During its meeting on Tuesday, November 14, the Livingston Board of Education finalized its budget goals for the school year and heard a presentation about a project being started at Mt. Pleasant Middle School.Israel-Hamas WarSuperintendent of schools Matthew Block started the meeting by speaking about the Israel-Hamas war, andhow the district is educating students on the matter.Block said that educators were receiving strongly-worded conversations from community members, demanding that they discuss the war more, or differently, or they not discuss the subject at all.“Our teachers are not only contemplating and responding to the requests and feedback they receive, but they are also tuned into our Board meetings and other public forums where they can witness feedback for a selection of resources, as well as professional choices they’ve made around these events,” he said. “All of this makes it harder as a district for us to find a common path that will inspire safe, critical discourse for students andprovide a feeling of support and security for our teachers. We will maintain our core value, that hate has no place in LPS. We are moving forward with all kinds of programs directly related to current events, in particular, the Israel-Hamas war, and the Ukrainian war.”He also stated that the schools are implementing morning meetings with students to share their thoughts. Block said that students in the elementary grade level talk regularly about equity, while the high school students are learning the importance of media literacy and how to identify misinformation and disinformation. The middle school students are learning about how past injustices affect the present, by readingNightby Elie Wiesel, and learning about current events.“These discussions will certainly continue and it is likely that current issues will remain a part of our instruction in our classes and community advisory programs going forward,” Block said.Later in the meeting, Board mem-ber Jenissa Arnette read a prepared statement that she had written after hearing concerns from people in the community about the Israel-Hamas war.“I have been thinking deeply about the children and families in our community, who are directly impacted by the Israel and Hamas war,” she said. “I have heard concerns from parents who are terrified about the safety and security of their children. I have heard families express numerous cases of death and brutality and fears that their loved ones are facing, both in Palestine and Israel.“I have heard that children do not feel ...
