By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — “Addressing Incidents of Antisemitism and Bias in Our Schools,” a Wednesday forum co-hosted by Westport school officials and Temple Israel, focused on the curriculum that local students are taught about the Holocaust and various forms of bias and hate.

The forum was initially planned in the wake of incidents that heightened concerns about antisemitic behavior in local schools last year and how administrators addressed the issue. Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice announced the forum at a recent meeting of TEAM Westport, where he also highlighted other initiatives school officials plan to address the problem.

Since then, several parents also have come forward to report the repeated racist bullying their children have suffered in the town’s schools.

Westport schools’ curriculum for students from preschool through high school, in areas encompassing literature, social emotional learning, activities and particularly the social studies curriculum, was described in detail by school administrators.

Also presented were the number and variety of training programs on Holocaust education, bias and human rights that are incorporated to help train the district’s teachers.

“We all want to know that our children are safe,” Rabbi Michael Friedman of Temple Israel said at the start of the forum. “It’s important to understand how our district and schools handle these alarming incidents.” 

Most of the presentation focused on efforts to prevent antisemitism and bias through extensive curricular and training programs, and not on how school officials specifically handle such incidents. It wasn’t until nearly the end of the program that officials discussed a student discipline policy, and a seven-step process developed by the district for “Incident Response” was unveiled.

The process for responding to bias and hate incidents begins with investigation into the case, and includes consequences for those involved, ending with reflection on the bias incident and steps for improvement. A diagram explaining the school district’s new policy on Incident Response will be posted on the district website, Scarice told those attending the forum.

The seven steps in the district’s news Incident Response procedure are:

• Prioritizing safety
• Gathering facts
• Educational response
• Communications with stakeholders
• Consequences and accountability
• Restoration and healing
• Reflection and improvement

The district is also revising the K-12 Code of Conduct, which will be reviewed by the Board of Education at its next meeting March 21, Scarice said.

During administrators’ presentation on the wide range of curriculum addressing bias, hate and human rights issues, Social Studies Coordinator Lauren Francese highlighted how Holocaust education and lessons on bias and human rights are adapted for various grade levels. 

Students at the secondary level, she said, “are better able to understand the value of diversity and the dangers of bias in school.”

But middle and high school students, she added, come to school with phones giving them access to social media from around the world. That makes the whole process of teaching values more difficult in many ways, she said, especially because “social media can be full of bias and hate.” 

After presentation of the district’s curriculum and training programs dedicated to fighting hate and bias, Scarice noted the problems are not limited to local schools or the wider Westport community.

“Even with all that,” he said after the extensive explanation of schools’ curriculum, “we can always do more. We could double what we’re doing and there will still be bias incidents in our schools.”

The forum was attended by about 100 people, including First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, Board of Finance member Danielle Dobin, Police Chief Foti Koskinas, state Sen. Ceci Maher and state Reps. Jonathan Steinberg and Dominique Johnson.

Maher, in remarks to the gathering, said a legislative proposal, “An Act Establishing A Task Force to Study the Effects of Hate Speech on Children’s Health and Achievement,” is being reviewed by the General Assembly. If approved, the legislation will encourage state-level research and the creation of state programs to fight hate speech among children, she said.

“I’ve been horrified at the degrees of antisemitism, racism and homophobia across our state,” Maher said.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.