Samantha Liebman

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Oct 11, 2023, 6:22 PM

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Updated

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Parents throughout New Jersey are getting letters from school districts with resources for them to help speak to their children about the Israel-Hamas war.

It comes as images of the atrocities in Israel and now the bombings in Gaza continue to blanket the news and social media. Metuchen Schools Superintendent Dr. Vincent Caputo says they can’t ignore it.

“Our job is not to parse those political decisions out, but to know that our community depends on the schools to be there to provide information about COVID, vaccines, masking, or about awful, awful tragic events like we saw this weekend," says Caputo.

He says it’s not about taking sides but rather helping students understand and cope.

“What we’re trying to do is provide resources for our parents. They can talk to their kids about war, about violence, about the Middle East,” Caputo says. “And also provide some support where we can for the community. We know a lot of people are hurting right now.”

Warnings have gone out to parents from schools in Israel and in the U.S. to take social media apps off their children’s phones for fear they may be exposed to graphic images from Hamas.

“We’ve talked a lot about that with our colleagues because right I think now they’re using TikTok accounts of hostages and just an awful, awful scenario right now. It’s definitely risky,” he says. ”We’ll make parents aware of the dangers out there. And we trust our parents to make the best decisions for our children.”

Parents like Doug Dickman, who has an eighth grader, appreciate what the district is doing.

“I think it’s something that has to be done at this point. Kids have to take guidance from their parents, and you know, be addressed what’s going on and rather than stumble upon it themselves, they should have some background,” Dickman says.

More information about the effort can be found on the Metuchen School District website.