Bringing Holocaust Education Directly to San Diego Students

This fall, a new kind of classroom is pulling onto school campuses across San Diego County.

Spark Interactive, an immersive mobile Holocaust education experience from Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute for Holocaust Education, is officially beginning its work with students. After months of preparation and a community launch that drew more than 400 people, the classroom on wheels is moving from concept to impact.

Despite California’s Holocaust education mandate, only one in four local school districts currently provides Holocaust education. At the same time, rising misinformation and hate have underscored the need for students to better understand the consequences of bias, indifference and the erosion of democratic norms.

Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute for Holocaust Education was created by Jewish Federation of San Diego to meet that challenge. Made possible by a multimillion-dollar lead gift from philanthropist Lee Goldberg and the Goldberg family, along with additional community support, the Institute makes Holocaust education a strategic priority for Federation and our region. Spark Interactive is its flagship initiative.

“It’s never been done in San Diego — this is a first,” Goldberg said. “As the firsthand voices of the Holocaust begin to fade, this work becomes more important than ever. We have a responsibility to ensure young people understand this history — not only so they remember it, but so they can recognize injustice and have the courage to stand up for what is right. My hope is that others will join us in this effort, and together, we can begin to change the course of what we are seeing in the world today.”

Combating antisemitism cannot happen only within Jewish spaces, so rather than asking students to come to a museum or special program, Spark brings the experience directly to them. Inside the mobile classroom, interactive digital exhibits, guided discussions and curriculum help students engage with the lessons of the Holocaust while exploring bias, propaganda, indifference and civic responsibility while building the understanding needed to recognize antisemitism and challenge Holocaust denial and distortion.

“Spark Interactive is designed to spark curiosity, critical thinking, compassion and understanding,” said Darren Schwartz, founding director of Legacy of Light Goldberg Institute for Holocaust Education. “We’re not telling students what to think. We’re helping them learn how to think. By engaging with this history, students are encouraged to ask questions, evaluate information, and make connections between the past and the world they’re living in today. It’s about helping them recognize the consequences of indifference and inaction — and understand the role they can play in shaping a more just and informed society.”

Spark’s first school year is already largely booked. The mobile classroom is scheduled for multi-day residencies at campuses in San Diego Unified and Sweetwater Union High School District, with San Dieguito Union High School District, Poway Unified and Carlsbad Unified also among initial partners. Together, those districts represent more than half of San Diego County’s middle and high school students.

And that reach is only expected to grow.

Schools and community partners interested in bringing Spark Interactive to their spaces can learn more and request to host the experience at legacyoflightsd.org.