School Professional Development

The mission of the Rhode Island Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission (RIHGEC) is to empower educators and their school communities to integrate learning about the Holocaust and other genocides into their school cultures and studies. This includes providing accurate and authoritative resources and professional development opportunities for teachers to enable them to incorporate these topics into their curricula.

The RIHGEC, in partnership with organizations and individuals around the state, is pleased to offer a slate of professional development workshops, either in-person or virtually through Google Meet. These workshops are subject-specific and provide classroom-ready lessons that teachers can use the next day.

For more information or to schedule any of these professional development offerings, please contact the RIHGEC at rihgec@gmail.com or call 401-636-4799.

All Genocides

Anne Ejnes taught fifth to eighth grade students over thirty-eight years in the classroom. She served on a curriculum task-force to help gather resources on the Holocaust and other genocides after the original legislation was passed in 2016 and currently serves on the Rhode Island Holocaust and Genocide Commission. 

• Exploring The Holocaust and Genocide Education Law and Why It Is Necessary - In July 2016, Governor Gina Raimondo signed into law legislation requiring Holocaust and Genocide Education in Rhode Island’s secondary schools, starting in the 2017-18 academic year. In August 2021, Governor Dan McKee signed legislation to create a permanent commission on Genocide and Holocaust Education. Learn about the history of these bills and how the Rhode Island Commission on Genocide and Holocaust Education is working to support educators in teaching these topics. Also hear how one former middle school teacher approached these topics with her students.

Dr. Michael Xiarhos is a teacher at Pilgrim High School and a professor at Salve Regina University. He has a master's in Modern European History and a doctorate in Humanities and Philosophy. Dr. Xiarhos is a 2023 Genocide Education Project Teacher Fellow and was the 2023 Rhode Island Genocide Educator of the Year. He also serves as a board member of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center and is a Teacher Leader for Echoes and Reflections and the ADL.

• Denialism and the Post-Truth World: ChatGPT Is Just the Beginning - As we navigate through an increasingly complex and ever-changing digital landscape, the threat of genocide denialism looms larger than ever, fueled jointly by existing bigotry and now also by the rapid advancements in generative A.I. technologies. This presentation will explore how generative A.I. can unwittingly propagate false narratives, undermining objective truth and leading to a dangerous environment where misinformation flourishes. This presentation will also consider the unintended consequences of technological innovation and consider to what extent we should hold the creators accountable for their creations. It is crucial that we confront these issues head-on, recognizing that denying the past not only disrespects the victims but also threatens the integrity of our collective memory.

Armenian Genocide 

Pauline Getzoyan is co-chair of the RI branch of The Genocide Education Project. She has been teaching about genocide and advocating for genocide education for more than two decades. She serves as the chair of the RI Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission and has been an adjunct professor of English at the Community College of Rhode Island for 20 years. 

• A Journey from Despair to Hope: The Armenian Genocide and the Story of the Armenian Americans of RI - Under the cover of World War I, Armenians of the Ottoman Empire became the victims of the first modern genocide. The Armenian Genocide, carried out by the Ottoman Turks, has been denied by the perpetrators to this day. The video, “A Journey from Despair to Hope: The Story of the Armenian Americans of Rhode Island,” traces the story of Margaret Garabedian DerManuelian, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, and her arrival in Rhode Island. The film, which will be a focal point of this 75-90 minute presentation, also introduces the history of the Armenian Genocide and illuminates the impact of genocide denial on future generations, as well as the impact of genocide on identity. Teachers will be provided with bound curriculum materials, including lesson plans and a DVD of the film.

Tara Seger, GenEd Teacher Fellow (2024), Genocide Educator of the Year for Rhode Island (2023), and Susan B. Wilson Civic Education Award recipient for 2024 (2024), will share invaluable insights from her recent fellowship in Armenia with The Genocide Education Project. This PD session is specifically designed to equip teachers with the tools to effectively teach the Armenian Genocide, as required by the state of Rhode Island. 

• From Propaganda to Genocide: Teaching the Armenian Tragedy with Impact - This session will deepen your students' understanding of historical and ongoing hardships for Armenians. It will also offer you practical, classroom-ready resources and strengthen your curriculum with content on the Armenian Genocide. Tara will share her complete unit on the Armenian Genocide, including printable handouts for classroom use. Learn how to engage students with thoughtful questions on propaganda and cultural understanding, helping them grasp the role of propaganda in the systematic murder of 1.5 million Armenians. Teachers will receive a step-by-step guide (with an answer key) covering the ten stages of genocide, how propaganda operates within those stages, and its role in the Armenian Genocide. Printable worksheets will be provided to set up an Armenian Cultural Stations activity allowing students to explore Armenian history and culture in an interactive way. Special Resources: Aurora’s Sunrise viewing guide; Hands-on activities to tackle the challenging subject of Turkey's denial of the genocide; a multi-day lesson plan on the current conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan; and contact information for possible guest speakers from both the U.S. and Armenia who could visit your classroom either live or via Zoom (or Google Meet).

