Day School Cost Savings

Spanish Publication at WYHS

2011-05-16T13:33:00.001-07:00

For the past couple of weeks I had been working with the Spanish teacher at WYHS on the Spanish publication that she puts out every year with articles written by students. This is a student run publication that we worked on together as advisors. I helped the students with the technical aspects of the magazine. The graphic designer put together the magazine using Microsoft Publisher and I worked together with her and some of the editors on the layout and on making this a successful publication.

Spanish Cultural Magazine 2011v2

Digital Video Elective at the High School at Donna Klein Jewish Academy

2011-04-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

I have been teaching a Digital Video Elective at DKJA this semester. The Digital Video elective is meant to introduce students to all aspects of digital video, from storyboarding scenes, screenwriting, and creating shot lists to editing a finished product. Throughout this project-based course, students demonstrate mastery of the key learning objectives by recording, capturing, and editing their own videos using the Final Cut Pro Suite software. Students are required to produce at three movies (including one Judaic Studies video) as well as two film critiques during the course of the semester. This is a hands-on course that provides a solid foundation for further study in this exciting field, and progresses from the pre-production, production, and post-production including editing basics transitions, text usage, and special effects.

Already this semester, the students have produced two videos for the class. Their first video was on a subject of their own choice. One student chose to make a video about How to Play Golf and the other student chose to create a music video. This project provided the foundation and learning grounds for what a digital video project is all about. Throughout the projects, the students work in stages, first brainstorming for ideas on projects, then moving on to writing scripts, drawing storyboards, filming and finally editing. Students have learned that these kinds of projects cannot be put together on a last minute basis. Planning and preparation is of essence when working on these kinds of projects.

The following links are to the most recent videos the students worked on based on content they had learned from their Judaic Studies courses.
David and Goliath:

Aaron Sherman--David and Goliath from Communications on Vimeo.

Rashi:

Noa Levhar--Rashi from Communications on Vimeo.

We thank the Avi Chai Foundation for their continuous support of our projects and Jewish Education.

Technology Update from Boca Raton

2011-01-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I last gave an update about what is happening technology-wise from Boca Raton. Here is a brief update from each school.

Hillel Day School:

The 7th grade collaborative English and Computers project was a huge success. The students successfully completed their 'Glog' after working for three hard weeks collecting materials that would represent their memories, scanning pictures, and using their creativity to express their memories in an online world. We definitely learned a lot with this experience and hope that next time around will be a lot easier. Here is an example:

In addition to that project, the 5th graders and the 8th graders were busy collaborating on a video project about the 13 Colonies. The 5th grade has a 13 Colony fair where they convince the visitors to move to their colonies. This even occurs during the day and parents are not invited, but the teacher wanted the parents to witness the fair. We came up with the idea of having the 8th grade class interview and film the 5th graders with the Flip cameras and we put together a HDS news report about the 13 colonies. Both groups of students enjoyed the project and really represented their roles. Below is a short clip from the videos produced.

Weinbaum Yeshiva High School:

At WYHS I have continued to work one-on-one with teachers and delivered two workshops on Google Apps. WYHS is planning on transitioning their mail and other products to the cloud using Google Apps for Education. In order for this transition to be smooth we have been training the faculty and staff. We have also had a few conversations about how educational technology should look at their school, especially in the new building they are planning to start building this summer.

Donna Klein Jewish Academy:

At DKJA we have been moving along with Google Apps for Education. I have held numerous workshops with the administration, staff, and the faculty where we have been learning how to use the various Google Tools such as Docs, Calendar, Forms, and Sites. We have also begun teaching the students on how to use these services so that they can better collaborate and communicate with their peers and their teachers.

I have also started teaching a Digital Video Elective at the High School. The class begun yesterday so there is not much to report, but I am very excited at the prospect of teaching these students digital video skills, and in producing videos together with them. Since we received a grant from AviChai for this project, we will also be collaborating with both the Hebrew and the Judaic Studies Departments on a video project.

Everybody loves a good event

2010-10-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

Reunions, cocktail parties, mixers, gala dinners. Everyone gets a good amount of invitations to fundraising events that take months to plan and melt away in a matter of hours. Organizers want a venue that fits the audience, but it seems everyone knows of at least one organization that got too fancy with their venue and threw away their profits.

As I work on alumni development for Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/ Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School, Hebrew Academy of Morris County and Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, most alumni expect some kind of get-together. And they should. It is the most concrete way to reconnect alumni with their day school experience.

But how far does it have to go? One of my schools wanted to have a gala event for its alumni, but the younger alumni wanted to have a small get-together at a restaurant. Having this grant from Avi Chai means we have the freedom to give several ideas a shot. This year we are going to try a small gathering in New York City for young adults, and perhaps next year we will have a gala dinner that will attract alumni from Italy to Israel and everywhere in between. (Click here to see our event page!)

Last week, Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union held its second Back to School Benefit to raise money for the Alumni Scholarship Fund, which provides scholarships for families in need. More than 100 alumni, spouses and friends joined together in New York City for drinks, a raffle and reconnecting. See an account here. The event grossed more than $10,000 and brought the total money raised for the 2010 scholarship campaign close to $45,000.

An event doesn’t make that much money. There is overhead, costs for the venue, decorations, raffle prizes, etc. The money earned at the event probably accounts for 10 percent of the $45,000 raised for the fund.

Even with the prospect of poor economic returns, reunions and gatherings are crucial to any successful alumni program. The prospect of reunions has inspired the cleanup of the alumni database at two of my schools. Reunions recognize alumni for their accomplishments since graduation and allow them to kvell about their jobs, spouses and kids. They cultivate leaders who will hopefully stay with the alumni outreach effort after the event is over. They are both a motivator and a way of saying thank you to the volunteers who work hard to forward alumni development at the school. They say to alumni: “We want to see you. You are still a part of our community.” Alumni hear that.

