Sen. Lewis and Rep. Day Announce $40,000 Genocide Edu. Grant for SPS

BOSTON—State Senator Jason Lewis and State Representative Michael Day are pleased to announce that Stoneham Public Schools will receive a $40,000 Genocide Education Grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

In 2021, the Massachusetts state legislature passed a law requiring all public middle and high schools to provide instruction in the history and patterns of genocide. The law was based, in part, on a bill that State Representative Michael Day introduced establishing a funding mechanism for this grant program. Representative Day’s bill, now codified into law, requires the Commissioner of DESE to administer money placed in the fund from donations for genocide education and revenue from fines for a hate crime or civil rights violations to school districts such as Stoneham. Districts may integrate genocide education across a variety of subjects such as history, civics and English Language Arts. This grant will support Stoneham Public Schools in providing this genocide education to students.

Genocide Education Grants are intended to support districts in selecting and/or developing curriculum, providing professional development, and creating enrichment experiences related to genocide education. The grant provides support to districts to train educators in content knowledge and pedagogical skills relevant to genocide education, to sustainably incorporate genocide education resources into core curricula, and to provide meaningful learning experiences for students relating to genocide education.

“Teaching our students about human rights and the history of genocide is essential to ensuring that these atrocities don’t happen again,” said State Senator Jason Lewis, who also serves as the Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education. “I’m very pleased that Stoneham Schools are receiving this state grant to support their genocide education efforts.”

“Currently only 35% of Massachusetts residents between the ages of 18 and 39 have heard about the Holocaust, can name one concentration camp and know 6 million Jewish people were killed. This is unacceptable in our society,” said State Representative Michael Day, who also serves as the House Chair of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. “I am proud that my colleagues overwhelmingly supported passage of this bill into law, and I am grateful that students in Stoneham will be among some of the first classes to benefit from this program.”