DAVIES SOCIAL STUDENT TEACHER IS APPOINTED AND INSTALLED ON THE SANDRA BORNSTEIN HOLOCAUST EDUCATION CENTER BOARD AND WINS THE SILVERSTEIN AWARD

Lincoln, RI — At a ceremony on June 7, 2022, at the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center (SBHEC) of Rhode Island, Davies’ Social Studies department head, Kristin Cassarino, was appointed and installed as the newest member of the SBHEC Board of Directors. 

The mission of the Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center is to teach the history of the Holocaust in order to promote human dignity and justice and to serve as a memorial to its victims. SBHEC serves to bear witness to the Holocaust and to honor those who perished. They strive to reduce prejudice against all minorities by teaching about the experience of the Jews, and of the suffering of other people because of hate and bigotry. They seek to ensure that every human being in our world has the same measure of dignity.

Cassarino who holds an undergraduate and graduate degree in Modern European History with a focus in Jewish and Holocaust Studies and whose graduate thesis was on the rise of Hitler and the role of Jewish women in Germany during the Interwar period, said her appointment was a full-circle moment for her after her years of studying the holocaust and being moved by the stories of survivors she is able to bring the goals of SBHEC into her classroom to do the work that needs to be done to bring awareness and keep their legacy alive to prevent hate in all forms.

The keynote speaker and President of the Board of Directors, Daniel Gamm, spoke of the recent rise of hate and how the work of the SBHEC is important, because by being aware of what happened during the holocaust we can foster awareness and prevent hate. He emphasized the importance of collective memory and hearing the stories of survivors and the children of survivors. 

In addition to her new position on the Board of Directors, Cassarino was also one of two recipients of the Silverstein Educator Grant Award. The Silverstein Grant is awarded to qualified educators who include a Holocaust unit or project as part of their curriculum during the next academic calendar year. The award is to be used towards improving their personal Holocaust education or for developing their Holocaust unit or project. Cassarino hopes to provide a more expansive collection of Holocaust books with first-hand accounts that directly appeal to the cultural and linguistically diverse student population at Davies. An end-of-unit Holocaust creative art project will also help students connect themes of genocide and the role of the bystander/upstander with the larger concept of “bearing witness.”  Student art will then be displayed at Davies in a showcase to share stories of Holocaust survivors and upstanders with more students, teachers, administrators, and parents furthering the mission of awareness.