Recently one of the women on the alumni committee at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/ Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School was telling me that her sister in law flew from Canada for her high school reunion. I’m familiar with that event, having quizzed some of my neighbors. The alumni get together in the cafeteria and have wraps from a local eatery. Attendance is huge and that school’s reunions are renowned.

As much as I appreciate Sager Solomon Schechter Day School, I’m not flying back to Chicago anytime soon for wraps in the lunchroom. So what gets these alumni to shell out plane fare? The experience. The memories. The feeling of belonging to something that is greater than themselves.

I’m shepherding a group of alumni who are working on their 10-year reunion. They aren’t interested in pizza in the lunchroom. They’re looking for sushi and cocktails. Oh, for about $25 per person. Will they settle on something less lavish to include more of their former classmates? We’ll see.

Technology News from Boca Raton

2010-10-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

Some new and exciting things have been happening in the Boca Raton Technology Jewish Schools in terms of Technology!

Hillel Day School:

We have begun a collaborative project between the 7th grade English teacher and the computer teacher using a Web 2.0 tool called Glogster (edu.glogster.com). The students have a project about memories for which they will using Glogster to create an online poster instead of a scrapbook which they used to do in the past. This is a pilot year for the project and both teachers are very excited about what the outcomes of this project will be. Because the project will be in an online format, students will be able to add video and sound components to their project that they did not have a chance to do in the past.

In the first grade class, students have been using the software Kidspiration, a program we are using to visually explore words. The students were assigned a letter to work with and they were assigned to look for words that begun with that letter.

In addition to those two projects I have been working with the Hebrew

teachers at Hillel in finding ways to integrate technology into their Hebrew curriculum. The picture to the right is from a SmartBoard Training we held a few weeks ago. This week we will hold our second SmartBoard workshop.

Weinbaum Yeshiva High School:

At WYHS I have continued to work one-on-one with teachers and we have also formed a group of teachers interested in learning about Web 2.0 tools and how they can use them with their students. This group of teachers meets every two weeks for about an hour and we discuss their use of technology in the classroom. In addition, I have also been working with the Hebrew teachers finding ways to use technology to make student's more engaged with the Hebrew language. For the past three weeks we have been learning VoiceThread, a tool where students and teachers can collaborate and even more so, they collaborate through speech which is great for language development.

Donna Klein Jewish Academy:

At DKJA we have been moving along with Google Apps for Education. I have held numerous workshops with the administration, staff, and the faculty where we have been learning how to use the various Google Tools such as Docs, Calendar, Forms, and Sites. The school is also testing the use of Cloud Computing, which has been very beneficial in the Digital Portfolios project we have begun this year with the English Department. I have also continued to work one-on-one with teachers on specific questions or projects they are working on.

A few weeks ago, I was also involved in delivering a workshop to parents on Cyber-bullying and Social Networks. I delivered this very well received workshop with my colleague Michael Luetjen, the computer teacher at DKJA.

Welcome back to school!

2010-08-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

All three schools are almost back in session. Just in time to go on vacation for almost all the month of September for the Jewish Holidays.

The summer was very quite here in Boca Raton. I was fortunate enough to attend a technology conference with two other colleagues from Donna Klein Jewish Academy during the month of June. The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) http://www.iste.org/
The conference was great as we got to learn about what other schools around the country and the world are doing in terms of technology integration. We participated in Google Earth workshops, Video production Workshops, we learned about podcasting and visual communication. We all came back fired up to bring new ideas to the school.

During the month of August I have been working on setting goals for myself for the year and figuring out what are the projects that I will be working on at each school during the year.
Aside from what I am doing at each school, I have continued to update the collaborative wiki I have set for all three schools and I am hoping it will be a go to place for teachers this year to find resources and eventually post their own.

Donna Klein Jewish Academy
At DKJA we are looking to improve collaboration amongst faculty and students. Therefore, we will be introducing Google Apps to the staff and the students throughout the year. I will be training the Technology Facilitator Team on Google Docs during the month of September and then they will train small groups of teachers starting in October. The goal of the training is to expose the teachers to Google Docs, and to get them to begin collaborating on documents with their colleagues and to introduce this wonderful tool to their students.
A big part of what we want to accomplish this year is to pilot a digital portfolio project in the English department and we believe that the Google platform will enable this project to succeed. I will be posting on the progress of this during the year.
In addition to the digital portfolio project and Google Apps, I will be working with the teachers at the school helping them to learn new tools as well as in technology infused project-based learning.

Weinbaum Yeshiva High School
WYHS has not started classes yet, but teachers are back to work. Earlier this week I hosted two workshops for interested teachers. I introduced Blogging and Podcasting to the teachers in two short workshops were I showed them what they both are and we brainstormed how they can use these tools with their students.
We have also selected a group of teachers that I will be working with to help them infuse their curriculum with technology (where needed).

Hillel Day School
At Hillel we will continue to work on the technology standards and begin implementing them. The teachers that were working with me on the technology committee have started thinking what they want to work on with their students that the computer teacher can help them out with. For example, the English teacher is beginning the year teaching her students MLA formatting for a paper. The computer teacher will then teach them how to format a paper, how to insert headers and footers during her class.
With the first graders we will begin the year making a classroom alphabet book using the kidspiration software. Students will each be assigned a letter of the alphabet and then will come to the lab to create a concept map with images that correspond with the letter they are assigned. ex: A Apple, alligator etc....

NNJKIDS Month is a success!

2010-08-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

Northern New Jersey Kehillot Investing In Day Schools (NNJKIDS) kicked off its second year with a community-wide awareness and fundraising month encompassing synagogues, day schools and a large network of local businesses. This new initiative, known as NNJKIDS Month, was implemented in May 2010. We are very proud to announce that it was a huge success.

NNJKIDS is a unified effort that includes day schools of all denominations in the Northern New Jersey area. During the month of May, NNJKIDS embarked on a community-wide program involving all constituents within the Northern New Jersey area in an effort to reinforce the idea that the success of NNJKIDS is crucial to all members of the community. Towards that end, NNJKIDS secured $100,000 in matching funds for all donations and increases made in May. We are pleased to report that, due to new sign-ups along with increases to existing pledges, the $100,000 was fully matched.

