Antisemitic videos created and shared by a student at Colonial Middle School in Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Township) prompted Principal Shawn Kaplan to send an email to the school’s families on May 20th regarding the incident. In the email, Kaplan stated that the school began an investigation into the videos on the morning of May 20th after students notified the administration.

This incident follows a March incident at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School involving graffiti, including a swastika, found in a bathroom stall.

According to Kaplan, the videos were not filmed at the school; however, they “created an unacceptable disruption to our regular school day and the sense of belonging that we work to provide to all students in our community as a No Place For Hate school.”

Kaplan went on to say that the administration will be responding with “significant school discipline” and that the school is cooperating with the Plymouth Township Police Department.

The name of the student and the content of the videos were not disclosed.

You can find the full email sent by Kaplan below:

Dear CMS Families,

In the interest of school safety and transparency, I would like to notify you about an incident that we were made aware of this morning involving the recording and sharing of videos depicting antisemitic acts.

These videos were made by a student outside of school and shared with other students. Upon receiving the videos, some of our students took the important and courageous step of notifying us and we began an immediate investigation. Even though the videos were not recorded at school or on school property, the circulation of the content among the student body has created an unacceptable disruption to our regular school day and the sense of belonging that we work to provide to all students in our community as a No Place For Hate school.

To be very clear – hate speech of any kind is abhorred at CMS and in CSD. These acts will not be tolerated. We will be responding to this incident with significant school discipline, and by cooperating with Plymouth Police Department.

We commend the students who were brave enough to come forward, and would like to stress the valuable role that families can play in helping students to make good decisions online. We have sent many reminders to you about the importance of supervising what your students watch online, who they follow, what they record, and what content they share with others. It is critical to continue this effort to help prevent the spread of hate, the glorification of poor decisions, and the normalization of student interaction with incendiary online content.

Please know that tolerance, acceptance, and belonging are embedded into many areas of our educational program. This includes a strong emphasis on digital citizenship, which we review and reinforce frequently with students throughout the school year. 

If your child has been affected by this incident or would like someone to talk to, our school counselors and administrative team are here to support them. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us with questions or concerns.