Holocaust museum will host free field trips for eighth graders in New York City public schools
NEW YORK — 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 anti-Semitism.
The program will allow up to 85,000 students from traditional public schools and public schools to visit Manhattan’s Museum of Jewish Heritage over the next three years, starting this fall. New York City is the largest school district in the country, serving more than one million students. Organizers say the museum and new program could house up to a third of the district’s eighth graders annually.
City Councilwoman Julie Menin said she brought up the idea at the museum after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel in an effort to combat rising anti-Semitism in the US. Incidents against Jewish and Muslim Americans have been recorded across the country since the Israel-Hamas attacks. A war broke out, ranging from offensive graffiti to violence.
“We needed a proactive approach to fight this hatred at its roots,” Menen, 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 excursion program. .”
The effort will cost about $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 youth 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 includes transportation, guides and take-home materials for eighth graders, Menin said.
The tours will focus on the global history of anti-Semitism and propaganda that precipitated the Holocaust, and will provide students with an experience 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 register via the museum’s website.
Nathaniel Styer, spokesperson for New York City Public Schools, 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 Congress earlier this month, New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks said the city has already begun rolling out new measures to combat anti-Semitism in schools, including developing a new curriculum “that addresses the culture and contributions of the Jewish community are emphasized’.
Schools in New York are required by state law to teach about the Holocaust, with an explicit curriculum covering the subject beginning in eighth grade.