Reach Innovate Sustain Envision
August 2024
Campaign Cabinet
Cindy Janower (Co-Chair)
CAMPAIGN UPDATE:
THREE Priorities
Andrew Janower (Co-Chair)
Jessica Myers (Co-Chair)
(including several initiatives)
Chuck Myers (Co-Chair)
Michelle Black
Melanie Camp
Gregg Darish
Kerry Epstein
Helene Gelber
Shoshanna Goldberg
David Grossman
Dena Boronkay Rashes
Vikki Sherman
Jeremy Shinewald
Barry Shrage
Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine
Larry Tobin, ’01
Herb Tobin
Matt Zisow
We are deeply grateful to the members of our dedicated, thoughtful, and determined Campaign Cabinet Without their tireless commitment to this Campaign and to Rashi, we would not have achieved and exceeded our established goals This Campaign will sustain The Rashi School for generations to come.
On May 19, 2024, over 450 members of the Rashi kehillah (community) gathered together at the Seaport Hotel Boston to celebrate Rashi and to kick off the community phase of our comprehensive $30M+ RISE Campaign Through the thoughtful words of students, parents, faculty, staff and community leaders, we heard about the profound impact The Rashi School has had on our own community, as well as on the global Jewish community. The energy and emotion in the room was beyond compare, and we thank everyone who was involved in making that event so special. We are proud and humbled to announce that we have already raised over $27.7M towards our $30M+ goal.
Funds raised as part of this RISE Campaign have already enhanced Rashi’s curriculum in order to promote deeper learning that aims to nurture and challenge each child while offering unique and joyful experiences that define a Rashi education. Throughout the pages of this newsletter you will read about the innovative and creative ways the Rashi faculty and staff engage our students and help each of them reach their highest potential.
GIFT PYRAMID
CAMPAIGN TIMELINE
WELCOME OUR NEW HEAD OF SCHOOL, EMILY CHARTON
In early June 2024, Gavi Elkind, the Prizmah Center for Jewish Day School’s Director of Leadership Development, sat down with The Rashi School’s new Head of School, Emily Charton, to learn about Emily’s leadership journey. You can find the full blog post here.
Notably, Emily talks about how the strong Jewish values and the passion and dedication of Rashi educators and families has motivated her throughout the transition process over the past year Emily explains, “As I meet more and more community members, parents, board members, educators, and students, what rings true
for me is that every person holds the same values, speaks to the consistent voice of the institution, and demonstrates such a love for the school It’s been amazing I feel like I have energy and passion and dedication to put all of that together and move Rashi into its next phase
We need to ensure that our Jewish families perceive us to be the choice for their child’s education and for their family’s communal experience. Our job is to provide an exceptional education and be an exceptional Jewish community. I’m excited to support the entire Jewish day school system ”
CURRICULUM INNOVATION
In order to ensure that we are always at the forefront of academic programs, curriculum resources and teaching practices, Rashi's Education Team (“EdTeam”) has instituted an academic cycle for reviewing and revising the curriculum in each of the the subjects taught at Rashi In the 2024-2025 cycle, our math review committee is hard at work updating the math program. This committee is chaired by Eben Healy (Mathematics Department Chair) and Fallon Katz (LS Mathematics Specialist and Instructional Coach), and includes seven members from our Lower and Middle Schools, as well as representatives from the EdTeam
The committee is also accompanied by Professor Noah Heller, a Lecturer on Education and a core faculty member in the Teacher and Teacher Leadership (TTL) program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. To become familiar with Rashi and its math program, Noah visited Rashi several times last spring, observed classrooms, and conversed with teachers and students
During the summer, the committee crafted criteria for screening and choosing new curricula, met with department chairs from peer schools to hear more about their process and choices, and began assembling all curricular resources available. The goal is to pilot some of these resources this spring and roll out the new program in the year 2025-2026.
PLAY-BASED LEARNING
Thanks to the generosity of The Yale Appliance Foundation, Rashi received a grant that has enabled the purchase of Imagination Playground Blue Blocks™ for our younger students. When children are able to direct and conduct their own play, it broadens their experiences, increases their levels of imagination, expands their linguistic abilities, exercises their physical and mental strength, and improves their dexterity.
Through this innovative new medium, the Big Blue Blocks will give Pre-K-1 students opportunities for unlimited self-expression while putting into practice many of the things they are learning in the classroom They will experiment with balance and gravity and hone their problem solving skills as they use the blocks to design and construct We are excited to see where their imagination takes them!
Play is the primary means through which young children develop A portion of the funds raised through the RISE Campaign has been used to repair, replace and enhance the learning spaces in and around our beautiful building. Throughout the summer, teams have been working hard to resurface and redesign the Pre-K-Grade 1 playground space. Students will soon be running around on brand new AstroTurf which provides a soft, sanitary space
WORK IN PROGRESS!
The numbered paths and hopscotch squares will be repainted, and the center will be transformed into a beautiful garden with open pathways so children can stroll through Perennials, shrubs, and evergreens will be planted to attract butterflies and other species for the students to observe. We can’t wait for the hours of fun and enrichment these updates will provide!
