USC Shoah Foundation Partner School Opens New Holocaust Resource Center

Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County, USC Shoah Foundation’s first Jewish Partner School, held a dedication ceremony for its new Holocaust & Heritage Resource Center last week, where its students will use IWitness to learn about the Holocaust.

USC Shoah Foundation Executive Director Stephen Smith attended the dedication ceremony at Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County (SSDS) in New Jersey on Tues., Nov. 4, and spoke about IWitness and teaching with testimony. The Morris and Ruth Kotek z”l Holocaust & Heritage Resource Center, located inside SSDS’s library, will provide print resources as well as Smart Boards, iPads and computers for students to access IWitness. the Center will provide a place for students to learn not just about the Holocaust but also digital storytelling, ethical editing and tolerance.

In August 2014, SSDS became the first Jewish day school to establish an official partnership with USC Shoah Foundation. As a Partner School, SSDS will introduce teachers to methods of teaching with testimony and incorporate the Institute's educational materials into the school curriculum. Faculty will also work with USC Shoah Foundation to pilot at least two new testimony-based classroom activities or modules in the first year of the partnership, and integrate them into the school’s social studies curriculum.

Other Partner Schools are located in Southern California and Hungary.

Watch a video about the Kotek Holocaust & Heritage Resource Center: