemitism.
The program will allow up to 85,000 students at traditional public schools and charter schools to tour Manhattan’s Museum of Jewish Heritage over the next three years, starting this fall. New York City is the largest school district in the nation, serving more than a million students. Organizers say the museum and the new program have the capacity to host up to one-third of the district’s eighth graders each year.
City Council member Julie Menin said she raised the idea with the museum after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, in an effort to combat rising antisemitism in the U.S. Incidents targeting Jewish and Muslim Americans have been recorded across the country since the Israel-Hamas war erupted, ranging from offensive graffiti to violence.
“We needed a proactive approach to combat this hatred at its roots,” Menin, a Democrat and daughter of a Holocaust survivor, said in a statement. “That’s why I approached the Museum of Jewish Heritage with the vision of a universal field trip program.”
The effort will cost around $2.5 million, with $1 million coming from the Gray Foundation, a nonprofit backed by Blackstone CEO Jon Gray that funds other programs for New York youths, as well as cancer research. Menin said the museum will look to other sources for the rest.
The museum already offers student discounts and free admission days. The new program will cover transportation, guides and take-home materials for the eighth graders, Menin said.
The tours will focus on the global history of antisemitism and propaganda that precipitated the Holocaust, as well as offering an experience for students to reflect on current events, Menin’s statement said.
Principals will play a key role in deciding which schools will participate in the program, Menin said in a phone call. Schools can sign up through the museum website.
New York City Public Schools spokesperson Nathaniel Styer said in a statement that “programming is a school-based decision, but the funding in this announcement will help remove barriers to participation.”
In testimony before U.S. Congress earlier this month, New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said the city had already begun rolling out new measures to combat antisemitism in schools, including developing a new curriculum “highlighting the culture and contributions of the Jewish community.”
New York schools are required to teach about the Holocaust, with explicit curriculum covering the subject beginning in eighth grade.
veryGood! (24219)
Related
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- R.E.M. reunite at Songwriters Hall of Fame ceremony also honoring Timbaland and Steely Dan
- Zac Efron Reacts to Ex Vanessa Hudgens Becoming a Mom as She Expects First Baby With Husband Cole Tucker
- How Taylor Swift Supported Travis Kelce & Kansas City Chiefs During Super Bowl Ring Ceremony
- Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
- Virginia lawmakers to hold special session on changes to military education benefits program
- FAA probing suspect titanium parts used in some Boeing and Airbus jets
- Zac Efron Reacts to Ex Vanessa Hudgens Becoming a Mom as She Expects First Baby With Husband Cole Tucker
- Small twin
- Roger Daltrey unveils explosive Who songs, covers with cheer and humor on solo tour
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- US consumer sentiment falls for third month on concerns about persistent inflation
- Euro 2024 predictions: Picks for final winner and Golden Boot award
- 6 minors charged in 15-year-old boy's drowning death in Georgia
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Kansas governor and GOP leaders say they have a deal on tax cuts to end 2 years of stalemate
- Report uncovering biased policing in Phoenix prompts gathering in support of the victims
- RFK Jr. offers foreign policy views on Ukraine, Israel, vows to halve military spending
Recommendation
Friday the 13th luck? 13 past Mega Millions jackpot wins in December. See top 10 lottery prizes
Dozens of hikers sickened after visiting Grand Canyon's Havasupai Falls
G7 leaders agree to lend Ukraine billions backed by Russia’s frozen assets. Here’s how it will work
Trump once defied the NRA to ban bump stocks. He now says he ‘did nothing’ to restrict guns
California DMV apologizes for license plate that some say mocks Oct. 7 attack on Israel
Biden says he won't commute any sentence Hunter gets: I abide by the jury decision
A 9-year-old boy is fatally shot in Milwaukee, Wisconsin: 'It should not have happened'
Vermont governor vetoes data privacy bill, saying state would be most hostile to businesses