CDS visit gives elected officials insight into Jewish education and communal values
'This community seems to understand what it's building and why it's building it,' says U.S. Department of Education Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten
When the government came to Community Day School, the first thing it heard was hope.
Erupting from the mouths of uniformed third graders were the words “Im tirtzu ein zo agadah.” Hebrew for “If you will it, it is no dream,” the song, which was sung by students standing beside an outdoor Holocaust memorial, signals the institution’s aims, Head of School Casey Weiss told U.S. Department of Education Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten, elected officials and representatives from the Department of Education and Department of Homeland Security on Sep. 13.
Behind the students is a sculpture bearing 6 million pop tabs — one for each Jewish victim of the Holocaust — but “we are not victims,” Weiss said.
The Gary and Nancy Tuckfelt Keeping Tabs Holocaust Sculpture, like lyrics stemming from a quote uttered by Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl, is a call forward, she continued.
Every morning, the Jewish day school’s run club (led by Weiss) departs from the sculpture site.
The intent isn’t solely to develop better athletes. The club, like wider educational goals, is about training the “next generation of proud Jews,” who will attain mastery in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, possess a love of Israel and also “be excellent runners,” Weiss said.
As the educator spoke to the seated officials about her hopes, she recounted the toll taken on today’s youth.
“This is not an easy moment in time for our people,” Weiss said.
In recent years, antisemitic activity has dramatically risen. The 8,873 antisemitic incidents recorded in the U.S. during 2023 mark not only a 140% increase from 2022 but more than the past three years combined, according to the ADL.
Just down the road from CDS, the most violent antisemitic attack in U.S. history occurred at the Tree of Life building, Weiss said.
Growing up in the shadow of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and Oct. 7 has been challenging, several eighth graders told Marten and other government officials during a conversation inside CDS.
Seated in a circle, the students and adults shared thoughts on a world marred by rising hate.
“I feel — especially nowadays — every day, being Jewish is like walking on eggshells,” one adolescent said. “Being Jewish is a very emotionally taxing thing.”
At the same time, CDS and other Jewish day schools provide a cocooned environment for students to grow, children told government officials.
What needs to happen so “more students can do what we do and have what we have?” asked a middle schooler.
“I love that you appreciate that,” Marten replied.
Priorities from the top
The deputy secretary, who began her career as a second grade teacher at Beth Israel Day School in San Diego, pointed to the Biden-Harris administration’s strategy to counter antisemitism, “which we released before Oct. 7.”
One of the top priorities since coming to office was developing and implementing this strategy, she continued. “President Biden, as you may know, ran for president because of the antisemitism that was on display in Charlottesville. So the administration has understood this from Day 1.”
“There are groups of people who are working to make sure that your faith traditions, your places of worship and that your schools are safe across the entire country,” a DHS representative said.
On Sep. 25, a national summit on K-12 school safety and security will be administered by DHS and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Apart from attending the webinar, where federal, state and local school leaders will share best practices for creating optimal learning environments, Marten encouraged students, teachers and parents to visit ed.gov and review “resources that we published and continue to publish.”
The Department of Education, led by Secretary Miguel Cardona, is committed to ensuring “all schools are a safe and inclusive learning environment.” Still, if a problem arises, it’s important to know where to turn.
“The first line of defense is always go to your principal,” Marten told the students. “It’s not always to only go to the federal government. But the federal government does have resources where there’s a climate on campus where a student doesn’t feel safe and they’re able to learn.”
Marten referenced the department’s Office for Civil Rights and its commitment to ensuring students are not discriminated against on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age.
“People in Washington D.C. care a lot about you, about your safety,” Marten said. “There are resources and investments that we have made, and will continue to make, and that is led by our president and vice president.”
Shabbat is coming
Shortly after Marten concluded her comments, the Friday bell rang, signaling an early dismissal because of Shabbat. The visitors were each given a challah as a symbol of gratitude and acknowledgement of the coming Sabbath.
While children rushed through the hallways, gathered their belongings and headed outdoors, Marten shared her impressions of CDS and the wider community with the Chronicle.
“Being here is like going back,” she said. “This did make me feel like being at home.”
Marten’s first educational job was at Beth Israel Day School. Its former principal Jill Green hired Marten to teach second grade, but the position was “very high stakes” because within the class was not only Green’s daughter but all of Green’s friends’ kids, Marten said with a laugh.
Marten spent seven years at the now defunct Jewish day school.
“My students had Hebrew studies and Judaic studies. We had Shabbat every Friday in my classroom. We had services every morning with the rabbi in the synagogue,” she recalled.
“There’s a lot of my very early roots as a teacher that makes me feel like I’m home when I’m here.”
The deputy secretary credited Green with serving as a lifelong mentor and also pointed to her own mother’s influence.
“My mother [Fern Siegel] is very involved in the Jewish community in San Diego,” Marten said. “She was a president of our temple, Temple Emanu-El, in the early 90s. She was also president of Jewish Family Service in San Diego. For many years, she’s been very involved in mental health support for kids, and making sure we have more support for people experiencing mental health issues. So I come from a family that is very dedicated to our Jewish identity and Jewish joy and the importance of education.”
Before becoming deputy secretary of education, Marten was a teacher, literacy specialist, vice principal, principal and superintendent.
Each position made clear that if students’ voices are ignored, or “if we don’t have the people that we work for at our tables, then what are we doing? We’re just adults making decisions about adults,” she said. “I always say, ‘When the kids are here, the boss is in the room.’ And President Biden is the boss. Secretary Cardona is the boss, but they will both also say, ‘Who do we actually work for? We work for the kids.’”
Marten praised state Sen. Jay Costa and Rep. Dan Frankel (both D-Allegheny) for joining the Sep. 13 program and heeding students’ concerns.
“Kids have a lot of ideas about how to help address what they’re facing, that are really smart ideas,” she said. “This is how we build good policy.” It’s similar to the educational concept of proximity, Marten continued. “The closer you are to the problem you’re trying to solve, the easier you’ll be able to solve it.”
Deeply held values
As demonstrated by the students’ questions for government officials, Pittsburgh’s children notice the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and rising rates of antisemitism. The impact prompts concern, according to researchers, as even indirect exposure to conflict can result in stress and changes in development and learning.
CDS’ educators and the wider community are aware of their seismic responsibilities, Marten explained.
“This community seems to understand what it’s building and why it’s building it,” the deputy secretary said. These students are in an “incredibly wonderful community that has invested in them and cares about their education — not just for the short term, but for the long term.”
Before exiting CDS, Marten noted that time in Squirrel Hill and at the Jewish day school illuminated deeply held values.
When one of the students asked how the government can help other young people experience what’s experienced here, that was “a really beautiful thing,” Marten said. “The fact that this community has been through struggle and pain…and the students are saying, ‘We want better for everybody,’ that just for us is really beautiful. It says a lot about Pittsburgh.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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