by George J Elbaum

Somerville High School (https://somerville.k12.ma.us/schools/somerville-high-school)  has an enrollment of 1215 students in grades 9-12 and very diverse demographics: Hispanic 46%, White 35%, Black 11%, Asian or Pacific Islander 6%, two or more races 2%, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander <1%, Native American <1%, and 73% of its students from low-income families. 

More unusual, however, is the organization of its student body: the students are divided into 4 Communities designed to meet students’ academic and social needs and also language limitations through a comprehensive, collaborative team approach.  For example, I learned that the audience to my talk of approximately 350 9^th graders had a Portuguese translator and a Spanish translator for 2 smaller groups whose English was limited. The 4 Communities, each with a Multilingual School Counselor, are:

“ELM Community: Newcomers in the Multilingual Learner Education Program

BEACON Community: Students with last names starting with A-F 

HIGHLAND Community: Students with last names starting with G-N

BROADWAY Community: Students with last names starting with O-Z”

The school counseling staff is dedicated to practicing preventative, proactive counseling which includes discussing academic and adolescent issues, pre-college planning, career exploration, and post high school planning. Communication is key; we encourage family members to call their student’s Community Team with questions.

My presentation to the 350 9^th graders was organized by Dave diPietro and ??? and my participation therein was arranged by Jeff Smith of Facing History and Ourselves.

Notes from Students

Several weeks after my talk at Somerville HS I received a large envelope with several dozen Thank You notes from students, and during the subsequent weeks I read these, excerpted statements that most resonated with me, and these excerpts are shown below.

• The Holocaust was born in a faulty democracy that allowed a dictator to come to power.
• Hearing about your experiences during the Holocaust reinforced within me the idea that Democracy is a vital part of society and must be protected at all costs
• You are so inspirational and so much of your story resonated and connected – especially about your mother.
• Thank you for your important message about the Golden Rule and being against all hate and prejudice.
• I loved your message about the Golden Rule, and holding an optimistic attitude.
• Learning about the Holocaust through personal experiences of people is necessary to truly understand the gravity of it. 
• The Holocaust has changed my view not only of what happened in Nazi Germany but also more generally of government and politics.
• I hope that with your story we can make the world a better place for future generations.
• I have a speech to present in 2 months and am very anxious to do so in front of 300 people.
• Your story shows me how little we can truly change as humanity.  Even today we still cannot stop killing each other.
• I keep thinking about those families who hid you, how it was very dangerous for them, but it helps us realize the value of standing up for others even when it’s dangerous or difficult.  It’s the only way progress can be made, after all.
• It seems like luck knows of your innocence and was willing to protect you from all the tremendous tragedy surrounding you.
• All my respect is in you and your story.  I felt compassion, but at the same time I felt devastated, I felt scared.
• I do know what it feels like to constantly move around and have that to be “the normal.”  I hope you are satisfied with where you are in life right now.
• I will especially remember the advice you gave us about not letting others discourage you.  It kind of applied tome and really helped me, so thank you.
• I thought that I knew a lot about the Holocaust, and I did in terms of history, but I feel more enlightened now about the personal experiences of the victims.