Remarks to Alameda School Board

Good evening. My name is Rabbi Cynthia Minster. I am the spiritual leader of the only synagogue in Alameda, Temple Israel. I am also a mother of two boys at Maya Lin Elementary. I am speaking to you today because our high school students faced two incidents of anti-Black and anti-Jewish graffiti at Alameda High School in recent weeks. 

I appreciate that some steps have been taken by the high school and the district in response to these incidents. I also appreciate that Superintendent Scuderi sent a message to the entire district community about the incidents and the district’s commitment to diversity and supporting the breadth of our community.

But this is not just about educating our children on social norms. We must recognize anti-Jewish sentiment is embedded in the current rise in conspiracy theories. We must recognize that white supremacy exists, and should not be accepted as a form of political difference. White supremacy must be called out as extremist and hateful. These actions were not just hate speech. They incite fear and danger.

We must recognize that our children are hurting. We need to create a space for honest conversations about the emotional impact of these racist incidents.

I note that the Jewish affinity group of the district is no longer active and there is no information on the AUSD website to volunteer to re-create this group. I would like to volunteer to co-lead a Jewish affinity group, which I hope is renamed to something other than “Jewish Education Roundtable.” With the rise in anti-Jewish rhetoric, both here in Alameda and nationally, our collective voice is needed to create a more welcoming environment for all Alamedans.

I look forward to working with the community to create space for true healing and for transformation. I invite everyone to join us for our community menorah lighting next Thursday, December 22 at South Shore Center at 5pm. Together, we can increase the light and understanding in Alameda. ‘

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Context: “Alleged hate crime disturbs small, ‘magical’ Bay Area town,” by Ariana Bindman, SFGATE

In addition to the first graffiti incident described in the above news article, there was a second incident of anti-Jewish graffiti at Alameda High School, that included swastikas and anti-Jewish epithets.

The Temple Israel of Alameda Social Justice and Education Committees have been discussing these incidents and previous incidents in our school district. We are dedicated to supporting all children in our community. We remain focused on challenging white supremacy and elevating human dignity.

Official Correspondence from Alameda High School and the Alameda Unified School District Below:

1) After the first incident, on Dec 2, Alameda High School Principal Ithurburn posted the following message to Alameda High School families:

Below is a link to the video and the questions that teachers were asked to process with students. Link to video.

• In what ways does this video relate to things at Alameda High?

• What impact does hate speech have on you and others?

• What can we do as students and staff to interrupt this cycle of racist and Anti-Semitic behavior when we see it, hear it, or someone tells us about it?

• What can we do to remove these elements from the culture at school? As a community, individual, student, teacher, or adult?

• What can we all do to change school culture in the long term?

2)  Correspondence sent to Alameda High School Families on Friday, December 9.

Hate Speech tagging on campus on December 8.

Dear Hornet Families,

I'm sad and angry to inform you that another instance of anti-Semitic taggings occurred in a restroom yesterday.  A student reported to the office at 2:35 pm that there was tagging in the restroom in the D-building.  The tagging was a swastika and an expletive toward Jewish people.

The administration locked down the restroom and reviewed video.  This morning we interviewed a couple of students to try to determine the timeframe of the incident.  We believed we had the person and may have them but complications arose this afternoon and we need to revisit with two of our previous witnesses.

If a student used the restroom on the first floor of the D-building earlier than 2:35 on Thursday and did not see the tagging then we want to know.  That could help establish a timeline for us to narrow down the investigation.

I know how upsetting this is an I want to apologize that this is happening.  Please let any student who is upset or anxious about these repeated incidents of anti-Semitic hate speech know that they are welcome to come to the counseling or administrative offices.

I originally wrote and scheduled a message to go out last evening but it somehow went to drafts.  This message has been edited to reflect the ​fact that a ​day has passed.

Robert Ithurburn

3) Multiple members of the Temple Israel community have sent emails requesting additional information regarding the response to these instances. Board member Yaniv Sherman received the following from Kerri Lonergan, Assistant to the Superintendant at AUSD:

I [Kerri Lonergan] received the following information from Susan Davis, AUSD’s Senior Manager of Community Affairs, regarding steps we took after the recent incidents of hate speech (in the form of graffiti) at Alameda High School:

In response to these recent incidents, AHS administrators developed a plan to condemn these kinds of hate speech and use the recent incidents as a focus of instruction and discussion.

That plan has included: 

·         Sending a letter home to families on November 18, in which Principal Ithurburn decried the incidents and asked families to talk to their students about the harm caused by hate speech (

·         Offering opportunities for students to participate in sharing circles about the incidents

·         Developing a lesson plan on the nature and dehumanizing effects of hate speech and allowing time for student questions. That lesson is being taught during the advisory period this week (so every student will participate).

