by George J Elbaum

College Park High School has a current enrollment of 2036 students of which 56% are minority and 26% are economically disadvantaged.  Despite these demographics, it is far above California state average of college and career readiness, such as student test scores (English 74% vs. 51% CA average and Math 48% vs. 40% CA average) and 97% graduation rate.  It is therefore rated 9/10 in college readiness and test scores by GreatSchools.org.

This presentation to College Park 10^th-12^th grade students was again organized by World History teacher Lauren Weaver, as she had done the previous 3 years (2019-20-21).  Her students have studied WWII and the Holocaust, and were therefore aware of governmental persecution in Germany in the 1930s, including targeted boycotts, the Nuremberg Laws, planned stages of identification and separation in Ghettos, acts of violence such as Kiristallnacht, and eventual removal of Jews to concentration and death camps.   My presentation once again was via Zoom because of continuing Covid-19 restrictions, so my main contact with the students was via their on-line questions but unfortunately no face-to-face feedback.  I very much miss that feedback and look forward to visiting College Park and Lauren Weaver’s class in person next year.

Arrangements for my talk at College Park were made again by Penny Savryn, Education & Marketing Manager, and Veronica Siegel, Administrative Program Coordinator, JFCS Holocaust Center.