About UK-JHFE Holocaust Education Initiative

In 2018, the Kentucky state legislature passed the Ann Klein and Fred Gross Holocaust Education Act, which mandates Holocaust education in all middle and high schools. “The passage of this act speaks to the importance and necessity of Holocaust education, especially as anti-Semitism rises across the country and in Kentucky,” Janice Fernheimer said. “It is a daunting task for Kentucky teachers to create and implement the curriculum to satisfy this mandate, and this is where we at UK can help.”

In fall 2021, UK faculty in Jewish Studies and Education worked together with educators in Fayette County Public Schools to pilot a model to train masters in certification and middle school education students at UK. From that point, this initiative has worked with hundreds of K-12 teachers and education students. Over the course of spring 2023, UK-JHF Holocaust Education Initiative hosted thirteen workshops for Kentucky teachers for supporting their teaching of the Holocaust and relevant content.

The grant is guided by a steering committee of experts from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education and educators from across the state. UK’s Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning is also collaborating on the leadership of the initiative and the development of instructional materials. The initiative builds upon the university’s robust Jewish Studies program, which was first established as an interdisciplinary minor in 1996.

In recognition of their vision and leadership on this initiative, Drs. Janice Fernheimer and Karen Petrone have been named as co-recipients of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Hoffman-Rosenberg President’s Award. The honor is given annually to a volunteer or program that has represented long-term dedication to the Jewish community and to the goals of the Jewish Federation. The awardee is selected by the president of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass.

“Our goal in this project is for UK faculty to use their expert knowledge to empower Kentucky teachers,” Janice Fernheimer explained. “We will train teacher-leaders with extensive middle and high school classroom experience to train and empower their peers — creating networks of experts at the local level and a sustainable model for educational excellence.”

Jill Abney, Ph.D, Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, University of Kentucky

Renee Boss, Woodford County High School, Woodford Co. Schools

Trey Conatser, Ph.D, Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, University of Kentucky

Aaron Davis, K-12 Social Studies Instructional Specialist, Fayette Co. Schools

Janice Fernheimer, Ph.D, Department of Writing Rhetoric and Digital Studies, University of Kentucky

Lauren Hill, English/Language Arts, Leestown Middle School, Fayette Co. Schools

Sheila E. Jelen, Ph.D, Zantker Professor of Jewish Literature, Culture and History, Director of Jewish Studies Program, University of Kentucky

Karen Petrone, Ph.D, Department of History, University of Kentucky

Kelly Pratt-Booth, Highland High School, Fort Thomas Independent Schools

Jeremy Popkin, Department of History, University of Kentucky

Kathleen Swan, Ph.D, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Kentucky

Lane Springer, Calloway County High School, Calloway Co. Schools

Fred Whittaker, St. Francis of Assisi School, Archdiocese of Louisville