GCHS Social Studies teacher Adam Spinks has been selected through a highly competitive process, to join a group of 20 educators statewide in a new University of Kentucky program on the Holocaust.
Selected teachers will work with UK Faculty in Jewish Studies, the College of Education, and other content experts during the summer and the 2022-23 academic year to deepen understanding of the Holocaust and related genocide studies, work together to design school and district-specific lessons, plan and create Holocaust education workshops for up to 250 teachers across Kentucky, become content leaders in schools and districts
Instructional materials created by Kentucky teachers through the UK Holocaust Initiative will be professionally peer-reviewed and then shared freely on the Initiative’s website.
The initiative is led by the Interdisciplinary Program in Jewish Studies in the UK College of Arts and Sciences and features a collaboration with educators from across the Commonwealth to enhance K-12 Holocaust education and provide professional learning and teaching tools necessary to meet the requirements of the 2018 Ann Klein and Fred Gross Holocaust Education Act.
Funded by a grant from the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence (JHFE), the UK Holocaust Education Initiative will create a network of teachers across the Commonwealth who feel confident and capable of including Holocaust curricula in their classrooms. The initiative will create opportunities for interdisciplinary content sharing, pedagogical training, and collaborative planning.