Amid criticism of the Montgomery County Public Schools Board of Education for being “disengaged” in response to antisemitism since Oct. 7, 2023, MCPS Board of Education candidates voiced support for Jewish students and the fight against antisemitism at an Oct. 13 forum.
The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington hosted the forum at Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County in Bethesda to hear from Board of Education candidates on issues that are a priority for local Jewish students, employees, families and allies.
The candidates — Brenda Diaz and Natalie Zimmerman running for District 2, Shebra Evans and Laura Stewart running for District 4 and Lynne Harris and Rita Montoya running for an at-large seat — discussed addressing hate bias among students, implementing antisemitism training and social media policies for MCPS teachers and inclusive curricula such as Holocaust education.
Guila Franklin Siegel, the chief operating officer of the JCRC of Greater Washington, moderated the event. She gave each of the six Board of Education candidates an opportunity to introduce themselves, then asked six questions, many of which related to the recent rise in antisemitism in local schools.
In her opening statement, Stewart, a Montgomery County resident of 27 years, said she is running for the Board of Education because “too many children experience hate in our schools and do not feel safe.”
“I myself was targeted as a Jewish child,” Stewart told the crowd. “We must take antisemitism seriously. We need better training for staff and anti-hate education for students.”
Combating Antisemitism
Franklin Siegel’s first question pertained to the “skyrocketing antisemitism for the better part of three years” in MCPS and the “widely-held” sentiment that the Board of Education has been too lackadaisical in its response, specifically in naming and condemning antisemitic incidents when they occur.
Harris said she wants to work to ensure that MCPS becomes an “anti-hate, anti-bias” system, which the candidates largely agreed upon.
Montoya, who has two children ages 8 and 10, said leaders must be more explicit and call antisemitism what it is so that students can understand: “We can’t beat around the bush or have [students] guess or figure out why something isn’t okay.”
“We can’t just give the kids, ‘Hey, don’t do that,’ ‘hey, that’s not nice,’ ‘you shouldn’t be antisemitic’ — what does that mean? Do the kids know what that means? Do our staff know what that means?” Montoya asked.
Zimmerman added that administrators cannot call out antisemitism if they don’t know how to recognize it. This lack of clarity can be solved by training Board of Education leaders and teachers on recognizing antisemitism, Montoya said, as change starts from the top.
Stewart said she wants policies that improve the reporting process for hate and bullying in MCPS schools, speaking to her personal experiences.
“I absolutely believe the Board has the role of tamping down antisemitism; we definitely need to look at policy,” Stewart said. “I don’t know why we haven’t already. Antisemitism isn’t new — I experienced it in the 80s when I was a kid in school, getting called a name and having my instrument stolen.”
Evans, who has served on the board since 2016, spoke to the “great partnership” the MCPS system has with the JCRC of Greater Washington to work on combating antisemitism.
“We have been talking really closely with our partners,” Evans said. “I believe it’s important to inform, consult, to involve and to collaborate, and that means having conversations about what we do with our students. … If we can do more, we should do more.”
Diaz said schools should solely be spaces for learning and curiosity, and students shouldn’t be permitted to protest the Israel-Hamas war during school hours: “We should eschew politically-motivated protests that our children are holding.”
Antisemitism Training for Staff
All six candidates agreed with the importance of implementing antisemitism training among MCPS teachers.
Zimmerman claimed that the board had declined an offer to participate in antisemitism training, which Evans refuted.
“That I’m aware of, the board has never been offered to take antisemitism training,” Evans said in response. “We are very open to doing that.”
Candidates, including Diaz and Stewart, said the board should improve their approach to training on antisemitism, incorporating a historical understanding of antisemitism, Diaz suggested.
“The Board is lagging behind, especially when it comes to training,” Diaz said. “It’s not enough to click through, something that’s very standard for MCPS.”
Social Media Policy
Many candidates called for a comprehensive social media policy for MCPS teachers after Franklin Siegel referenced the four teachers placed on administrative leave in 2023 for using “antisemitic language” on social media.
Diaz said MCPS teachers are no longer politically neutral, which is a conflict of interest because students can potentially see teachers’ posts on social media.
“Our teachers need to know that we must respect all students, that we need to be neutral once again in our political and social and cultural controversy that is not our place,” Diaz said. “We are important people in this community as teachers, and we have to take that responsibility seriously.”
Zimmerman, a third grade teacher, said the one-page “Social Media Best Practices” training is “not enough for us to truly know what the policies are.”
“We could do a better job informing the community about what it looks like in terms of the different steps,” Evans said.
Holocaust Education
Franklin Siegel said the JCRC has supported mandatory instruction on the Holocaust, slavery and other experiences of marginalized groups, amid other states’ book bans and the option for parents to “opt [their children] out” of inclusive curricula.
All six candidates said they are opposed to allowing parents to opt out of such curricula and voiced support for more in-depth, age-appropriate Holocaust education.
“I am a strong supporter of inclusive curriculums in MCPS,” Stewart said. “We need to review our curriculum to make sure it is culturally competent and that it digs into hard issues like the Holocaust. We need to make sure our kids are learning the facts. There’s so much disinformation on the internet, and school is where we inoculate kids from that disinformation.”
Harris said she doesn’t support the “opt-out” policy except for the sexual health curriculum.
“We need to create opportunities for [students] to be fully exposed to the truth of the world,” Harris said. “That, to me, is non-negotiable.”
After the forum, Franklin Siegel said she was grateful to the candidates for participating and for their commitment to taking training about antisemitism.
“I think we had the opportunity to really get to the heart of a lot of questions, a lot of the challenges that have been so upsetting to Jewish families and students and employees,” Franklin Siegel told the Washington Jewish Week. “It’s been a very difficult few years, and I think this was a powerful opportunity to begin holding the Board of Education accountable.”
