Tools and Strategies

Back to School Resources

High school students walking between class
Back to School is a busy time for educators and families alike. While a time of excitement, back to school can also be challenging as both educators and families navigate new environments, cultures and experiences. Below, explore resources for both educators and families to support creating classrooms where all students can thrive.

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ADL's closed-source AI tool helps classroom teachers, curriculum coordinators and school leaders develop personalized lesson plans and guidance on antisemitism, Jewish identity and the Holocaust, all drawn exclusively from ADL Education's trusted resources. Since the assistant doesn't access the internet, you can trust that every response is secure and vetted.


 

Resources for Schools and Educators

Students and teacher in classroom doing Awareness to Action

Address Antisemitism: Digital Kit

Teaching about antisemitism is not only about understanding the past, but also about shaping a more compassionate and just future.

Teacher speaking to students in a classroom

Where to Begin: Echoes & Reflections

Teaching about the Holocaust can be challenging but it is a critical piece of history for students to explore. Explore these resources to help you plan your instruction on this complex topic. Through a sound study of the Holocaust, students gain an understanding of the dangers and consequences of unchecked antisemitism and hate.

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Names Matter: Fostering Respect, Understanding and Belonging in Schools

When the school year begins, reviewing the class list is usually at the top of the to-do list for elementary classrooms. Teachers often take time to learn each child’s full name and spend time in the early days of school helping children get to know each other and their names.

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No Place for Hate®

A student-led school climate improvement program that fits your school's unique culture and needs.

Calendar-Multicultural

Calendar of Observances

To enhance mutual understanding among groups and promote inclusive communities, ADL offers this resource as a tool to increase awareness of and respect for religious obligations and ethnic and cultural festivities that may affect students, colleagues and neighbors in your community.

Two children looking at the flames of two candles on a menorah

5 Things to Know About the Jewish High Holidays

Learn about and explore the Jewish High Holidays; What are they and when do they occur? Why are they important and how are they celebrated?

high school students working together on a project

Mini-Lesson: Understanding the Pyramid of Hate*

The Pyramid of Hate is a powerful framework for understanding how bias escalates—from biased attitudes and stereotypes to discrimination, violence, and even genocide. Through the lens of antisemitism, this mini-lesson helps middle and high school students and educators explore how prejudice grows and intensifies over time, and provides practical strategies to interrupt hate at every level.

*For Educators and Students

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Supporting Jewish Students After Incidents

Antisemitism remains at historically severe levels in the United States and abroad, with ADL's 2025 Audit showing incidents as the third-highest since tracking began in 1979, despite a 33% decrease from 2024's record high. As high-profile attacks continue to make headlines, this resource helps parents and educators guide young people through age-appropriate conversations about antisemitism, current events and building communities that stand up to hate.


 

Female and Male Students Holding Cellphones Debating

6 Ways to Be an Ally

Here are some simple things students can do to be an ally to targets of name-calling and bullying. And remember—always encourage students think about their safety first when deciding the best way to respond.

Professional Learning for Educators

Teacher working on laptop outside at a coffee shop

Teaching with AI: Antisemitism, Jewish Identity and the Holocaust

AI Is Already in Your Classroom — Are You Ready? Course opens September 14th

Whether you invited it or not, AI has arrived. Your students are using it every day — and misinformation about Jewish identity, history, antisemitism and the Holocaust is spreading right along with it. This fall, ADL invites you to invest just a few hours to get ahead of it. This is a self-paced, asynchronous course designed specifically for K–12 educators and administrators.

Breaking Down Antisemitism Online Course

Online Course: Breaking Down Antisemitism

Guiding Students from Awareness to Action - Starts October 14th!

Get equipped to tackle hate head-on, building a dynamic culture of awareness, respect and meaningful action against antisemitism for students. Through this facilitator-guided learning experience, you'll craft an action plan to implement Awareness to Action: Challenging Antisemitism digital course for students.

Educator participants in an ADL Bearing Witness training

Mini-Lesson: Antisemitism

This mini-lesson is 20 minutes long and can be done at your own pace. It will support K-12 educators, school and district leaders, and student support staff in beginning or continuing their learning journey on antisemitism. Adults will emerge from this experience with increased confidence to recognize, discuss and learn more about antisemitism. 

Teacher working at his desk in a classroom

Online Courses from Echoes & Reflections

Echoes & Reflections online learning courses build knowledge, skills, and instructional practice. Courses are asynchronous, with built-in opportunities for discussion and guidance with an expert facilitator, as well as other educator participants—at no cost. Upon completion, participants receive a digital package of all resources explored in the course, as well as a certificate of completion.
 

Resources for Parents, Caregivers and Families

Yellow School Lockers

Decode & Disrupt: A Toolkit to Recognize and Combat Problematic Messages

This toolkit offers parents and caregivers guidance for partnering with schools to ensure current events are taught with balanced viewpoints, credible sources, and a focus on student wellbeing.

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Safe, Seen, Included: A Family Toolkit for Jewish Students

This toolkit shares guidance, tools and resources to help parents, caregivers and families of Jewish students introduce themselves and their children to school leadership in a proactive, positive and approachable way.

High School Delegation

How to Advocate for Your Students at their K-12 School

This resource is for parents, caregivers and community members who want to counter antisemitism in their schools or districts but aren’t sure where to start, or how to be most effective.

classroom with desks

Together Against Hate: Advocacy Strategies for Families to Address Antisemitism

Online guides for parents and caregivers to learn strategies to advocate against antisemitism in K-12 schools.

A mother and her daughter talking to a teacher

Championing Change: How Parents and Families Can Address Antisemitism in Schools

This resource provides information about common antisemitic incidents and behaviors that take place in K-12 schools, and it addresses how families can support their children and help make their school more inclusive for Jewish and all students.

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Table Talk: Family Conversations About Current Events

Families often want to discuss news stories and other timely societal events. Research shows that dinnertime conversation benefits the health, emotional and academic outcomes for children of all ages. Each Table Talk guide includes a topic summary, questions to start the conversation and dig deeper, ideas to take action and additional resources.

Loving mother embracing son at home

Conversations that Matter: Understanding and Discussing Antisemitism with Young

Acknowledging that K-12 schools need to do more to educate all students about and address antisemitism, this resource is intended to help parents, families and other trusted adults in young people’s lives. 

Teacher talking to High School Student in Classroom

Israel in the Curriculum

Increasingly, there has been a rise in incidents of biased behaviors and instructional materials when learning about Israel in the classroom. Acting as an ally alongside young people can ensure that classroom learning experiences account for biases that make students unsafe.