NNJKIDS Month increased awareness and raised funds via the following approach:

• Local Business:
Local vendors were asked to contribute $100 to be listed as a “participating sponsor” or $500 to be listed as a “featured sponsor” These businesses agreed to promote NNJKIDS Month by placing posters and Tzedakah boxes in their stores in addition to informational panel cards. Some business owners agreed to help raise funds by selling “donation tickets,” of various denominations.

• Schools:
Participation included school-wide Shavuot Learn-a-thon programs in which students signed up sponsors to donate money NNJKIDS based upon the number of hours that they learned on Shavuot. The schools promoted this program to the parent body along with a letter describing NNJKIDS and its importance. In addition, schools agreed that all classroom Tzedakah collections during the month of May would be donated to NNJKIDS.

• Synagogues:
Rabbonim spoke from the pulpit about NNJKIDS to promote both the program and NNJKIDS Month. Posters and fliers were placed in synagogue lobbies and NNJKIDS Month was promoted via synagogue newsletters. Many synagogues hosted “sign-up days” when NNJKIDS volunteers set up tables in synagogue lobbies and promoted the program to congregants.

• Public Relations:
In addition to the above, NNJKIDS Month was promoted via its enhanced website, articles and Op-Ed pieces in the local community newspaper – The Jewish Standard, posts to the TeaneckShuls Yahoo group and distribution of NNJKIDS car magnets.

Overall, NNJKIDS Month produced spectacular results including increasing its donor base to over 1,200 members and generating an additional $250,000 to the fund which increased the annualized output to $700,000. These numbers include over $20,000 raised via the schools’ Shavuot Learn-a-thon programs and Tzedakah collections. We are particularly gratified by the increased awareness generated by this program and the community-wide participation which is truly the hallmark of NNJKIDS.

What Were You Thinking?

2010-07-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Consulting, Collaboration, and the Value of Difficult Questions
During the winter of last year, we had our first bout of hard learning during the collaboration process. Our grant, as originally drafted, focused the bulk of our energies on the outright compacting and relocation of business offices and integration of selected business systems for both the Saul Mirowitz Day School and Solomon Schechter of St. Louis.

Lesson #1—Decision Making is Both Subtle and Critical
Once we took a breather from the celebration of having won an Avi-Chai grant, we got a few quick lessons in process. Our schools are physically separated by all of ten minutes, yet we lived in very different worlds. One is just coming out of startup phase, while the other is solidly in its “middle age.” One relies heavily on professional staff for most functions, while the other uses a sweep of lay volunteers, staff and outsourced services. Even our decision making was different, with the Heads of both schools and their board members playing differing roles in driving the course of daily operations.

As we prepared to move from concept to strategic planning about how to implement the grant, we noticed these differences in a very obvious way. One school of thought wanted to move straight forward, reinventing business systems that would serve both schools. Another felt this was unrealistic, and zeroed in on the component of our grant that involved joint utilization of technology that would enable us to function more effectively. As the pull between these two options became more palpable, we realized that we would need some good facilitation support, as budgeted in the grant, to focus our next step.

Lesson #2—The Answers Aren’t Always so Obvious
From the outset, our two schools had involved a partner in the role of CAJE-St. Louis to accompany us in the grant process. CAJE-STL’s Executive Director, Sonia Dobinsky, had moved through the paces of our discussions, serving as our central spoke of communication and ad hoc business consultant. She suggested that we bring an outside perspective who could help us to break through the impasse as we moved towards action. We looked towards the corporate community, seeking a facilitator who had broad experience in both the business and for profit worlds. Our facilitator was very efficient in her use of time, convening several high level conversations as well as on-site visits to both of our schools. When we joined for a face-to-face debriefing, she led with this question: “What were you thinking when you proposed a back office merger? I would never have reached this conclusion independently if I looked at your operations.”

While we coughed a few times, it was the best advice we had received to date in the collaboration process. We needed someone who could look at our operations from a high level of elevation and zero in on the highest return areas for our work. Based upon our consultant's input, we are starting with shared technology and business systems. After an admittedly slow start, we just received contracts for an SAS (software as subscription) online suite that will accommodate critical donor relation functions, school management and seamless integration with our current billing software. We will reach a level of quality in our business systems that we have never before approached. Best of all, the contract came in nearly $10,000 lower then it would have cost us to implement separately.

Moving Ahead
In the end, it was hard for us to have an outsider come in and challenge our assumptions. While our “what were you thinking moment” caused chagrin, we can now see that we’ve been well served by moving deliberatively, by working to clarify the needs of both schools and by making sure to spend each dollar of our grant to maximum effectiveness. We’re pleased to be moving forward with the knowledge that we are headed in the right direction.

Technology Workshop

2010-06-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

All three schools are either closed for the summer, teachers are finishing grading their finals, inputting grades into the school systems, and the smell of sunscreen is what lingers through the hallways. Some teachers have been brave enough to continue learning and growing as professionals through two different workshops that we have planned for them.
At DKJA, we had an administrators workshop where we discussed the integration of digital portfolios into the curriculum starting next year. Digital portfolios are a way to engage students with their learning, personal branding and self-marketing, and assessment.We had a conversation with the administrators about the benefits of digital portfolios and their reactions were VERY positive. We will hopefully be implementing digital portfolios in the English department next year and any other teacher interested is also welcome to try it out. We will be using Google Apps for Educators.During our session, we also discussed the uses of Blogging in the classroom as well as for the school administrators. We brainstormed about ways that blogging can be used for marketing, development, communication with parents, etc. We hope to begin using blogs in some capacity next year.

