Kalama School District teacher Michael Ready was one of just 28 educators from across the country invited by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) to participate in a summer institute fellowship about Holocaust Education.
According to JFR, the Alfred Lerner Summer Institute for Holocaust Educators aims to connect English and social studies teachers with noted Holocaust scholars to develop Holocaust history curriculum.
“There are three main goals of the JFR’s Summer Institute, which include: providing teachers with a graduate-level course on the Holocaust; pedagogical connections with other teachers and their curriculum so they learn what has worked and what has not; and to give them additional resources for the classroom,” said JFR Executive Vice President Stanlee Stahl in a press release.
Ready was nominated for the fellowship through Educators for Change, a group of 50 educators selected by the Holocaust Center for Humanity in Seattle who have committed to taking an active role in Holocaust education across Washington state.
“It was both an honor and privilege to be able to work with so many scholars and teachers from all over in perfecting our Holocaust education,” said Ready, who teaches English, Drama and Theater Tech at Kalama High School and Kalama Middle School.
Ready has worked with Seattle’s Holocaust Center since 2017. He became a Powell Fellow with the Center in 2019, and will now serve as Lead Coordinator for its Southwest Washington Student Leadership Board, which will be based in Kalama. He has a Master’s Degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and is currently pursing his Ph.D.