Thought Leadership on Hebrew Education and More

KALEIDOSCOPE: THE PRIZMAH MONTHLY

In This Issue

Thought Leadership on Hebrew Education
Upcoming Programming
Jewish Day School Perspectives and News
Request for Proposals: Survey Research - Deadline tomorrow

Thought Leadership on Hebrew Education

Introduction

by Rachel Levitt Klein Dratch

Chanukkah is about brave audacity, or holy chutzpah. We could have simply lit the Menorah in the Temple with whatever oil we found; according to Jewish law, in times of crisis we are allowed to use contaminated oil. But no, not us. We searched for the best: we wanted

to start again with the highest level, with the best possible option. So we dared to dream that we could possibly find oil that was not contaminated. Read more.

Hebrew Language Learning Now: Challenges, Covid Keepers and Increased Connectedness

by Rabbi Andrew Ergas

By far the biggest challenge is the shrinking number of available Hebrew teachers, not to mention qualified Hebrew teachers and leaders. While many teachers from a range of fields left teaching or

just relocated away from their schools, the field of Hebrew teachers relies heavily on Israeli-Americans or short-term shlichim. Travel restrictions and visa issues significantly reduced the number of shlichim coming to North America. Read more.

Hebrew Differentiation for a Changed Classroom During Covid

by Rene Isser

Covid has brought many opportunities and challenges to Jewish day schools. We were able to stay open, for the most part, during Covid, and this has led to a new influx of students. The problem for the

Hebrew departments in many schools during Covid has been learning how to adapt and adjust to the large addition of so many new students, a challenge Hebrew teachers could not have predicted. Read more.

Current Trends in Digital Hebrew Educational Resources

by Anat Goodman and Carina Rock

Since Covid-19, schools have been shifting from face-to-face learning to hyflex models as well as technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Teachers are facing rapid change in

their teaching methods and are often struggling to cope with increasing demands on their time. When it comes to Hebrew instruction, one of the major challenges is the lack of engaging, ready-to-use online Hebrew language resources and tools to cope with limited Hebrew hours in synchronous instruction. Read more.

Let’s Rebuild the Pipeline Together

by Aaron Lippman

Recruiting and retaining high-quality Hebrew teachers has become a significant challenge for many day schools across the country. Creating a classroom environment that allows students to feel safely vulnerable is an essential component of strong teaching. If we want

the current and future generations to value modern Hebrew, we must create a sustainable pipeline of educators who love the language, love children and can foster learning environments that support speaking and listening along with reading and writing. Read more.

Investing in Hebrew: Funders’ Perspective

by Arnee R. Winshall

With a background in developmental psycholinguistics and as a Jewish day school parent, I have spent the last 40 years preoccupied with the state of Hebrew teaching and learning, especially in day schools, throughout North America and beyond. Over the past few

weeks, I have had the pleasure to discuss their commitment to Hebrew with various funders of Jewish education, all of whom have held leadership roles at Jewish day schools. Our conversations focused on two questions: Why do we believe it is so important to invest in Hebrew? How should we leverage our investment in Hebrew? Read more.

Upcoming Programming

Ask Me Anything: Grandparent Engagement

Join us for an opportunity for field leaders to share their areas of expertise, well-tested ideas and approaches on the topics of grandparent engagement. Register here.

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET // 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PT

Calling all YOU Lead Alumni!

YOU Lead Alumni Deep Dive: Navigating Competing Agendas

Exclusive leadership seminar with veteran educator and coach Pearl Mattenson. Register here.

Wednesdays, January 5th, February 2nd, March 2nd, 2022
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM ET // 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM PT

Mental Health Summit

Engage in high level learning, collaboration and growth in the area of mental health in Jewish day schools. With teammates from your school and colleagues from across North America, explore best practices in mental health, practice what these theories look like when applied in schools, and develop methods and approaches for bringing these systems and supports back to your school. Learn more.

The Mental Health Summit is sponsored by the Ruderman Family Foundation.

Prizmah Meetups

Connect with day school peers on a regular basis to share ideas and brainstorm solutions with colleagues from across the field.

Save the Date

Jewish Day School Perspectives and News

Share your day school news with us at [email protected] for a chance to be featured in our next newsletter!

Request for Proposals: Survey Research - Deadline tomorrow

Are you interested in learning about practices of other Jewish day schools or in conducting a survey to a constituent in your community such as parents or staff? This is your opportunity to have your pressing questions about Jewish day schools answered. Thanks to the generosity of the Nachshon Project Graduate Student Fellowship, Prizmah is now accepting proposals to conduct—fully funded—focused research for the field of Jewish day schools and yeshivas. A team of graduate student fellows will develop, field, analyze and submit a report to school and/or field leaders on issues that are important to you. Deadline to submit proposals is TOMORROW 12/3. Learn more.

Explore resources, templates, and videos curated and created for Jewish day school professional and lay leaders in Prizmah’s Knowledge Center. For questions or feedback contact Odelia Epstein at [email protected].

Our mailing address is:

Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools
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Phone: 646-975-2800

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