Here are a few snapshots from our workshop:

Now, for an even more exciting event, and I saw exciting because it involves Collaboration amongst two of the schools. WYHS and DKJA teachers got together to learn how to use the SmartBoard. Some teachers were veteran users, while some were learning about the software and the SmartBoard for the first time. The teachers loved learning the different ways they can use the SmartBoard interactively with their students. We hope that these trouper teachers will bring their creativity and their new 21st Century skills into their classrooms next year.
Here are a few snapshots from the SmartBoard Training:

In the meantime, have a good summer.

Technology Collaboration Continues

2010-04-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Collaboration. That has been my goal as the Technology Integration Specialist for the three schools I work for here in Boca Raton. But collaboration is not always as simple as we think it can be. It requires work, time, patience, tolerance. Wikipedia defines collaboration as: "a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together in an intersection of common goals — for example, an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus."
Collaboration example number 1: Three Jewish Day Schools have come together to help their teachers learn how to integrate technology into the curriculum. That is why they have hired me. This is very simple.
Collaboration example number 2: I was hired to work one-on-one with teachers at the three schools in order to train them how to integrate technology into the curriculum effectively. This is not so simple.
Working with teachers has been the biggest challenge of my job. Without the teachers my goals are not met and my program is unsuccessful. Our collaboration relies on both parties, coming together to share knowledge, learn, implement, and share.
Even though it has been challenging, I have had a few breakthroughs.

Here is what has been going on with the Day School Cost Savings Boca Raton initiative.

After Pesach, the Math department heads from Weinbaum Yeshiva and the Donna Klein met to discuss the use of the SmartBoard. The teacher from WY came to DK to experience first hand the use of the SmartBoard so that she can better understand the use of this tool. Guess what? She loved it and we have already selected a fer teahers from the Math department that will get trained in the use of the SmartBoard.

The Technology Committee for The Hillel Day School of Boca Raton has been meeting for the past three weeks. During our first meeting we discussed the importance of being technologically literate and the meaning of that as well as the importance of educating students to be digitally aware and safe. Our last two meetings have been about identifying the skills we want the students to develop. I have started to put together a document of standards that I will be sharing with my comittee on the next meeting in order to receive any feedback as well as to move on to the next phase of the project which is to build a curriculum for the computer teacher, a curriculum that will be integrated with the regular classroom teachers.

At WYHS I have started a blogging project with a teacher and her class. Each week she will be posting a story or something about what they are learning in class, she teaches Torah She BeAl Pe, and the girls have the option to comment. We just launched this project last week so we are in the beginning phases. The girls have already commented on her first post and posted very insightful comments. The participation on the blog is not mandatory, but they do get extra credit for participating. The idea of the project is to bring the learning outside of class and to continue with the dialogue beyond the classroom walls. The girls were very excited when we introduced the project. Lets just hope the excitment continues! But that is up to how we keep them engaged with the content!

NNJKIDS - a communal approach to funding day school tuition

2010-04-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

One of the most significant challenges facing our community today is the issue of Day School affordability. Northern New Jersey Kehillot Investing In Day Schools (NNJKIDS) is a crucial first step in a broader long-term initiative to assure access to a high quality dual curriculum and to make day schools affordable for Jewish families in Bergen County, New Jersey. Established in May 2009, the funds collected through NNJKIDS help mitigate tuition increases and provide critical assistance to meet burgeoning scholarship needs which are currently in excess of $7 million dollars. NNJKIDS is a unified effort that includes day schools of all denominations in the Northern New Jersey area. Orthodox and conservative synagogues have joined in launching and promoting this program. To strengthen the synagogue to school affiliation, funds collected from the members of synagogues are allocated to schools in that denomination, unless otherwise indicated by donor. Funds are allocated on a per capita basis, based on the number of preK-8 students in each school residing in Northern New Jersey. Distributions occur quarterly.

Thanks to united community support, over 1,000 people have already contributed to NNJKIDS, and we have distributed over $300,000 to the network of day schools during our first two quarters. These crucial funds have already mitigated tuition increases for the 2010/2011 school year.

NNJKIDS is a project of Jewish Education For Generations (JEFG) – an organization established in 2009 to work across our entire day school network and the broader community to identify and execute solutions to the challenge facing day school parents. At this point, JEFG is the only such integrated, nondenominational network in the United States. Many aspects of this agenda involve partnerships with other organizations such as UJA, YU and Avi Chai Foundation, which see JEFG as a unique platform to drive new ideas and approaches.

Currently, JEFG initiatives include the following:

1. NNJKIDS (Northern NJ Kehillot Investing in Day Schools) - a broad-based community fund for Jewish education that is a foundational element of changing the communal mindset to view education as the responsibility of all - not just of parents. Funds raised through NNJKIDS will be directed toward burgeoning scholarship needs and help mitigate tuition increases. Key elements of the program are as follows:
- Goal of 100% participation
- Individuals sign up for monthly debit from a checking account or credit card
- Suggested minimum is simple - $1 per day, or $30 per month
- Those who can, are encouraged to give more - those who cannot, may give at any level
- Funds are distributed on a per capita basis to area Day Schools each quarter

2. ENDOWMENT SUPER FUND - We have entered into a partnership with UJA NNJ to pursue the creation of a large Endowment Fund that would be directed toward lowering the financial burden of Jewish education. Similar funds are being raised in a number of other communities. If successful, this Endowment would be a game-changer in addressing affordability.

3. BENCHMARKING INITIATIVE - Individual schools continually work to find savings wherever possible while maintaining educational quality. Beyond these efforts, we have collaborated with the Azrieli Graduate School of Yeshiva University to benchmark the cost base / revenue drivers of our schools and have identified opportunities for cost savings and revenue generation across the network . This approach is widely utilized in the private sector, but this is the first time it has been applied across an entire network of yeshivot.

The next NNJKIDS quarterly distribution to schools is scheduled to take place in May, 2010. At our one year anniversary, we are excited and encouraged by the support of our community and our partners including Avi Chai Foundation, whose generous grant allows us to pay for the day to day expenses of running NNJKIDS. For more information, please visit www.nnjkids.org.

