HHREC to Honor New Rochelle School District Teacher with Susan J. Goldberg Memorial Teacher Award at Iona University Event

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) will honor Francisco Sandoval, Social Studies teacher at New Rochelle High School, as the recipient of the 21st annual Susan J. Goldberg Memorial Teacher Award, to be presented at the annual William H. Donat Shoah Commemoration Event at Iona University on Tuesday, April 25th. The event will commence at 7:30pm with a talk and presentation by distinguished lecturer Dr. Deborah Dwork, Founding Director, Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity, Ralph Bunche Institute for International studies at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Susan Goldberg was a dedicated English teacher at Westlake Middle School in Thornwood and a charter member of the Educators Planning Committee of the HHREC. She was also a Museum Fellow at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and received the New York State Education Department Louis B. Yavner Award as Outstanding Holocaust and Human Rights Educator. As a living testimony to her passion to eradicate hatred and bigotry through education and her personal courage to rise above adversity this award was established in 2003 in loving memory to be presented annually to an educator in our area who has made distinguished contributions to their school and community on teaching about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights.

 Francisco will be recognized for his dedication to human rights education and for his determination to bring the lessons of the Holocaust and other human rights violations to his students.  A graduate of New Rochelle High School and Manhattanville College, he taught at Portchester Middle School before returning to his alma mater to teach both Global and American history.  At New Rochelle High School, he made distinguished contributions to his students and their families as a social studies teacher and advisor to several student organizations.  In 2020, he was instrumental in the creation of a poster exhibition that highlights the history and significant role of Latino Immigrants in the city of New Rochelle.

According to his chairman, Gustavo Barbosa, “In the classroom, Mr. Sandoval is a passionate teacher who clearly understands the need and value of teaching his students about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights.  He is a great success story and a positive role model.  We hope that many of our students are inspired to emulate his work ethic and passion for social justice.”  In 2018, Francisco participated in the HHREC Educators’ Trip to Germany and Poland. He has since joined the HHREC Educators’ Program Committee and has been instrumental in the development of new programs which further the study of the Holocaust and human rights education. 

This summer Francisco will join other teachers from around the nation in a summer program in Rwanda run by Carl Wilkens, the last American to remain there during the 1994 genocide and  director of the World Outside My Shoes Foundation, a nonprofit educational and professional organization committed to inspiring and equipping people to enter the world of “the other,” which Wilkens indicates may be under our own roof or on the other side of the globe.

“Francisco’s willingness to continue his education reflects his desire to provide his students with new insights and comprehension of the difficult subject of the Holocaust and its lessons” said Steve Goldberg, HHREC Director of Education. 

This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit the HHREC events page at   hhrecny.org.