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JEWISH DAY SCHOOLS ARE CREATING MODELS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING AND BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
When Gov. Inslee’s March 12 announcement prompted school closures across Washington state, local Jewish day schools were already prepared for distance learning. By that day, Seattle Jewish Community School, along with other Jewish day schools in the Seattle area, had soft-launched their remote learning program, seeking feedback from students, parents and teachers and getting everyone up to speed. “It was like I had hired 12 brand new teachers despite the decades of seniority and experience they had,” says Head of School Ron Waldman. “In this format, all bets are off. None of our educators had ever been trained for this type of teaching and learning, and not all children can easily adapt to continuous learning.” Even though they’ve had their challenges, Seattle Jewish Community School — along with Northwest Yeshiva High School, Jewish Day School and NYHS seniors assist with of a home damaged duringimportant Seattle Hebrew Academy —the arereconstruction making it work, teaching students Hurricane Katrina. lessons and forging strong communities at the same time. It started with surveying everyone’s needs. On their first day, NYHS held an orientation for distance where all isclasses met for 15 minutes each While global change learning, is impressive, there also plenty of work to be done and there was a check-in to make sure students had access to technology. right in our own backyard. And Jewish day schools are getting in on the They also conducted troubleshooting with teachers so that the following day action there, too. regular classes could start. Schools are continuing to Supporting the local community through of kindness seek acts feedback throughout this have crisis.poured According Emerging from the pandemic, local Jewish schools countlessto Waldman, SJCS their is sending hours into building community and offering services to ensure out surveysand at responsileast once a students and families feel a stronger sense of connection week, while JDS is adjusting bility. Providing meaningful experiences through volunteer work is one practices as they go. “We way the schools are strengthening bonds. Working with the Seattle Parks have made revisions to our and Recreation department this past year, students at the Seattle Jewish remote learning schedule Community School (sjcs.net) planted hundredsand of daffodil bulbsalong to the instruction honor the memory of children who perished in thebased Holocaust and tofrom call way, on feedback families, ” says JDS Head attention to those suffering in humanitarian crises today. Students had theof School Vivian Scheidt. “Our opportunity to aid local wetlands in the process. teachers have reached out individually to each family At MMSC Day School (mmscdayschool.org), giving back comes in the form to get their input on how of spreading joy. Students routinely craft holidaytheir cardschild and giftisbaskets doing for with the elderly and those in need. remote learning.” The schools, already participated in a tech cohort Community of Practice Similarly,which at Seattle Hebrew Academy (seattlehebrewacademy.org), every led by Dr.students David Wicks, PacificFamily University’s chair of Digital to Education year partnerSeattle with Jewish Service (jfsseattle.org) combat Leadership, also made sure they had the right tools to conduct classes, including food insecurity by participating in multiple food drives as part of the Zoom, Edpuzzle, Google Meet, Kahoot!, Camtasia, Screencast-O-Matic and school’s mission to prepare future generations to lead lives of service and Seesaw. Since traditional teaching won’t work on these platforms, NYHS Head fulfill Jason mitzvotFeld (commandments) in Seattle,teachers Israel and Sharing in of School says they’ve encouraged to worldwide. come up with exciting mission“The is Torah School of was Seattle (tdsseattle.org) and Derech new this methods. chargeDay to the faculty to be brave in experimentation (derechemunah.com), where students provide service to the comand Emunah to really let learning objectives drive the technology, not the other way around. ” Teachers at NYHS drawnmarrow on what they learned during Seattle’s munity by hosting bloodhave and bone drives. 2019 “Snowmaggedon,” such as using flipped instruction, a blended learning strategy that allows the students to see the material before the class and then Increasing access dive deeply into it with their classmates during school hours. “That experience To increase accessibility and participation in high-quality experiential really did serve us quite well in preparation for this year,” says Feld. Jewish education for youth in Washington state, the Samis Foundation launched its Day School Affordability Initiative in 2022.
As schools try out different modalities for remote learning, they are discovering
JDS teacherofNance in Germany, teaching about full Jewish resistance the value using Adler a variety of formats, including class groups,during small groups the andHolocaust. individualized meetings, as well as instructional goal reassessment.
“Beyond the objectives of getting through a syllabus and finals, we are finding that instruction has become learner-centric, with students increasingly driving their learning buildingCEO community in a more thoughtful According to and foundation Connie Kanter, “Our missionand is tointentionally deeper way. This has really been the silver lining distance learning, support Jewish continuity through the education of of Jewish youth. Jewish ” says Feld.schools are the most impactful way for us to cultivate future Jewish day
community members and leaders.” SHA Head of School Rivy Poupko Kletenik emphasizes that learning is the focus, but community building and engagement are vital as well. SHA has To make Jewish day schools in the Seattle area more accessible to famiorganized a drive-by food drive and held virtual events for Jewish holidays and lies are juggling important financial priorities, the program ensures daysthat of remembrance. Each of the schools is engaging with people inside and that for families earning up to $350,000, K–12 tuition will not exceed outside of their school community by hosting open virtual classes, celebrations $15,000 per year per child or 15 percent of the family’s adjusted gross and commemorations. income, whichever is lower. This initiative is aimed at aiding families that “Our qualify Jewish for daytraditional school partners have an incredible job of making don’t financial aid been and asdoing a result, are priced out sure students stay connected and continue receiving exemplary academic giving their children a day-school education. instruction in these unprecedented times,” says Connie Kanter, CEO of the Samis Foundation, an organization that provides grants toheritage, support K–12 The opportunity to immerse themselves in their unique Jewish Jewish education in Washington state and initiatives in Israel. Samis supports traditions and community, and emerge with an education that instills the scholarships, tech education, special needs and professional development value of giving back bothin a local and global should has put a for seven Jewish dayfrom schools the Seattle area.perspective, The foundation be availableemphasis to every student. Ultimately, this is what the Day needs Schoolfor the past particular on supporting the schools’ technology Affordability grantother program is all about. willprivate take a generation decade. “We hope educators in theWhile publicitand sectors can benefit from our schools’ ” up and embody the principles of leadership, for today’s studentsmodels. to grow communal responsibility, charitable giving and the importance of doing While families taking tough situation day at a time, acts of schools kindnessand in the world,are that feels this like an outcome wellone worth 10 years from now, some are optimistic that students will look back at this waiting for. moment with reflection. “I hope that they will remember this as a time of personal growth, and as a time where a lot of what we talk about in our dayTo learn more about sending your child to Jewish day school and to find out if your to-day learning of grit, resilience, kindness and community was tested in a real family is eligiblethis to receive Affordability grant, of visitfeeling the Samis way during crisis,”a Day says School Feld. “My hope isInitiative that instead isolated, Foundation website at samisfoundation.org. they will have some meaningful memories.” SPONSORED BY:
The Samis Foundation supports intensive, immersive Jewish education in THE SAMIS FOUNDATION SUPPORTS K–12 JEWISH EDUCATION IN Washington WASHINGTON state and initiatives Israel. Visit samisfoundation.org learn more. STATEinAND INITIATIVES IN ISRAEL. FORtoMORE
INFORMATION, VISIT SAMISFOUNDATION.ORG.
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