We've got the questions. Have you got answers?

2010-04-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

We have been continuing our efforts to reach out to our alumni at the MetroWest Jewish day schools. In March we used Survey Monkey to send out surveys to all of the email addresses we had for alumni. Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/ Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School’s survey went first, Hebrew Academy of Morris County was second to release its survey and Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union went last. We sent out an email through Constant Contact letting alumni know about the survey. Each school’s email was branded with their logo. For an example, click here.

The survey touched on aspects of every one of our key areas: Programming, outreach, leadership cultivation, fundraising, communication, recognition and database.

Originally we had hoped to ask for information about three different things: Alumni contact information, alumni programming preferences, and where alumni get their information so that we could make sure we are using our resources to target those same media. Unfortunately, the first draft of the surveys was way too long, so we cut the media portion in favor of a shorter, more manageable survey. A future survey will likely include questions about where alumni get their information and an evaluation of our communications with them.

The schools are in different positions in terms of maintaining contact with their alumni, so the rate of return was different for each, ranging from a 5 percent response rate to a 22 percent response rate. At Hebrew Academy of Morris County, a pre-K through 8th grade school in Randolph, NJ, we identified 17 new alumni from the survey and nine newly found non-grads who left before 5th grade for a total of 26 new alumni. From that list we captured about 20 new/updated email addresses. Our two larger schools -- Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/ Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School and Solomon Schechter of Essex and Union -- are still parsing their data.

While we were hoping for more postal and email addresses, we got solid data on what our alumni would like to see from us and how responsive they might be to our messages. Alumni overwhelmingly favored class reunions over school-wide reunions. They were mostly on the younger end; 10 years out of school or less. They are interested in news about their former classmates and news about former teachers. Networking events took third place. Contrary to surveys that indicate millennials are interested in social service projects, our young alumni population did not seem interested in such an event.

So now the fun begins! We will be using the data to plan programs that will engage our alumni and reconnect them with our schools. We will also be enlisting the help of the alumni who were interested in volunteering to plan programs and reach out to their alumni friends and relatives.

Updates from the HJMS Development Committee

2010-04-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

The HJMS development committee has been working on various social programs to help the students and families coming from the two schools to get to know each other better.

A Friday morning Kabalat Shabbat program which involved grade 5 students from both the HHA and Kehila was successful. All feedback was positive and students got a chance to see what a typical Friday program is at the HJMS.
A Shabbat dinner for families of all three schools (HHA/Kehila/HJMS) was planned and executed. Students from each of the schools prepared songs and presentations. The parents were able to spend some time together and get to know each other better.
The committee is planning some more social (outside of school) events for the near future for both parents & students. Last night about 20 parents from both schools got together at a local coffee shop to get to know each other and discuss developments.

The following is a snapshot of what has been going on in the new HJMS Dual Track Judaic Studies classes this year since December. (primarily grade 6 as this is the grade that has the new unique dual track pilot curriculum):

Chanukah: Both tracks collaborated on a video about Jewish pride that was shown at the Chanukah dinner. The students utilized interviewing and other research and communication skills.
Tu Bishvat: Both tracks did an integrated project about conservation in Judaism. Each student developed a wishing tree in which they placed a wish. They could make any wish they wanted; however, they were encouraged to make their wish about integrating conservation into their daily lives. Each student wrote a journal entry about the experience. PowerPoint was used in this project.
Purim: All of the students are studying the natural versus the miracle.
Passover: The class created their own Hagadah with all commentaries by the students themselves.
The Source-based track did a project about the origins of their Jewish name. The students used Multi Media to make their presentations.
The Cultural track has been studying Torah and Ethics. They have focused on various mitzvot. The upcoming focus for this track is on self e.g. my own personal connection to God and a healthy self-esteem).
In Jewish History, the students have been continuing to study ancient Israeli history. They have been looking at the book of Samuel, and at visuals of life in Israel. They also have been learning about all of the history of the Israel and the modern Jewish State of Israel.

Technology Collaboration Begins

2010-03-24T12:54:00.001-07:00

I think that part of the goal of this grant is to get schools not only to collaborate on monetary resources and personnel resources, but to share knowledge and help each other to become better schools. As I have been meeting with teachers and talking to them about their curriculum and what they do or what they would like to accomplish I have realized that these schools can share knowledge amongst each other. I have been working with a Math teacher at one of the schools who I am trying to show why the Smart Board would be useful in her classes. Now, I am not a Math teacher and there is only so much that I can show her. After Pesach break she will be visiting one of the partnering schools and sit in in a few math classes to see first hand how teachers are using this and how it is benefiting their practice. I think that this is what this project is all about. Our goal as schools and educators is to prepare our students for the future, for the so called 21st century that people keep on talking about and this partnership should put us in the right direction towards becoming 21st century schools. So, I am very happy that teachers from different schools will begin to work together and create Personal Learning networks within the community.

Another project I have started to work on is to create technology 'standards' or skills for one of the schools. I have formed a committee of about 6 teachers including the IT director and hopefully some administrators will join us as well, and together we will brainstorm and discuss what are the technology skills that we want students to graduate with. This will hopefully lead to the creation of school standards that will be implemented starting in September. I have a few long term goals with this project. The first is to get classroom teachers involved in having their students as well as themselves meet these standards. The second is to have the technology committee work as technology ambassadors for the school. They will be the teachers that other teachers look up to and might even want to work with when it comes to integrating technology into the curriculum. Lastly, I want the school to transition from having students in the computer lab for 'computer class' 30 minutes a week to a model where the computer lab becomes an open lab and the computer teacher is responsible of working as a technology integrator and not a computer teacher.

Overall working for three schools has been crazy. I find myself running around a lot from school to school and not feeling as though I am getting much accomplished. My current schedule allows me to be at every school once a week and when I go back to that school a week later it seems as though an eternity has gone by. I am thinking on an alternative model.

