Newspaper and Magazine Articles

Here and below are some of the many print, website and blog articles published about the Newton curriculum. Media throughout the U.S. and in Israel have reported on the story. Unfortunately, due to the intransigence of school administrators as well as personal and professional relationships between local media and School Committee members, a local paper, the Newton Tab, published several articles with false and misleading claims about both the curriculum issue and identifiable people, including a fabricated, libelous accusation against an elderly Holocaust-era survivor and other residents concerned about biased and inaccurate school materials. Although Tab editor Emily Costello promised in writing several times over a period of months to publish a correction, she never did.

Newton administrators have repeatedly made inaccurate and misleading statements to both parents and the media. Superintendent David Fleishman claimed that 9th grade students "don't use textbooks" but instead study from primary sources - an impossibility for students studying the time period from prehistory to the 18th century. He also disparaged residents who spoke out about the material, claiming they consisted of a small group of 'confused' elders who 'needed reassurance' and denying that any parent had expressed concern despite the fact that videotapes show numerous parents expressing outrage about school material at School Committee meetings Fleishman attended. (Tapes of School Committee meetings are available on www.newtv.org; see especially meetings on October 24, 2011; November 14, 2011; April 9, 2012; April 23, 2012; May 14, 2012; June 11, 2012; November 15, 2012; and February 10, 2014).

The articles below include reports by the well-regarded Committee on Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, Jerusalem Post, Israel National News, Jewish News Service, and other widely known, reputable organizations and media outlets. These are only a small fraction of the numerous articles and reports published about the Newton Public Schools in the past few years.

Articles and reports regarding particular texts (Arab World Studies Notebook, World History-Human Legacy, etc.) are not included below. To review these, please go to the appropriate link (on the left) for the material in question.

Note: While the "upload date" does not necessarily correspond exactly with the date of the article, in general those items with later dates contain more recent articles.