Thriving in Online Education

Rising to the Occasion: ICJA Transitioning to and Thriving in Online Education As schools were closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICJA administration created a virtual high school overnight.

On Friday we ended our week, expecting to see our students again on Monday. But then Governor Pritzker made his announcement, and schools were closed. Sunday, we met online with our faculty, and Monday, our students came to pick up their things while faculty met to prepare. We worked for a seamless continuing educational experience over Zoom.

By Tuesday morning, our students and staff were in virtual classes for nearly a full schedule. ICJA was fortunate to be able to become a fully functioning virtual high school in a weekend while most schools around the country scrambled to teach online. We at ICJA had laid the groundwork for this unforeseeable disruption to our school year several years ago when we became a one-to-one device school. Students and teachers have been working from iPads for years, using the best of technology for textbooks, educational software, a rich library of Judaic texts, and engaging classroom opportunities. Thanks to our educational technology team Mrs. Olivia Friedman and Rabbi Binyomin Segal, teachers were supported in the Friedman and Rabbi Binyomin Segal, teachers were supported in the tech they needed in order to maintain a classroom online and to translate their style of teaching to a virtual setting.

We were extremely proud to be able to offer our students the continuity of an outstanding education, the The emotional support, and social interaction they effort that each needed in 2020. This was Jewish education teacher has made to at its very finest. adjust to new technology and the extremes to which they go to in order to keep us intrigued and We are always confident that our students focused has created a positive receive a top high school college prep learning environment from our education, and ICJA students benefitted from the very best educational opportunities homes," says Senior Yaakov Rosenberg. of anyone around the world during this unprecedented time in our history .

Year in Review

Beyond the Virtual Classroom As important as addressing the education component of online learning, we felt it even more important to consider the social and emotional needs of our students. Our teachers and staff have reached out to students and families to make sure people stayed connected.

Our social services department, led by Mr. Phil Zbaraz, was available 24/6 for our students and faculty, but also reached out to students experiencing difficulty during the stay-at-home order.

Each week of online learning, Each week of online learning, we surprised the students with special programming including a concert by Simcha Leiner, a comedy show with ICJA alum Eli Lebowicz, game shows playing the popular Let's Make a Deal and Family Feud, and frequent Torah classes. Even with the modified class schedule, our staff and students continued to prioritize Torah, general studies, davening, and finding time to “be together” during and outside of class.

Through innovative online initiatives and community building, our faculty and staff fostered an environment of growth and opportunity. The entire Ida Crown Jewish Academy is incredibly proud of our team for their devotion to educating and nurturing our students. Thank you for rising to the occasion and soaring above and beyond.