The wiki site that I created has not had much success but it is a project in the works, Hopefully as I continue to meet with teachers and play around with the site, it will become their go to site in terms of technology integration.

There are other projects that are cooking but I will leave that for another day.
In the meantime I am excited about going to a technology conference in Palm Beach this Friday where I hope to learn new things. What is even more exciting is that I managed to get a few teachers from every school to join me!

Chag kasher v'sameach!

A wiki for three

2010-02-22T09:28:00.000-08:00

Hi!

I am the new Technology Integration Specialist for Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Hillel Day School, and Weinbaum Yeshiva. My job is to work with teachers at each school in curriculum and technology integration. I have been working for two weeks already and I have spent most of my time meeting with different teachers so that they get to know me and trying to figure out how we can work together.

I am working with one of the teachers for a digital video project he is doing at the HS and we are working on learning a specific video editing software. I have met with other teachers to figure out ways we can work together whether it is on a specific project for their students or a specific skill they want to work on.

I am having my first group technology training at one of the schools on Monday March 1st so I have spent time trying to find a 'tool' that I can introduce to teachers, hopefully I will be able to find a tool that most of the departments find useful.

I have also build a wiki site for all three schools. The goal of this site is to create a database of tools for teachers to use and also for teachers to share with each other. The ideal goal is to have all teachers become members of this site so that they can add other resources, collaboratively share ideas and resources for technology and curriculum integration, and maybe eve have online conversations about how to improve their teaching.

My goal right now is to work with at least 3 teachers per school on big projects as well as with others on smaller projects or ideas.

MetroWest Day School Alumni Development

2010-02-17T06:53:00.000-08:00

What a whirlwind three months it has been!

I am the new coordinator for MetroWest Day School Alumni Development. My job is to work with Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/ Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School, Hebrew Academy of Morris County and Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union to locate and engage their more than 3,000 alumni.

My first step was to meet with representatives from each of the schools to inventory their alumni outreach. Each school is in a different place in terms of alumni outreach and development. I spent some time getting to know the schools and their professional and lay leadership.

From those meetings we set goals in seven key areas we feel are required to develop a robust alumni program:

Programming
Outreach
Leadership Cultivation
Fundraising
Communication
Recognition
Database

My job is not without challenges. Other Jewish day schools with existing successful alumni outreach programs have long-established high schools. In MetroWest, Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School graduated its first class only nine years ago. Hebrew Academy of Morris County is a preK through grade 8 school. We are cognizant of the difficulty of creating strong affinity for an elementary school.

My three top goals at each of the schools are to find and target young professionals, people who are still close enough to their student experience to make alumni involvement more meaningful. I want to implement programs that create value for both current students and alumni -- integrating the alumni into the school. Finally, I want to create regular avenues of communications and events that are cyclical and constant, such as monthly e-newsletters, Facebook fan pages, set annual reunions and gatherings.

My initial contact with our MetroWest day school alumni will be through a survey. We feel that it is important to have alumni buy-in before planning programs and other initiatives. So we want to find out what alumni want to do, how they would like to be contacted and how they would like to help their schools. We are actively recruiting for steering committees, reunion committees, mentoring programs and other programs.

We are so excited to be a part of this experiment and cannot wait to share more with you as our program develops.

Joint announcement from the Hamilton Hebrew Academy and Kehila Jewish Community Day School made by the Hamilton Jewish Federation in September

2010-02-05T07:38:00.001-08:00

Our Hamilton Jewish Community Day Schools have worked together to obtain a grant generously funded by the AVI CHAI Foundation. The grant monies will be used to expand the academic program and establish a New Jewish Middle School. This school will amalgamate the best of both institutions to better serve the entire community and strive for educational excellence and inclusivity of all members of the community. In addition to a common general curriculum, two tracks of Judaic Studies will be offered. Students will discover how Judaism brings meaning to their lives, foster a love of Jewish culture and develop a strong Jewish identity. The goal will be to cultivate informed, passionate and creative members of the Jewish community with a love for Jewish learning and a strong connection to Israel. Children will be given the opportunity to explore classic Jewish texts. Parents will be allowed to choose which track better suits their needs -whether it is a more cultural approach or a more text based approach. By offering two tracks the school will be able to better address the diverse needs of all students - those who will continue their eduction in the public school system as well as those who will be furthering their studies at a Jewish high school in Toronto. The incoming Federation President, together with the leadership of both schools, has worked very hard to develop a framework for this new pilot program. As we move forward, we welcome input from the community and strive for complete inclusivity of all members of our diverse community. This middle school initiative, based at the HHA, represents a true collaborative effort from the individuals in the community striving for excellence in education for our children.

Change and reality

2010-02-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

Dear fellow Avi Chai schools,
We are now several months into the process and so much has happened!
1) We have a good start on installing Senior Systems' school management technology.
2) NBOA consultants have completed a site visit and provided us with valuable ideas for our reorganization.
3) Our Steering Committee has tackled tough issues of cost and cooperation with gusto.
4) Rich Shoen, our very able consultant, has really helped us understand our schools and their different cultures from an objective perspective. His insight has kept us on track and focused on what is really important - helping the schools become better-run institutions.

It is amazing to spend so much time talking and talking and then suddenly realizing that these discussions will impact the lives and jobs of many people that we care about deeply, not to mention our children and grandchildren!
While the change process can be daunting, keeping people informed is the key to keeping them focused on doing what needs to be done today while anticipating the future.
It is very different to build than to reorganize.
We have dealt with the challenge of idealism vs. reality. Each of our schools is at very different stages of maturity in both their governance practices and their financial stability. These realities have posed challenges in terms of what each can contribute to the planned integration of our back office services.
Our committee is equally mixed between great risk takers and those more cautious about change. But we all realize that some risk is required if we are to move forward to a more certain future.
Luckily we all fundamentally trust and respect each other personally, and that has made all the difference.
Our final recommendation to the Boards will be a solid hybrid of hope and continuation of what is already strong.
We will be relying heavily on the position of Executive Director and fortunately our funders accept the fact that a true business leader will need to be compensated accordingly.
The next step is buy-in, support and final approval from both Boards of Trustees.
Then the real work begins.