Cambodia 

Kannyka Pouk is a Director of Programs at the Center for Southeast Asians. In her role at CSEA, she oversees many programs that focus on providing various social services. She is also a member of the RI Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission.

• Surviving the Cambodian Civil War: Kannyka’s Story - Kannyka was born in Cambodia during the Civil War and came to the United States in the early eighties as a war refugee with her family. She will share her experiences as a child of civil war survivors. Kannyka will share personal stories of her parents' experiences. These experiences have shaped her own life and impacted her work and desire to help others.

The Holocaust 

Len Newman has consulted with schools nationally and internationally for more than 25 years on how they can better meet the needs of students with special learning needs and those for whom English is a second language. His classrooms have been featured in numerous periodicals and in the books Third Space and A Reason to Read: Linking Literacy and the Arts. In 2000, Len was a Fulbright Scholar to Brazil. He has continued to offer classes and workshops there since then. 

• Bearing Witness: Who Will Tell Their Stories - As the son of Holocaust Survivors, Len feels a keen responsibility to bear witness to the lives of the six million Jewish men, women and children who were killed in the Holocaust. For the past 25 years, he has been telling his parents’ stories in schools and libraries throughout the United States and abroad. He tells their stories to encourage students to stand for social justice. Len has been a Commissioner on the Rhode Island Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission since its inception. His work on the Commission has been keenly focused on developing ways to support educators in teaching this area of study. He will discuss the work of the Commission and its history as part of his presentation.

Barbara Wahlberg has been a Holocaust and Genocide educator for over 30 years, a retired ELA teacher in Cranston Public Schools, a long-time board member of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center, and a 2002 USHMM Teaching Fellow. Barbara offers two professional development programs:

• America’s Response to The Holocaust - Using the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum timeline card resources, we will explore the history WWII and the Holocaust beginning with US immigration policy as far back as 1924. This interactive activity will help establish both the United States’ initial lack of involvement during the war in Europe, through liberation of the concentration camps by US Troops at the end of the war. Teachers will be able to bring a classroom ready lesson back to their students which will help them understand the policies that shaped the US response to the war and to the Holocaust.

• Teaching the Holocaust: Building a Holocaust Lesson or Unit for Your Classroom - This 2-hour workshop will provide attendees with all the necessary resources and ideas for building a one week lesson or a multi-week unit for an ELA or Social Studies Classroom. We will begin with the initial information educators must know as an instructor to begin lesson planning, right into how to bring students safely in and safely out of this very intense and serious subject matter. Attendees will walk away from this workshop with all the tools necessary to create their own curriculum.

Indigenous Peoples

Dr. David Weed is a retired clinical psychologist who now coordinates the Sowams Heritage Area Project in East Bay Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts. Dr. Weed is also a member of the RI Holocaust and Genocide Education Commission.

• Indigenous Genocide in New England - Dr. Weed is available to present either a 30-minute PowerPoint talk to older (middle and high school) groups or a 15-minute illustrated talk to younger (grades 4 and 5) groups. The talk covers the defi nition of genocide, unintentional genocide, genocide through war, and cultural genocide of Indigenous people in New England from the 1600s to the present day. The goal is to help students understand how Indigenous people have been affected by genocide and how they are recovering from these practices today.

Additional Resources

Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center (SBHEC) - The mission of the SBHEC is to teach the history of the Holocaust in order to promote human dignity and justice, combat antisemitism, and to serve as a memorial to its victims. SBHEC offers a speakers bureau which affords teachers and students the opportunity to connect with survivors or children of survivors. Help your students hear a first-hand account of those who lived through the Holocaust. Contact the SBHEC at info@hercri.org or call 401-453-7860.

The Genocide Education Project, RI Branch - The Genocide Education Project (GenEd) connects students and the community with the history of the Armenian Genocide. An often overlooked part of World War I history, the Armenian Genocide serves as a precursor to the Holocaust, drawing many connections between these two terrible crimes against humanity. GenEd offers speakers who are descendants of genocide survivors and combine historical context with personal testimony to provide first-hand accounts of events during the genocide.