NEW JERSEY REGIONAL CHAPTER

About Us

HRE USA’s New Jersey chapter coordinates human rights education activities and communicates with members and organizational partners in our area.

Our work includes providing HRE professional development opportunities for teachers, creating opportunities for our local members to network and share best practices in HRE, and local advocacy on integrating human rights education into New Jersey state policy and standards. We meet periodically throughout the year.

To get involved in, or seek support from, the New Jersey HRE USA chapter, please contact John Terry.

Our Work

Integrating HRE in Curriculum & Lesson Planning

The New Jersey chapter of HRE USA has played an integral role in developing the HRE Curriculum Integration Guide, which is intended to give educators tailor-made tools for integrating human rights education in their classrooms.

HRE Curriculum Integration Guide

The Human Rights Education Curriculum Integration Guide provides model lessons to help social studies and other educators implement human rights education in their daily practice.

This project was developed by a team of New Jersey educators and is tied specifically to their state’s social studies standards. However, the guide can be used as a model for any educator seeking to integrate human rights into their curriculum.

Each lesson is tied to Common Core curriculum standards and contains suggested modifications for ESL populations and classified students, as well as suggestions regarding how each lesson supports literacy development.

Learn More

Workshops & Professional Development

Members working with the New Jersey chapter have also delivered workshops for educators at the national and state levels, including:

“The United Nations & The Human Rights Game” National Council for Social Studies (virtual conference), December 6, 2020.
“Human Rights Education for All – A Social Studies Imperative.” NJ Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference @ Rutgers University, October 22, 2018.
“Protecting Human Rights in the 21st Century: Challenges & Opportunities.” East Brunswick Public Library, East Brunswick NJ, January 23, 2018.
“Studying African-American History Using a Human Rights Perspective.” NJ Councils for the Social Studies Annual Conference @ Rutgers University, October 23, 2017.
“Becoming Good Neighbors: Human Rights Awareness and Global Civic Education” Human Rights Education Community Scholar Session. National Council for Social Studies Annual Conference @ Walter E. Washington Convention Center, December 3, 2016.

“Integrating Human Rights: One Curriculum at a Time” New Jersey Council for Social Studies Annual Conference @ Rutgers University, October 25, 2016.
“Placing Human Rights at the Center of the Curriculum: A Collaborative School-University NGO Project.“ Teaching the World Forum @ Rutgers University, April 15, 2016.
“Becoming a Human Rights Educator: Origins, Influences and Commitments.” Teaching the World Forum @ Rutgers University, April 15, 2016.
“Human Rights and the Social Studies: Perfect Together.” 95th Annual Conference of the National Council for the Social Studies @ New Orleans Convention Center, November 13-15, 2015.
“The Power of Personal Narratives in Teaching about Human Rights & Genocides” @ Rutgers University, Newark Campus, Center for the Study of Genocide & Human Rights, October 21, 2015.

Members working with the New Jersey chapter have also provided in-service professional development for teachers in the following school districts in NJ:

Dover Public Schools
Emerson Public Schools
Maple Shade School District

Reviews

Here is what teachers who have attended our workshops have shared with us in follow-up surveys:

“Very eye opening. I cannot wait to start off my school year with a strong introduction into human rights and weave through my entire curriculum. Thank you!”

~ Teacher, Emerson Public Schools

“The workshop was excellent. The activities and content were engaging. Many teachers commented that the two hours progressed quickly!”

~ Administrator, Dover Public Schools

95% of participants agreed that the workshop “increased my awareness of concepts and content about human rights and human rights education.”
90% of participants agreed that the materials provided helped them “integrate human rights education into their teaching and provided opportunities for more in-depth learning on the subject.”
81% of participants agreed that the workshops engaged them in “meaningful and useful learning activities.”
81% of participants agreed that the workshop provided “useful strategies for integrating human rights concepts and themes into their daily teaching.”