We would love your thoughts on this in terms of skills and talents needed.

Thank you,

Jaynie Schultz Chair

Step One - Part B in Integration of Technology

2009-10-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

The schools have entered into part B of Step One. They have identified the first cohort of teachers that the Shared Integration Specialist will work with. The first step will be to visit the classrooms to get a more in-depth appreciative understanding of how technology is impacting the classroom. She will also meet individually with each teacher. During the individual meetings she will be able to collaboratively develop with each of the teachers a plan of action.

The schools have identified their first priority as listed below:

 Donna Klein Jewish Academy has identified the high school.
 Hillel Day School of Boca Raton has identified the early childhood.
 Weinbaum Yeshiva High School has identified teachers in different areas of the high school.

This first process will involve teachers in both Judaic and Secular classes.
The excitement in each of the schools to advance the integration of technology is electrifying. The teachers want to address the needs of their students in the field of technology. They witness that the students are proficient in using technology from the perspective of a four-year old to a high school senior.

Another form of integration of technology is to share the expertise from one school to another. Our first venture had one of the High School Math teachers’ at Donna Klein Jewish Academy present how technology can enhance the learning of Algebra, Geometry, Calculus and Statistics. Our second venture will be to have the head of the IT department at Weinbaum Yeshiva High School work with the Videography department at Donna Klein Jewish Academy on the MAC/Apple. Our third venture will be with a head teacher at Hillel Day School of Boca Raton share her expertise on the use of SmartBoard in the elementary classroom.

And so we begin.....

Step One in Integration of Technology

2009-09-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

The New Year 5770 brings with it the excitement of new pursuits. The “big buzz for 5770” is in the integration of technology into the various subject areas in the three (3) Jewish day schools in Boca Raton Florida.

An eleven (11) step process has been outlined in advancing the integration of technology into the classroom. Step A in our first step had the teachers take an online survey where they assessed their knowledge of technology and what their individual needs are. The survey was sent to Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle and High School teachers. Step B will be the “Shared” Technology Integration Specialist visiting the classrooms to get a more in-depth appreciative understanding of how technology is impacting the classroom.

Survey results: Why use technology in the classroom?

A number of teacher motivations:

1. Desire to address various learning styles.
2. Belief that students will benefit from exposure.
3. Provide access to resources beyond the school.
4. Ability to increase students’ access to course material.
5. Ability to manage administrative tasks more effectively.
6. Availability of classroom equipment.
7. Encouragement from students.
8. Ability to facilitate communication with students.
9. Reliability of technology at the school.
10. Inspiration from peers.

Some student motivations:

1. Engaging students in learning activities using technology that require them to analyze information, think creatively, make predications and draw conclusions.
2. Students can showcase their learning using technology rather than traditional paper reports.

We welcome feedback on our quest

The bigger conversation

2009-09-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Confident in the knowledge that this grant has created the opportunity for us to reshape the future of our schools and possibly the entire community, I decided that in addition to the strong task force that was appointed, we needed the insight of people who had been through many years and many businesses models. Seven people were asked to spend 90 minutes on an August afternoon sharing their thoughts about our future; all agreed to participate even from out of town. Only two of them had any direct contact with the schools, all others where either supporters of other day schools or had spoken openly about their lack of support for day school education. They came to the meeting because it was intriguing to be asked their business opinions for application to the Jewish community, because they like each other, and because our family has built up enough social capital to ask for this kind of attention. My goal was not only to listen to their thoughts but to test the idea that people who are asked to share their expertise without being asked for anything else are happy to do so. We so rarely ask people who are extremely successful to really think about challenges in our Jewish community they way they think about their business challenges. The meeting was very successful and they voluntarily asked to be kept apprised of our progress. Additionally, I am confident they would participate again for other similar challenges because they had a great time sharing their thought with each other. I plan on doing so to address the high cost of tuition next time.

Saul Mirowitz/Solomon Schechter Day School Collaboration

2009-08-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

Our first conversations were basic. How old are your kids? What is it about your school that inspires you?

These simple conversations took enormous courage. The Saul Mirowitz Day School and the Solomon Schechter Day School had an eight year history of distancing from one another. With new leadership and a willingness to reach out, the conversation was ready to begin.

Quietly, my Board Chair and I met with the Board Chair and Head of Solomon Schechter Day School to get to know one another and begin a process to which we could not see an end.

The conversation progressed rapidly to hit the heart of the matter. Why do you believe it’s important to sustain your school despite the enormous effort it takes to raise money each year? Why not just merge our schools? And how can we save money and sustain both institutions?

Within six months of meetings, the two schools began to create a plan. The goal: to elevate the functioning of both schools, leverage our dollars, and sustain the philosophic and denominational integrity of each institution. The results: a collaborative atmosphere among the day school community, a willingness to reach out, and a potentially exemplary model for other institutions.

As we move forward, we find that the hardest work has just begun. Now we need to make difficult decisions together, come to agreement, and carve out time from the work of running schools to put our plan into action.

First Steps in Integration of Technology

2009-08-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

FIRST STEPS in INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY

As one of the recipients of the Avi Chai Cost Savings Grants the South Palm Beach County's three Jewish Day Schools, Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Hillel Day School of Boca Raton and Weinbaum Yeshiva High School have hired a Shared Technology Integration Specialist, Kathie Yuz, who will work on integrating curriculum development with an emphasis on Judaica.

Kathie Yuz is a technology specialist who worked at CAJE-Miami for the last 22 years and assisted the Jewish Day Schools of South Florida "to get wired for the 21st Century."

Some of the other areas that we will be working on improving and implementing are:

Assessing teachers knowledge and needs.

