By Dr. Ray Levi [This is the seventh and concluding article in our “effective collaboration” series, written by alumni of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of The Jewish Theological Seminary. The Davidson School recently launched the Leadership Commons, which is a project of The Davidson School dedicated to building educational leadership that works together to create a vibrant Jewish future.] I was invited by the head of a Jewish day school I had been working with, who was only four months into his tenure, to join a meeting of the educational leadership team. The agenda, developed by team members, was guided by the director of the elementary grades. When debriefing with the head of school, he noted that having his department directors rotate discussion and note-taking … [Read more...]
Camp in the City, City at Camp – Mutual Benefits Through Effective Collaboration
By Rabbi Eddie Shostak [This is the sixth article in our “effective collaboration” series, written by alumni of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of The Jewish Theological Seminary. The Davidson School recently launched the Leadership Commons, which is a project of The Davidson School dedicated to building educational leadership that works together to create a vibrant Jewish future.] This past summer, my family and I were Shabbat guests at Camp Moshava Ennismore. Just as the stars were coming out, we marched down to the synagogue, escorting out the Shabbat Queen together with the chanichim (campers) and tzevet (staff). All of a sudden, my soon-to-be six-year old son turned to me and uttered in the sweetest and most innocent of ways: “Abba, I wish it was Shabbos every … [Read more...]
Why I Am Betting on Distributive Leadership
By Rina Zerykier [This is the fifth article in our “effective collaboration” series, written by alumni of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of The Jewish Theological Seminary. The Davidson School recently launched the Leadership Commons, which is a project of The Davidson School dedicated to building educational leadership that works together to create a vibrant Jewish future.] As I write this, it’s Erev Sukkot and my kids are hanging flowers and homemade crafts in the sukkah without me. Instead, I’m sitting at my desk, working. The classic school leadership complaint is about the 24/6 workload, and the consistent refrain is, “Such is the life of a school leader.” Here’s the classic model: We work to the bone. Only do what we can. Fear the new. Don’t take on new … [Read more...]
Community Educators: Strengthening Jewish Communities Through Partnership
In order for many Jewish communities to flourish, we need to have a model of cooperation, effective collaboration and partnership that allows us to share resources and provide our communities with quality Jewish professionals. By Rabbi Dave Siegel [This is the fourth article in our “effective collaboration” series, written by alumni of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of The Jewish Theological Seminary. The Davidson School recently launched the Leadership Commons, which is a project of The Davidson School dedicated to building educational leadership that works together to create a vibrant Jewish future.] I have frequently been in private conversations where frustrated Jewish community leaders have shared that it sometimes feels as if their only goal is to be the … [Read more...]
Success Achieved: STEM Education in the Jewish Day School as a Result of Effective and Deep Collaboration
By Adam Shapiro [This is the third article in our “effective collaboration” series, written by alumni of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary. The Davidson School recently launched the Leadership Commons, which is a project of The Davidson School dedicated to building educational leadership that works together to create a vibrant Jewish future.] When faced with difficult questions, coupled with a desire to move our students and school forward, we must first start with a vision. But vision is never enough. We must also find and engage with partners and stakeholders to join the conversation. We must gather everyone around the same table - establishing a shared goal that will move the organization forward. At Golda Och Academy, our goal is … [Read more...]
Going Beyond the Letters That Define Us: A Lesson in Collaboration and Community Building
By Heather Fiedler [This is the second article in our "effective collaboration" series, written by alumni of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary. The Davidson School recently launched the Leadership Commons, which is a project of The Davidson School, dedicated to building educational leadership that works together to create a vibrant Jewish future.] In our recent celebration of Rosh Hashanah, many of us taught students and parents about the custom of taking honey and dripping it onto letters of the aleph-bet. We hope that as our newest, youngest students lick the honey off the letters, they will taste the sweetness of Jewish learning. But there are times when these same sweet, holy letters that bring us together with a shared language can … [Read more...]
When Working to Teach Hebrew Language Effectively Inspires Collaboration
By Zvi Weiss with Rabbi Laurie Hahn Tapper [Welcome to the first article in our "effective collaboration" series, written by alumni of the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education at The Jewish Theological Seminary. We believe that the power of leadership grows when we work across denominations and boundaries toward a common purpose. With that in mind, we recently launched The Leadership Commons, which is a project of The Davidson School dedicated to building educational leadership that works together to create a vibrant Jewish future.] At Jewish community day schools, it is not uncommon to hear parents marvel at the Hebrew that emanates from the mouths of their kindergarten and first grade children, especially as they learn songs and begin to read and write. Then the students … [Read more...]