22 | MAY 30 • 2024 
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f you walk into Lawton 
Elementary School in Ann 
Arbor, you will find two 
large glass displays showcas-
ing influential Jewish figures, 
Judaica such as shofars and 
a Torah plushie, and the 
American and Israeli flags. 
The displays represent a 
grassroots effort by three 
Jewish families in the school. 
One of the display’s design-
ers, with two children in 
the school, said she wanted 
the cases to mirror her own 
feelings about being Jewish: 
“Bursting with pride.” (She 
requested to remain anony-
mous.) 
Jewish families across 
Washtenaw County public 
schools have taken similar 
initiatives to recognize Jewish 
American Heritage Month in 
their children’s schools, as they 
find few school-sponsored 

events. In the absence of such 
events, Jewish families reached 
out to their children’s teachers, 
read books on Jewish themes, 
presented in classrooms and 
erected displays. 
Hagit Barry-Naab read the 
book Pizza Mitzvah in her 
daughter’s first-grade class 
at Thurston Elementary, and 

Jenny Kirsch Van Beck, who 
has a first-grader at Bryant 
Elementary, presented on 
mitzvot, or good deeds. She 
brought in a big poster titled: 
Everyday Mitzvahs! and read 
a book called Can Sophie 
Change the World?
 According to AAPS 
Interim Superintendent Jazz 

Parks, “Jewish Americans are 
highlighted in lessons and 
reading selections with our 
students across classrooms 
in AAPS school and digital 
libraries. In the arts, students 
explore, study and perform 
the works of great Jewish 
American artists, lyricists, 
dancers, composers and many 
other extraordinary individ-
uals who have had a positive 
impact on our society.” 
Parks recognized Jewish 
American Heritage month in a 
May 3 update via the district’s 
website and in a May 8 update 
to the Board of Education, 
However, this announce-
ment did not list any specific 
events or provide resources 
for schools — information 
that was provided for many 
other heritage months, such as 
Black History Month, National 
Asian, Pacific Islander & South 

Jewish American heritage celebrated by families in Washtenaw schools.
Grassroots Efforts Fill the Gap

LAURA PASEK SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

OUR COMMUNITY

Digital Choice Board in Saline Area Schools 4th and 5th grades. 

A bulletin board at Heritage 
School in Saline features 
famous Jewish Americans.

