From the Director of the NYSOE, Jo Kay
As this academic year comes to a close, there is much to look back upon with pride and much to be excited about for the future. The school's curriculum is continuing to evolve and strengthen. The education faculty, both full- and part-time, is more directly involved in planning for the future as well as in mentoring and advising students. Our students have continued to demonstrate strong academic and professional skill and deep connections to our school community.
Accomplishments and Changes in the Program during the Past Year
For the first time this year, all full-time New York education students who completed the Year-in-Israel program were required to give a D'var Torah during services. This new requirement provides our education students with an opportunity to teach Torah and share some of their studies in education with the entire HUC-JIR community. A protocol for supporting students through this process was created. Students delivered their D'vrei Torah on Mondays during the regular service time slot. Also for the first time this year, all graduating students were assigned to work in pairs with their rabbinical and cantorial peers in leading services. This year's model, where education students led services three Tuesdays in a row, did not allow for the consistency achieved when students lead services for the entire week; therefore, we will review how to change it for the fall. Nevertheless, we are pleased that education students are now leading services.
Also for the first time, students this year could choose between writing a thesis with an educational unit or creating a curriculum capstone project, i.e., a year-long curriculum. A Curriculum Intensive was offered early in the fall semester for all students choosing to fulfill the capstone option, and the curriculum course that we traditionally offer in the spring will now be given in the fall.
As for new courses, this spring we added a course entitled "Staff Development and Professional Learning." It will be a required course for all graduating education students. Next spring, Rabbi Jan Katzew will teach a new course, "The Philosophy of Jewish Education," bringing together material formerly taught in several education courses.
Once again, at the end of the fall semester, Dr. Lisa Grant took ten NYSOE students to Israel for an intensive educational seminar. The two-week program began in Haifa at the Lokey Educational Center. Then students went to Kibbutz Lotan in the Negev where they studied environmentalism. The program concluded in Jerusalem where students studied with HUC-JIR faculty. Students returned feeling committed to their work as Reform Jewish educators and secure in their personal stance regarding Israel and the US. This special project is made possible by a grant from the Lambert Family Foundation.
This spring, more than twenty MARE students participated in a Yom Iyyun entitled "Working with Adults and Children with Special Needs." Rabbi Edie Mencher, Associate Director of the Department of Jewish Family Concerns of the URJ, taught the session. The session focused on faculty, parent, and student attitudes towards people with special needs. By discussing Jewish texts, challenges, areas of success, working in many different settings, using case studies, and sharing transferable models, students began to develop the sensitivity and the skill they need to address this issue in our schools. Students received many resources to use in their work.
Rabbi Mencher invited Felice Miller Baritz, Religious School Principal from Congregation Kol Ami in White Plains, and Karen Millman, the Program Coordinator for Yad B' Yad, to be guest speakers during the Yom Iyyun seminar. Yad B' Yad (Hand in Hand) is Kol Ami's synagogue-based initiative for teens with developmental challenges. Students learned how one congregation is integrating its teens with special needs and their parents into the school and synagogue communities.
The seminar pointed to the serious need for additional coursework in this area. As a result, the MARE program will offer a course dealing with these issues in the fall entitled, "The Forgotten Family." Rabbi Richard Address, Director of the Department of Jewish Family Concerns at URJ, will teach the course.
In an attempt to achieve greater cooperation, coordination, and alignment between the NY and LA Schools of Education, this past year we were successful in bringing students from both campuses together for learning. Faculty from NY and LA teaching similar courses also assigned joint assignments to their students. Both schools shared course syllabi and closely aligned the coursework for each program. For the coming year we are planning cross-campus courses with LA and Cincinnati using the new e-classrooms. For the fall, "The History of Jewish Education," a course taught by Dr. Jonathan Krasner, is tentatively scheduled between Cincinnati and NY. In the spring we plan to offer an elective course, "Why Teach Israel?," between LA and NY. This course will be taught by Drs. Grant and Krasner. We are working closely with LA on a new view-book for all the education programs at the College-Institute, which will be used as a recruitment tool for both programs. The Jerusalem and Cincinnati campuses have also been part of these discussions.
We have begun preliminary discussions about the feasibility of enabling NY and LA education students to earn a Masters Degree in Jewish Studies while completing their degree in Jewish Education. This would be possible only for those students who have completed both the Year-in-Israel program and two separate capstone projects, one for each degree.
Finally, the NY and LA Schools of Education have begun to discuss the creation of a Certificate in Jewish Educational Leadership, a project that is building upon what each campus has learned from the Experiment in Congregational Education (ECE) in LA and the Leadership Institute in NY. We are considering many modes of delivery to make completion of the Certificate possible for educators across the country.