·         Empowering students to bring a stop to the incidents by encouraging them to report any information they have on who is doing it or when it occurs

In addition, at the AHS Unity Assembly last Friday, Principal Ithurburn discussed the rich benefits of having a diverse student population but the fact that racist incidents damage that richness. “Is this who we want to be?” he asked. “What kind of community do we want to have?”

While our internal investigation of this incident has yet to identify the responsible parties, we encourage anyone with information to confide in a trusted adult on campus. We believe that expressions like these constitute a direct threat to the physical and psychological safety of our community, and any individuals found to be engaging in this type of activity, on any of our campuses, will receive significant consequences in accordance with local and state policies. 

Thank you again for reaching out to express your concerns. Please let me know if I can pass along any other questions you may have.  

Sincerely,

Kerri

Kerri Lonergan

Alameda Unified School District

4) The AUSD Superintendent also sent correspondence to the entire district community through ParentSquare regarding these incidents on Tuesday, December 13. It reads:

Addressing Hate Speech in our School Communities

 Dear AHS Community:

The recent discoveries of hate-themed graffiti on school facilities at AHS are yet another reminder that as a community our push against ignorance and bigotry is a sustained responsibility. 

We have received a number of inquiries recently about what concrete actions we, as administrators, will take to prevent such hate speech on our campuses.

Let me first say that expressions intended to unsettle, frighten, or assault the psychological safety of members of our AHS family are unacceptable in all forms. Whether those expressions are anti-black, anti-semitic, or feature components of any other form of prejudice, we will both condemn this behavior and address it with every consequence that state and local policies allow.

Please take a moment to let that sink in and consider having a frank and possibly uncomfortable conversation with your students about what things like hate-driven graffiti or social media postings mean and how they will be dealt with. 

Administrators have, and will continue to spend, significant hours investigating these incidents through interviews, reviews of surveillance video, and other means. In other words, students need to know that we are paying attention and will put every effort into identifying responsible parties.

From a discipline standpoint, students need to be taught just why hate speech is wrong. A recent effort by the Alameda High team to construct advisory lessons outlining the harm hate speech generates is an example of ways in which we will keep working from a curricular standpoint. 

In addition to the education components, strong penalties and a hard line are very much in order when expressions that threaten or attempt to physically or psychologically terrorize members of our community based on race, religion, culture, sexuality, or gender identity are present. These expressions are intolerable and will receive our full attention and the maximum consequences allowed by the California Education Code when responsible parties are identified.

I am confident that the vast majority of our students understand this, respect this, and are committed to inclusion being our preeminent shared value. 

For the handful of individuals who do not understand this, be it from a place of genuine hate, maliciousness, ignorance, indifference, or a depressing combination of these qualities, please be advised that consequences like suspension, expulsion, and referrals to law enforcement will absolutely be considered for anyone found engaging in this type of behavior. 

Indeed, in some recent cases staff has in fact identified responsible parties and imposed penalties that will remain part of their permanent academic records. The fact that even those students who create harm in our community are entitled to privacy when it comes to their disciplinary records sometimes leads people to speculate that nothing is being done. This is simply not the case. 

While a hard line on this issue is in my estimation appropriate, it does not mean that we will abandon our function as educators and we will continue to  utilize restorative practices and educational components as many of our educators already do in our ethnic studies courses, in a cross section of our social studies offerings, advisory periods, and a variety of assigned literature and projects. 

At a recent meeting with student leaders at Alameda High School I also listened to their significant concerns and welcomed their productive suggestions for improving school culture, such as high school student leaders making school culture presentations to middle schoolers to help set the tone and expectations for school culture early. This is one of many ideas we can and will consider as we work to continually improve school culture on our campuses.

In conclusion, I want all of our staff to know that as a school district we will continue to support schools and teachers in educational efforts,  while working to  maintain consistency in the investigatory and discipline processes when we are able to identify persons responsible for hateful expressions be they in the form of vandalism, direct threats, or other forms.

Our district and school responses can also be greatly enhanced if each and every one of our families and community members  makes time to discuss this topic on a very personal level with their kids. Specifically, we ask that you try to convey the seriousness of this issue, encourage them to report behaviors or actions related to hate or hateful expressions to a trusted adult on campus, and to understand the gravity they may not yet fathom of symbols or speech that represent and/or trigger profoundly hurtful, and often transgenerational pain and trauma for many members of our community.

Respectfully,

Pasquale Scuderi

Superintendent

5) Message sent to AHS families on December 14, 2022:

Racial tagging found on stairwell

Today at about 2:10 pm, AHS admin was informed that there was racial tagging found on the stair arm rail in the north-west stairwell of the E building.  The N-word was written in marker and looked as if someone had attempted to rub it out. Based on the size, location, and condition of the word, it is hard to ascertain if it was recent or had been overlooked from the series of hate speech taggings experienced a few weeks back.  Pictures were taken and then the custodian was asked to remove the word.  If any student has information regarding this most recent incident discovered, the AHS staff would appreciate that information.

Thank you,

Robert Ithurburn