AMHERST — Recent incidents of alleged anti-Semitic acts by students at the Amherst Regional Middle School prompted a response last week from school officials that included assemblies with seventh- and eighth-graders and a weeklong educational curriculum.
Patty Bode, interim principal, wrote in a Dec. 6 letter sent to parents and guardians that it was important to address the issue after “the incidents occurred in various forms with a number of different students in the form of comments, so-called jokes and display of symbols.”
Bode said in an email Monday that as soon as the incidents were reported, a response was created. She did not elaborate further on the incidents and, citing privacy concerns, declined to say whether any discipline was associated with the incidents.
The response began with two class meetings, including a PowerPoint presentation and group discussion facilitated by Bode, focused on bullying, harassment and anti-Semitism. These were attended by interim Superintendent Michael Morris.
The assemblies were supplemented with a weeklong curriculum, as part of social studies classes and advisory periods, that focused on the history of anti-Semitism and how it can be combated, using resources of the Anti-Defamation League and other educational organizations, Bode wrote.
“Teaching about the deep-seated history of oppressions, and our current role in social responsibility in a democratic society helps middle school students understand the context in which we learn about these ideas,” Bode wrote.
In the letter, Bode observes that the school already has ongoing anti-bias education and makes efforts to provide a safe space for students and affirm diversity. The incidents at the middle school, Bode wrote, come at a time when reported acts of aggression and oppression have been on the rise since the conclusion of the presidential election.
Rebekah Demling, whose daughter is in eighth grade, said she appreciated how quickly Bode brought the issue to the attention of parents and guardians, and trusts and appreciates how the matter has been handled.
Though he does not currently have a child in the middle school, resident David Mednicoff, a professor in the School of Public Policy and director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote an opinion piece published last week in the Huffington Post that also credited Bode with the correct response.
“I am heartened by the clear, immediate, unequivocal response of our school’s administration to this week’s events, which are only starting to become public,” Mednicoff wrote.
