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September 14, 2023—Governor Newsom has signed and passed California’s 2023-24 budget, which includes $1.5 million in renewed funding for the California Teachers Collaborative for Holocaust and Genocide Education.
The Collaborative is developing a robust series of new, standards-aligned lessons and teacher training initiatives to educate 6 – 12th graders about what happens when bias goes unchecked. The funding included in the State budget will support the continued work of the Collaborative to train over 8,500 teachers and educate over one million California students by 2027.
State Senator Henry Stern at the JFCS-coordinated California Teachers Collaborative’s inaugural Summer Institute this June talks with (from right to left) Amila, a survivor of the Bosnian Genocide, Liz, a survivor of the Holocaust, and Channy, a survivor of the Cambodian Genocide
The California Teachers Collaborative is the first of its kind in the nation. Established by the Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) Holocaust Center in San Francisco in 2021, it unites the State’s 14 leading Holocaust and genocide educational institutions as well as community leaders representing California’s vast diversity.
Research demonstrates that young people who receive Holocaust education report a deeper understanding of the Jewish community, a more pluralistic attitude, and a greater willingness to challenge intolerant behavior in others. By introducing students to the richness of Jewish history and culture, how the Holocaust fits in with that history, and what antisemitism looks like today, young people gain the awareness and tools needed to confront antisemitism around them.
High school students hear survivor testimony at a JFCS Holocaust Center educational program.
The continued funding provided by Governor Newsom and the California State Legislature is a vital measure to educate and empower young people to stand up to rising hate.
“This united effort to educate all of California’s students is a historic turning point in combatting antisemitism and hate. We are deeply grateful to Governor Newsom, the California State Legislature, the Jewish Caucus, and the Jewish Public Affairs Committee (JPAC) for their leadership in setting an example for the entire nation.”
– Dr. Anita Friedman, Executive Director of JFCS and Co-Chair of the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education
One hundred teachers from across the state of California attended the California Teachers Collaborative Inaugural Summer Institute this June.
Members of the California Teachers Collaborative represent major organizations involved in advocacy and education across the state, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Avenues for Change: Holocaust and Genocide Education, Cambodian Genocide Resource Group, Central Valley Holocaust Educators’ Network (CVHEN), Facing History and Ourselves, The Genocide Education Project: Armenian Genocide Education, Holocaust Museum LA, Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation, Jewish Family and Children’s Services Holocaust Center, Museum of Tolerance, Redbud Resource Group: Indigenous History and Education, TWIGE Project: Teaching about the Genocide in Rwanda and Guatemala, USC Shoah Foundation, and the Uyghur Genocide Online Resource Center.
The JFCS Holocaust Center established the California Teachers Collaborative with support from a $1.9 Million grant from the Marin County Office of Education and the State of California. The Collaborative also works in close partnership with the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education, reflecting a highly focused statewide effort to elevate Holocaust and genocide education for the benefit of all California’s children and our society as a whole.
Media Contact:
Jewish Family and Children’s Services
Alissa Steiner, [email protected], 415-449-1245