Other News
The Leadership Institute for Congregational School Educators, a joint project of HUC-JIR's NYSOE and the Jewish Theological Seminary's William Davidson School of Education, graduated its first cohort of 40 principals last May. Due to the success of the project, a second two million dollar proposal has been funded by UJA Federation of NY. A new cohort of 40 principals and 10 mentors began this past February. The new project builds on the original project and includes some new points as well: (1) integration of the first and second cohorts, (2) greater involvement of lay and clergy leadership, (3) a greater connection between the 360-degree assessment and (4) the participants' ILP's (Individual Learning Plans), to name a few. The new project also extends the learning from two years to two-and-a-half years and will conclude in June of 2010. The project is open primarily to those principals who work in the greater NY area (Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties).
The NYSOE Alumni Association held a very successful "Brunch and Learn" in January. Rabbi David Nelson, Associate Director of ARZA, and our own Dr. Lisa Grant, Associate Professor of Education, shared their ideas about "How to Teach Israel" in our synagogues and schools.
It is my wish that the summer be a time of reflection and relaxation for all of you and that we begin this fall replenished and rededicated to our mission as Jewish educational leaders. I also want to wish our graduates (whose names and final projects are listed below) much good luck as they move ahead to take their places alongside all of us as Jewish educational leaders.
MARE Graduates, Their Thesis Topics, and Their Placements
Fourteen students graduated with the MARE degree on April 30th. Following is a listing of each graduate, the title of their thesis or curriculum capstone project, and their new position or future plans (if known at press time).
Leah Berkowitz - Rabbi/Educator
Thesis: "Who Built Up the House of Israel: Reproductive Power Plays in the Biblical Narrative"
Position: Assistant Rabbi, Judea Reform Congregation, Durham, NC
Jillian Cameron - Educator
Curriculum Capstone: "The History of Reform Judaism Through Liturgy"
Position: Accepted to Rabbinical School
Melissa De Lowe - Educator
Curriculum Capstone: "Avenues to Integration in the Liberal American Jewish Day School"
Position: Day School Teacher, Hannah Senesh School, Brooklyn, NY
Nathaniel Fink - Educator
Curriculum Capstone: "From Text to Life: Building Blocks for a Healthy Relationship"
Position: (interviewing)
Rachel Greengrass - Rabbi/Educator
Thesis: "Proper Procedure: A Guide to Learning and Teaching About Jewish Approaches to Birth Control"
Position: Assistant Rabbi, Temple Beth Am, Miami, FL
Nicole Greninger - Rabbi/Educator
Thesis: "Believing, Behaving, Belonging: Tefillah Education in the 21st Century"
Position: Director of Education, Temple Isaiah, Lafayette, CA
Rachel Kort - Educator/Mandel Fellow
Curriculum Capstone: "Creating Meaningful Holiday Observance in an Empty Nest"
Returning to Rabbinic program
Sara Manor - Educator
Thesis: "Lo Somchim al Ha'Nes: Relying on Intercultural Education Instead of Miracles in Summer Camp Mifgashim"
Position: Program Director, Beit Rut Daniel, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel
Michael Shields - Rabbi/Educator
Thesis: "Abraham H. Friedland: American Hebraist and Jewish Educator"
Position: Assistant Rabbi, Lake Norman Jewish Congregation, North Charlotte, NC
Yael Shmilovitz - Rabbi/Educator
Thesis: "There Were Among Them No Shotim: Mental Illness in the Legal Literature of the Rishonim and in S.Y. Agnon's 'A Simple Story"
Position: (interviewing)
Melissa Simon - Educator/Mandel Fellow
Curriculum Capstone: "Shabbat Nesiya: A Shabbat Journey"
Returning to Rabbinic program
Melissa Zalkin Stollman - Educator/Mandel Fellow
Curriculum Capstone: "Beit Knesset Yisrael: An Israel Engagement Initiative in Reform Congregations"
Returning to Rabbinic program
Chen Tsfoni - Educator
Thesis: "From Community to Congregation: Building a Structure for a Sacred Congregation in a Liberal Community in Israel"
Returning to Israeli Rabbinic Program
Luda Yakhnina - Educator
Thesis: "Teaching Children about God"
Position: Coordinator or Judaic Programming for all Russian Nursery Schools, COJECO (Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations), New York, NY
President's Message, Shari Isserles
Those of you who know me know that I am very organized. I always have more to do than what appears on my "To Do" list. So it is always so refreshing for me to take a break from my regular day-to-day schedule and re-charge my batteries. I did just that this past March when I spent a few wonderful days learning with fellow educators and friends at the NATE Kallah in Boulder. The theme of the Kallah was "T'filah with Intention: Balancing Keva and Kavanah." This Kallah turned out to be one of my best NATE experiences. The scholar, Cantor Ellen Dreskin, was inspiring. Not only did Cantor Dreskin help us discover various pathways to prayer, but she also modeled what she taught. I came away with many ideas about how to make prayer meaningful for my students and their lives. Whether it was the rock band "Shabbat Unplugged" experience, or the time we spent with the Adventure Rabbi exploring nature, the Kallah helped me think "outside the box" about how I pray and how we can teach prayer to children.
