Educators Attend International Summer Academy

The local delegation included Marla Topiol, inSIGHT's Manager of Education and Outreach, along with two schoolteachers.

(Press Release) PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — inSIGHT Through Education proudly supported three Palm Beach County educators who attended the 2025 Centropa Summer Academy, held July 9–16 in Budapest, Hungary, and Belgrade, Serbia. 
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This international professional development program convened 62 teachers from 16 countries to study 20th-century European history, the Holocaust, and Jewish memory. For more than a decade, inSIGHT has partnered with Centropa, funding over 20 local educators. 

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The program equips teachers with resources and firsthand experiences that bring Holocaust education and Jewish history vividly to life for students. 

"This program is vital today as we work to ensure that the history of the Jewish people is understood, remembered, and honored," said Kelly Warsaw, Board President of inSIGHT Through Education. "Centropa is uniquely suited to this task, using personal stories, survivor testimony, and archival materials to engage educators in ways that directly impact their students here at home." 

The Centropa Summer Academy combines lectures, films, site visits, and collaborative lesson-planning. Participants explored Jewish life and Holocaust history across Central and Eastern Europe while building connections with colleagues worldwide. 

Educators visited the Great Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest and they met Holocaust survivors and in Belgrade, the group retraced the history of a local Jewish family on a walking tour and visited the Staro Sajmište concentration camp memorial. 

All three were fully funded by inSIGHT. "I had a meaningful experience learning alongside educators from across the U.S., Europe, and Israel," said Topiol. "It was deeply insightful to see how teachers around the world are engaging with Centropa resources to teach about European Jews and the Holocaust. I had the opportunity to explore lesson plans shared by educators from around the world on teaching the Holocaust and European Jewish life. This will help me better support our local teachers." 

By investing in opportunities like the Centropa Summer Academy, inSIGHT ensures that every student, every year, benefits from educators equipped to inspire remembrance, resilience, and respect.