Southington Parent Urges Schools To Recognize Jewish Holidays

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A local mother has made an impassioned plea for the Southington School System to officially recognize the Jewish faith's two holiest holidays.

Bridle Path Drive resident Elyse Krantz, a mother of two in the local school system, has been urging school officials to recognize Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur, saying other Jewish families in town feel the same way.

Krantz, who said she has lived in town for 12 years, wrote a letter to the board in October and, then, spoke before the Southington Board of Education at its last meeting Nov. 10.

She said she's also spoken with Southington Superintendent of Schools Steven G. Madancy about the matter, thanking him for his reminder to school staffers to try and refrain from tests or assignments on those holidays, which occur in the fall.

Krantz said absences due to the Jewish holidays are excused, a policy that also applies to staff as well.

"But it has been my experience that not all teachers and administrators remember to follow this recommendation," Krantz said before the school board during "Communications from the Public."

Krantz said she would be happy if Southington schools would have schools closed during those two school holidays, citing examples in other towns nearby.

She said school districts like Hamden, Cheshire, Waterbury, Newington, Farmington, Middletown, Glastonbury and West Hartford have designated these Jewish holidays as school holidays.

According to Krantz, honoring the traditions of these Jewish holidays often creates problems for Jewish children.

"And every year, and always in the fall, when all students are working hard to acclimate to new classes, teachers and schedules, Jewish students' lives are disrupted as they are forced to choose between celebrating the two most important days of the Jewish year or remaining in school and ignoring their traditions," she told school board members.

Krantz said recognizing these holidays would also go a long way toward creating a welcoming atmosphere for Jewish students, especially given a rise in anti-Semitic incidents nationally in recent years amid the political polarization of the times.

"It's not easy to stand here and ask this of you," Krantz said, expressing a concern that, by doing so, she's putting a "target" on her back.

"While the Jewish population of Southington might not be large, please know there are more Jewish students, faculty and staff than you may realize," Krantz said.

"You can't tell just by looking at us whether or not we are Jewish, whether a student has a Jewish parent or grandparent, or if we celebrate the holidays in the privacy of our own homes or at a local synagogue."

Krantz said she knows of many Jewish families in town who agree with her, but are afraid to speak up as publicly as she has.

She said conversations like the one she's starting are something Southington schools must address in the future as the population diversifies.

"Our schools are lucky to serve students from a range of religious, cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds," Krantz said.

"And the more our student population continues to grow and diversify, the more important it is to be proactive in making our schools a welcoming place for people of all backgrounds."

School officials that night did not, specifically, address Krantz's comments, but that is standard for most school boards as public comments are, merely, taken into the record.

Patch has reached out to Southington Board of Education Chairman Colleen Clark on the matter and is awaiting an update.

For the minutes of the Nov. 10 Southington Board of Education meeting, click on this link.