by George J Elbaum

Harbour Pointe Middle School, Mukilteo, WA, is a public school with grades 6-8 and enrollment of 808 students with diverse demographics: White 48%, Asian 24%, Hispanic 12%, two or more races 11%, Black 4%.  The students’ academic performance is also quite impressive, with proficiency in English of 76% vs. state average of 61%, and in Math it is 68% vs. state average of 50%. 

My talk to a class of 30 8^th graders was organized by ELA Core/Honors teacher Janine Schierbeek, who has taught the Holocaust for many years using the resources of the Holocaust Center for Humanity .  Her Holocaust teaching unit centers around literature circles/book groups, which this semester include Night, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Number the Stars, Berlin Boxing Club, and Once.  She has also done field trips, hosted speakers, and her students have participated in the Holocaust Center’s Zoom book group last year. 

My talk was arranged by the Holocaust Center’s Education Program Manager Julia Thompson, and the Zoom and PowerPoint “technology” of my talk were ably managed by the Center’s Morgan Romero, Museum and Education Assistant.