AI
GRADE 6 WRITES TO THE WHITE HOUSE
In connection to their year-long essential question "What brings systems to collapse?”
Grade 6 students, under the guidance of Keith Civin, dedicated the year to the theme of "Rights and Responsibilities.'' Integrating Early American History and the Bill of Rights, students dove into the deep meaning of several of the amendments Towards the end of the year, students were introduced to a very recent issue: The Rights and Responsibilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
First, students took a short, hands-on course on AI in the Kol-Lab (Rashi’s innovation lab), becoming familiar with technical terms such as machine learning, neuronal network, algorithm, bias and more Students were then introduced to a blueprint of the AI Bill of Rights which has been proposed by the Biden Administration Out of the many topics discussed in the blueprint, three main topics were chosen: Data Privacy, Discrimination Protection, and Safe and Effective Systems
Each of these topics was researched by the students from three perspectives: the user, the creator of the tools, and the government. Students were divided into research groups and were guided to come up with Rights and Responsibilities related to each of the topics with the three perspectives/hats in mind Often, the articles and videos were very technical and complex and Mr. Civin, with the help of the AI tool DIFFIT, was able to make all materials accessible to each and every student
The project culminated in a letter-writing campaign, with each student crafting their own proposal to the White House AI Committee. They had to adhere to proper letter writing
format (a great lesson!), with an introduction, three positive uses of AI, three drawbacks of AI, and then their own recommendations relating to the sector they researched. The results were thoughtful, clear and surprisingly insightful
For example, students reminded the Committee to carefully consider that AI cannot replace actual human judgment, that biases may skew results based on race, gender or income, that there are significant risks of revealing confidential information when employing AI, and that humans are likely to use AI for criminal or nefarious purposes.
While the students were easily able to deduce drawbacks to AI, they were also quick to note the potential benefits: expediency, efficient answers to complex business questions, relief from tedious repetitive tasks that are primarily done by humans, enhancing websites and apps, and fighting terrorism The pros and cons the students wrote about were vast and varied
Through their research and conversations, the students also offered recommendations, including encryption, licenses, broader and more diverse testing groups, education programs to help remove the stigma associated with AI, and significant rules and regulations governing the use of AI.
Overall, students were required to wrestle with sophisticated research material, to analyze data, and to synthesize their research into coherent and convincing guidelines to the White House AI Committee. The letters were brought to the White House by one of our parents and we hope to hear back from the Committee sometime next year.
GRADE 7 TOUR OF CIVIL RIGHTS LANDMARKS IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH
Rashi's Grade 7 went on a class trip through Alabama for an inperson, hands-on learning experience of the American Civil Rights Movement In the weeks leading up to their departure, they prepared in class by taking deep dives into the history, major figures, and context surrounding the movement
The class made stops in Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham, visiting monumental sites such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Martin Luther King, Jr led his congregation and where the Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized, and the Legacy Sites
This milestone is an incredible part of Rashi's immersive learning experience, allowing students to engage with American history through social studies, the arts, and social justice lenses
GRADE 8 TRAVEL TO SPAIN
Although the Grade 8 trip to Israel was canceled after the tragic events of October 7, they did travel to Spain in April 2024 The trip was made up of many special moments and offered students the time to bond and reflect on their time together at Rashi. Rabbi Sharon Clevenger, Dean of Jewish Learning, sent regular communications home to families during the trip, and often included reflections from students.
Below is a portion of the Shabbat message Rabbi Clevenger sent home during the trip, which demonstrates the beauty and necessity of the Grade 8 trip
“While our Grade 8 trips are definitely designed to inform and inspire the students with the sights seen and people encountered, they are equally about reinforcing the glue that bonds these young people together at the exact time when they are preparing to move on to high school...
“For our dear Grade 8 students, Spain is a great unifier! And so is Israel, even in Spain. While our trip has been and will continue to be joyful and inspiring, we all know that we are not in Israel. Everywhere in Spain are reminders of Israel’s necessity, from the ancient Jewish communities that no longer have any Jews (there are just 45,000 Jews in all of Spain) to the restaurants that use bacon as a garnish (seriously- you order a vegetarian salad and it comes with bacon crumbled on top).
“Being here reminds us just how important Israel is for Jews in the modern world - a home for us all in our time of need ”
-Rabbi Clevenger
Reach to create access and opportunities for even more students
Innovate to drive academic excellence and support our exceptional faculty
Sustain our shared Jewish identity and strengthen our vibrant community
Envision a strong, financially secure future and increase our impact
Thanks to this generous community, Rashi continues to actively invest in our joyful Jewish learning and our shared Jewish identity. Together, we RISE.
Rashi Development Office
Kim Stone, Director of Development
Amy Klotz, Director of Development Operations & Stewardship
Jillian Erdos, Campaign Director
Tammy Schneider, Development Coordinator
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the RISE Campaign further, please contact us at 781-355-7312
