PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The School District of Philadelphia is taking steps to ensure that students can discuss the Middle East conflict in class without feeling threatened or unsafe.
The district does not tolerate antisemitism, nor does it tolerate Islamophobia, Superintendent Tony Watlington told the school board Thursday night. He outlined a series of measures to foster classroom environments where students can safely share points of view about the war in Gaza.
Watlington said the district has enlisted a social justice nonprofit to provide staff training at schools.
"We've partnered with Facing History and Ourselves to provide professional development and coaching on ways to respect differences for 10 identified schools that seem to be a bit at the epicenter of some of the more pronounced conflict," he said.
In recent months, the public portion of school board meetings has included allegations of teachers being antisemitic and Palestinian students saying they feel unsupported.
Watlington said Temple University will host student forums and Penn will hold monthly workshops with district and school leaders to discuss antisemitism and Islamophobia. The district will also meet regularly with community advocates.





