The town has been awarded $39,500 from the Massachusetts Department of Education and Secondary Education (DESE), to be spent to support genocide education in Arlington schools.
A recent press release from Gov. Healey’s administration detailed that the genocide education grant totals $1.34 million, and was distributed across 43 districts statewide. The goal of this grant is to support local districts in developing curriculum, providing professional development, and creating enrichment experiences related to genocide education.
Michael Kozuch, the director of history and social studies for Arlington Public Schools (APS), in response to a YourArlington query, said the district has been working with the Upstander Project to create its spending plan. Kozuch wrote that two workshops have been planned for educators within the APS history and social studies department; a full day workshop in the fall, and a half day workshop this spring. There is also a student workshop scheduled in January for middle and high school students.
The teacher workshop topics include education about the origin of the word “genocide,” the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the 10 stages of genocide, colonialism, tools for teaching about genocide and guiding principles for learning about Native peoples in greater Boston.
The statement from Kozuch was provided via email through Weslie Ettiene St. Pierre, APS director of cmmunications and family engagement.
According to the grant page published to the DESE website, district proposals were due to the state in December 2023, and awarded applicants would have the opportunity to spend their funding either in fiscal 2024 (Oct. 1, 2023 through Sept. 30, 2024), fiscal 2025 (Oct. 1, 2024 through Sept. 30, 2025), or distribute the money throughout both time frames.
Fiscal 2024, ’25 genocide-education grant recipients:
|
Local Education Agency Recipient
|
Award
|
|
Andover |
$40,000
|
|
Arlington
|
$39,500
|
|
Boston Collegiate Charter
|
$20,000
|
|
Bridge Boston Charter
|
$20,000
|
|
Brookline
|
$60,000
|
|
Cambridge
|
$60,000
|
|
Codman Academy
|
$16,000
|
|
Community Day Charter
|
$36,225
|
|
Collaborative for Regional Educational Service and Training
|
$20,000
|
|
Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School District
|
$15,000
|
|
Fitchburg
|
$40,000
|
|
Gloucester
|
$40,000
|
|
Hadley
|
$1,900
|
|
Haverhill
|
$60,000
|
|
Holliston
|
$31,150
|
|
Holyoke
|
$33,700
|
|
Littleton
|
$40,000
|
|
Lynn
|
$60,000
|
|
Lynnfield
|
$40,000
|
|
Malden
|
$40,069
|
|
Manchester Essex Regional School District
|
$30,000
|
|
Marshfield
|
$15,300
|
|
Mashpee
|
$21,600
|
|
Mendon-Upton
|
$39,370
|
|
New Heights Charter
|
$6,000
|
|
Newburyport
|
$40,000
|
|
Newton
|
$59,750
|
|
North Andover
|
$39,500
|
|
Northampton
|
$18,400
|
|
Northborough and Southborough (joint award)
|
$20,000
|
|
Northboro-Southboro
|
$16,500
|
|
Peabody
|
$60,000
|
|
Phoenix Charter Academy
|
$20,000
|
|
Randolph
|
$15,390
|
|
Salem
|
$15,085
|
|
Shrewsbury
|
$19,320
|
|
Somerset Berkley Regional School District
|
$20,000
|
|
South Shore Charter
|
$40,000
|
|
Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical
|
$29,250
|
|
Stoneham
|
$40,000
|
|
Woburn
|
$14,080
|
|
Worcester
|
$50,000
|
March 20, 2023: Approximately 300 ‘stand out’ before classes on campuses to say ‘no’ to hate speech
This news announcement was published Monday, Sept. 23 based on a press release from Gov. Healey’s press secretary, Karissa Hand and Weslie Etienne Pierre, APS director of communication.
