Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Dr. Monifa McKnight called for the community to come together in support of new measures of education, accountability and respect in response to a wave of antisemitic events seen in schools during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
“And so, unfortunately, we can’t snap our fingers to solve the problem. But what we can do is be very forthright in who we are and what we value,” McKnight said. “And we can continue to build our capacity around understanding so that we’re not dealing with misunderstanding and ignorance that results in hurtful and harmful actions that then occur in our schools.”
On Friday, Feb. 17 McKnight sent a letter to the community seeking the help of parents to educate their children and have conversations about the consequences of hate in the community. Since Friday, nine antisemitic acts occurred across four different Montgomery County schools in just three days.
MCPS has worked with the Anti-Defamation League and the Jewish Community Relations Council to implement measures that increase awareness about antisemitism and include its historical impacts in the curriculum, among other initiatives to educate staff. McKnight stressed MCPS will continue to work on these interventions while placing a new emphasis on accountability, parental involvement and restorative justice.
When acts of hate or antisemitism occur, she announced parents will now be called in to be a part of the resolution and reentry process with their student. Schools can take action when children are in the building, but the rest of the resolution occurs outside of school. So it is important, she said, for children and their parents to show care, concern and commitment to the process of eliminating hate.
“And for any parent who may have reluctance around that, I hope that this will be an opportunity or reunification, in which the school system and you can build a bridge to work together to solve this problem,” McKnight said.
To promote more accountability, MCPS also created a form that will document these incidents. Even though an incident will remain in a student’s file throughout their education, McKnight ensured that there is time to learn, grow and repair their past decisions.
“Discipline is a bandaid, it will not heal us,” she said. “Healing us is up to us.”
While MCPS continues to listen to parent feedback and engage community leaders, there will also be a rally at the Carver Educational Services Center (CESC) in Rockville at a date yet to be announced. Community members are encouraged to gather and express that antisemitism is unacceptable.
“We have solved and worked against many challenges over time,” McKnight said. “And so I believe it is the strength of our community that stands up and says this is who we are, and this is who we will be, and this is what we’re going to do moving forward to solve this problem.
