Antisemitic Graffiti Found in School Staff Room

Robert Sanders Elementary School in East San Jose told families on Wednesday, May 20, that staff had found antisemitic graffiti in a campus staff lounge after a weekend break-in, according to KTVU. Photos reviewed by the station showed a swastika, the phrase “Hail Hitler,” an image resembling Adolf Hitler and a communist hammer-and-sickle drawn on surfaces inside the room. School officials said no students saw the symbols firsthand, though some children later heard about the incident from teachers. The San Jose Police Department is investigating, and the Mount Pleasant Elementary School District told KTVU it was cooperating with police. ### What exactly was found inside the staff room? KTVU reported that the graffiti was discovered Monday morning inside the staff lounge at Robert Sanders Elementary, a campus at 3411 Rocky Mountain Drive in San Jose. The station said photos showed a mix of hateful and other symbols, including a swastika, an image appearing to depict Hitler and the phrase “Hail Hitler” written across a table. (ktvu.com) The station also reported that a communist hammer-and-sickle had been scrawled in the room. KTVU said the vandalism followed a break-in over the weekend. ### How did parents learn about it? Parents learned about the vandalism on Wednesday through an alert message from the school, KTVU reported. The station said the discovery left families deciding whether, and how, to discuss the symbols and language with their children. (ktvu.com) One anonymous parent told KTVU that children had reported hearing noises over the weekend and said, “We saw three or four teenagers dressed in black. (ktvu.com) They sounded like teenagers.” KTVU did not identify the parent by name. Daniel DeVargas, a father of daughters at Robert Sanders Elementary, told KTVU the topic was difficult to raise with young children. “That’s not something I’d like to lightly talk about,” he said. (ktvu.com) Another anonymous parent told the station that the incident was “really concerning” because children ask questions and can be influenced easily. ### Did any students see the graffiti? School officials told KTVU that no children saw the symbols firsthand. The station reported that some students heard about the incident from teachers after the vandalism was discovered. That detail has shaped the school’s response so far, with parents describing concern about whether to explain the incident at home while trying to limit children’s exposure to the images themselves, according to KTVU. (ktvu.com) ### Is police treating it as a hate crime? The Mount Pleasant Elementary School District told KTVU it was cooperating with the San Jose Police Department. (ktvu.com) KTVU reported that police had not yet determined whether the incident constituted a hate crime. The San Jose Police Department’s public press-release page did not show a separate release on the school vandalism as of May 21. (ktvu.com) KTVU’s report is the public account identifying the school, the symbols and the status of the investigation. ### What happens next at the school? Robert Sanders Elementary’s website lists an open house for May 30 and end-of-year events through June 11, including a school musical, a college parade and fifth-grade promotion. (ktvu.com) The school’s principal newsletter dated May 15 also asked families to contact the campus office about 2026-27 registration. The next public district meeting on the Mount Pleasant Elementary School District calendar is a board meeting on May 27 at August Boeger Middle School. (sjpd.org) Neither the school homepage nor the district calendar item viewed Thursday included a posted agenda reference to the vandalism case. (mpesd.org) (robertsanders.mpesd.org)