In addition to the Kallah's planned learning sessions, I greatly enjoyed the time I spent connecting, sharing ideas, or simply having a few laughs with fellow NATE members and NYSOE alums from around the country. I also loved being with my NATE friends at a beautiful resort and spa in Boulder.
I know that it is often hard to think about taking time away from work and home to attend these conferences. Trust me; I had a long "To-Do" list waiting for me upon my return. But having the opportunity to learn with colleagues and think about big picture ideas and goals that I have for my school was truly a gift. The next NATE Conference is in January 2009 in Nashville. I encourage all of you to attend. Not to worry – your "To-Do" list will still be there when you get home!
Story of a First-Year Education Student in Jerusalem, Rachel Petroff
For most of my life, I knew that I wanted to work in the field of education. I was the girl who tutored younger students in school, helped friends study for tests, and, of course, volunteered as a madricha at Sunday school. For a while, however, I had no idea what I wanted to teach. I kept waiting for a subject to sweep me off my feet, but that never happened at school.
At sixteen, everything changed when I came to Israel for the first time on NFTY's Eisendrath International Exchange. For four months I had the opportunity to live in Jerusalem and spend three hours every day learning Jewish history. This "core class," as it was called, changed my life. For the first time in my life, it felt as though what I was learning in the classroom helped me make meaning of my life outside the classroom's four walls. I knew I had found a subject that I could happily devote my life to.
From then on, I was headed in the direction of Jewish education for my career. It did not take much for me to decide to apply to HUC-JIR's New York School of Education. I grew up in the Reform movement, and always knew that I wanted to pursue a Master's Degree at HUC-JIR. I did not really know about the New York School until I was in college, but once I learned about it, I was hooked. The opportunity to focus on gaining skills in family and adult education really appeals to me, since it will compliment my current skill set and prepare me for congregational education.
Once accepted into the NYSOE program, my thoughts immediately turned toward the year in Israel. I love Jerusalem and was excited about living on my own in the city, rather than at Beit Shmuel with NFTY, or in the dormitories at Hebrew University. It goes nearly without saying that being back in Jerusalem, while not without its challenges, has been wonderful. This year I have had the blessing of getting to know all of the first year HUC-JIR students, in all programs and from all campuses. It is truly a wonderful group of people. I do not like to think about next year, when some of my closest friends will be living on the opposite coast. As excited as I am to return to the States and get settled in New York, I will miss Jerusalem and the camaraderie of this year's group.
I have enjoyed all of my classes at HUC-JIR this year, which is a good thing, since they took up most of our time here; but I have especially enjoyed our education seminar. This weekly class, taught by Sally Klein-Katz, is an excellent opportunity for the education students from Rhea Hirsch and NYSOE to learn together and to begin to wrap our heads and hearts around what we are doing here. Our classes are full of questions such as: What are the different theories of education? How are these theories affected by the society and culture in which they exist, and how do they, in turn, affect their society and culture? What are the different venues for Jewish education in North America? And what do we, as fledgling Jewish educators, mean when we talk about our visions of Jewish education? We have yet to actually answer most of these questions, but I know that I do not speak only for myself when I say that the questions are fascinating.
The education seminar has made me excited about the rest of the program, where I will be able to delve more deeply into issues of Jewish education. I was pulled into this field through my first experience in Israel, and Israel education is an area that has interested me for many years. After having the chance this year to really think about what my vision in this area is, I am looking forward to learning the skills to help me implement my vision.
I am also excited about coming to New York in just a few months, and having the opportunity to soak up everything that both the school and the City have to offer. I look forward to being in a city that offers both innovative and excellent Jewish institutions and experiences. I hope to learn how I can best help Jews live rich Jewish lives.
Upcoming Events
The CAJE Conference will be held in Burlington, VT, August 10-14, 2008. For details about the different tracks and registration, please visit www.caje.org.
The NATE Conference will be held in Nashville, TN, January 25-28, 2009. For details, please visit nate.rj.org.
Mazal Tov!
Sara Blumstein ('03) and Derek Gordon, who were married in December 2007.
Happy Locketz Iscove ('70), on the marriage of her daughter, Rachel, to Chagai Polopodin on April 16 in Israel, and on the upcoming marriage of her daughter, Naomi, to Jacky Vidal on August 9 in Toronto.
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