HPHS Principal Answers Student's Holocaust Remembrance Petition

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — School administrators responded Tuesday to a push for changes to annual Holocaust Remembrance Day activities at Highland Park High School. After a student's petition collected more than 5,000 signature in less than a week, Principal Deborah Finn addressed the concerns it raised in a letter to the community.

"[R]egardless of what has been posted online, there is no need to 'bring back' an event to commemorate the Holocaust at HPHS because it was never canceled," Finn said. "HPHS remains committed to offering an annual event to commemorate the Holocaust and to Holocaust education."

Last week, junior Anna Raab started an online petition, addressing it to Finn. Citing an increase of anti-Semitism around the world, Raab said it was important for the school community to acknowledge and remember those brutalized by it.

"I am petitioning for the Holocaust Memorial Day Assembly to be reinstated," Raab said in the petition. "This assembly used to be mandatory, and this policy should have never been erased."

Finn assured the community that Highland Park High School would hold its annual Holocaust Remembrance Day event on April 24, which is currently being organized by a student-led Holocaust Awareness Committee. The principal said the details of this year's event will be shared with all students when finalized.

"Some of you may have seen online or heard second-hand reports regarding Highland Park High School's Holocaust Remembrance Day," she said. "If true, what was being reported would be concerning."

The format for the event changed in the 2017-18 school year, Finn said, as students were given the chance to meet with survivors and speak with them about their experiences. She said administrators and the committee are committed to offering an annual event to commemorate the Holocaust and to make the event more meaningful every year.

"Illinois was the first state in the United States to require Holocaust education in public schools," Finn said. "As a Jewish woman, a lifelong resident of the community, and current [Highland Park High School principal], I am personally committed to ensuring our students receive not just what is required but rather provide them with authentic and meaningful learning experiences. Our student-led Holocaust Remembrance Day reflects this commitment."

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Raab replied publicly to Finn's letter later the same day. In an update to her petition, the 16 year old said she had sent Finn an email requesting a time to meet and discuss the issue.

"Instead, I received an indirect email blast which contained multiple inaccuracies that ultimately undermined the basis of this petition," Raab said.

"Principal Finn correctly noted in her email that HPHS will host its annual commemoration on April 24th. This, however, is not the mandatory assembly that students at Highland Park High School attended since it was canceled in 2017," according to Raab. "It is, instead, an optional opportunity to visit an exhibit set up in our school library. Holocaust survivors came prepared to share their stories of survival to the few students willing to show up. It truly was an amazing experience and a great honor to speak with these Holocaust survivors — I just wish more students showed up and had the opportunity to be moved by it like I was."

But Holocaust Remembrance Day events have never been mandatory at Highland Park High School, according to Township High School District 113 Communications Director Karen Warner. She said some teachers would bring their class along before the event was moved from the auditorium to the library.

"The format was changed in the 2017-18 school year and the event was moved from the auditorium to the library to make the event more meaningful by providing more opportunity for interaction and discussion between the students and the survivors," Warner said. "By using a more intimate venue of the library, the planning committee has been able to add other experiences to it, like getting historical artifacts for display from the Holocaust Museum, artwork, propaganda posters, etc."

This year, all freshman World History classes will attend the event, and students from other grades or freshmen not in the class are welcome to attend, Warner said in an email. As a result, the majority of students will have attended the event at least once in their time at Highland Park High School.

"I commend the school for providing an opportunity to speak with survivors," Raab said, "yet, it follows that those students who elected to come to this event are not those most in need of a Holocaust education program."