Design - Determining appropriate strategies.
Development - "The Lesson Plan"
Implementation - "The Lesson Checklist"
Evaluation and Redesign - On Implementing Technology
Creating a Shared Technology Vision
To Acquire and Budget for Consistent and Adequate Funding
Setting up a mini-district for joint purchasing.
Provision of consistent and reliable technology support.
Create an engaged community of schools.
Encompass Ongoing Professional Learning

This grant will impact close to 1,400 students and 220 teachers. As the 2009/10 academic school year approaches we are excited to embark on this project and look forward to hearing from our constituents and to sharing our progress.

First Steps

2009-07-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

We’ve had a rush of excitement at Akiba and Yavneh with the announcement of the Avi Chai grant. Both school boards unanimously passed resolutions that committed our schools to a process of cooperation and resource sharing. In order to facilitate this, we’ve been assembling a team of great minds, business people and community leaders to help guide us through this transition.

In several brainstorming sessions, various minds have defined the qualities we need in a task force chair, and its members. Should the person be vested in both schools? Should he or she be Jewish? Should he or she be a recognized leader in the community? After thoughtful deliberation we concluded that the chair would have the following responsibilities:

Lead selection of committee members
Organizing and managing the committee, calling meetings as appropriate and in a timely manner
Direct communication with the board, community, school staff and other stakeholders.
Delivering the benchmarks specified within the Avi Chai Grant. These include:

Negotiating, engaging and managing the organizational consultant
Reviewing, evaluating and presenting to both school Boards the consultant recommendations for a shared organizational structure that maximizes operational synergies and improves overall performance.
Delivering the implementation of a new school management software
Approve new job descriptions, manage search process to staff those positions as needed

Our first choice for the chair of the task force was a successful retired corporate executive who is not directly associated with the schools but is deeply committed to Jewish education. He was unable to commit to this task because of his already saturated schedule, but will participate in a less-demanding role. After doubling our search efforts, we took a tried-and-true play from the business playbook and promoted from within – giving already established leaders in our community an opportunity to participate. As a result we chose Jaynie Schultz, who has vast community experience to keep the group organized.

Since that decision Jaynie has organized a group of business leaders with massive organizational experience and no direct ties to the schools to have a one-time meeting to craft a “straw man” organizational structure and identify key cultural issues the task force and schools should anticipate. Once our full time consultant is engaged and presents their recommendations, we will take advantage of the business-culture insights of these leaders and merge NBOA’s. Additionally the task force as originally conceived is nearly complete and will include three people directly associated with the schools and two with broader perspectives.

Day School Cooperation to Yield Cost Savings

2009-06-02T08:50:00.001-07:00

The AVI CHAI Foundation is awarding grants to six collaborative initiatives across North America designed to cut costs involved in day school education. Day school collaborations are one way to help address the issues of high day school costs that inevitably result in high tuitions.

Back in September 2008, AVI CHAI released a Request for Proposals for Day School Cooperation and Cost savings for the purpose of encourage new cooperative ventures among day schools, whether at the corporate/administrative level or in the core educational program. Ultimately, the goal was to produce cost savings.

After receiving more than 53 applications from school across North America, AVI CHAI’s Trustees decided to award six grants for a total of $540,000 dollars over the next two years. The funding is intended to cover the temporary costs involved in implementing the cooperative arrangements as well as the costs of consultants, where needed, to help concretize the implementation of the plans.

The grant recipients, all day school collaborations, sometime with the involvement of the local central agency of Federation, are:

1. Akiba Academy, a modern Orthodox day school with students in pre-school through eighth grade, and Yavneh Academy, a modern Orthodox high school, both located on the same campus in Dallas, Texas, will work to completely merge and integrate their back office operations.

2. The Columbus Torah Academy, an Orthodox K-12 day school, and the Columbus Jewish Day School, a K-6 Community day school, both located in Columbus Ohio, will be working with the Columbus Jewish Federation to develop a staff sharing structure for various back office functions, with a focus on their accounting and human resource departments.

3. The Solomon Schechter Day School of St. Louis, with students in kindergarten through eighth grade, and the Saul Mirowitz Day School, a Reform day school for students in grades K-5, located in St. Louis, Missouri, will work towards a merger of their business offices and a full integration of their accounting and development software.

4. The Kehila Jewish Community Day School, a K-6 community day school, and the Hamilton Jewish Academy, an Orthodox day school serving students from preschool through grade eight, in Hamilton, Ontario, will join their middle schools and create the Hamilton Hebrew Middle School, offering students secular studies and the choice of either a cultural or source-based Judaic studies track.

5. Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Hillel Day School of Boca Raton, and Weinbaum Yeshiva High School of Boca Raton, all located in South Florida will share a Technology Integration Specialist who will work on integrated curriculum development with an emphasis on Judaics.

6. The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life of the MetroWest Federation in New Jersey is leading an effort of the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School, the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex & Union, and the Nathan Bohrer – Abraham Kaufman Hebrew Academy of Morris County, to develop an innovative approach to building alumni networks and development opportunities.

“Day schools across America are threatened by escalating costs, which lead to increasing tuitions,” explains Yossi Prager, AVI CHAI’s executive director in North America. “Some schools are already seeing the impact of rising tuitions in reduced enrollment. We are trying to encourage schools to consider ways to take advantage of efficiencies and economies of scale while maintaining their high educational quality.”

Recognizing that at times it costs money to save money, and that schools may not be in the position to make those initial investments, AVI CHAI’s grant is intended to help schools over the hump. For each of the approved grants, cost-savings should become apparent within one to two years post-implementation, if not sooner.

“We view these six initiatives as experiments designed to yield greater economies of scale that will lower costs,” Prager continues. “We anticipate a double benefit: first, immediate success for the benefit of the participating schools and communities and second, lessons that we hope will ultimately reduce the cost of day school education in other communities as well.”

To that end, the foundation has started a blog (dayschoolcostsavings.blogspot.com) where the grant recipients will document their experiences and provide monthly updates about their progress, lessons learned as well unforeseen challenges along the way and how they address them.