YONKERS - A longtime Yonkers Public Schools teacher is this year's recipient of the state Education Department's Yavner Award.

Mitchell Polay, a sixth-grader teacher at Paideia School 15, was presented with the award, which recognizes educators for their dedication to teaching about the Holocaust and other human rights violations, on Tuesday in Albany.

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“Mr. Polay understands the power that history can have on our future and has helped his students grasp this critical concept too,” state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said.

“His passion for human rights and appreciation for cultural diversity are evident in Mr. Polay’s teaching," said Yonkers Superintendent Edwin Quezada. "He wants his students to understand that we must never forget the tragic lessons learned from the Holocaust."

Polay, who has taught in Yonkers for 21 of 23 years in his career in education, developed a two-credit course taken by about 300 teachers on the history and lessons of the Holocaust for the Richard Gazzola Teacher Center of Yonkers. 

In addition, he has helped develop a Holocaust resource guide for Yonkers schools and worked to have students participate in the Holocaust Remembrance Program. His dedication to the subject also included traveling with other chosen teachers to Israel, Germany and Poland to study the Nazi Holocaust, as well as becoming a teacher fellow by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

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