Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy teaches Israel and Hebrew through spiraled curriculum

   At Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy, a Modern Orthodox and Zionist Jewish day school for children in ECE through grade 8 based in Beverly Hills, California, Hebrew education is fully and seamlessly integrated with Zionism, Israeli culture, and Jewish and world history. The school’s philosophy is that Limudei Eretz Yisrael and Hebrew language are completely intertwined, and the chief implementer of this philosophy is Dalia Golan, Director of Harkham Hillel’s Ivrit and Israel Education Department. 

Years in the making, Harkham Hillel created its own in-house, spiraled curriculum for grades 1 through 8. The academic year is divided into 5 thematic units, with spiraling and layered content each year, so that over the course of years, students have learned a large body of facts about Israel’s geography, history, government, foundations, culture, and people. The entire Israel curriculum is taught in Hebrew by Israeli teachers, in an immersive environment supported by experiential education led by young Israeli emissaries, over the course of the entire academic year. However, the focus is not on teaching Hebrew language, rather, it is about teaching the content of Limudei Eretz Yisrael. No one at Harkham Hillel refers to Hebrew as a second language or as a foreign language, rather they speak of Hebrew as “S’fat HaAm,” the language of the Jewish people.    

The younger the child is when language acquisition begins, the better, and most students at Harkham Hillel get an early start. Harkham Hillel has its own pre-school with Israeli co-teachers in every class from the 2’s through kindergarten. Classic Israeli children’s literature and musical standards, which are filled with sophisticated vocabulary and grammatical structures, are part of everyday learning. By the start of 1st grade, Harkham Hillel early childhood graduates can recite by heart dozens of classic Israeli stories and can sing מאה שירים הראשונום “The First 100 Songs.” Since the vast majority of Harkham’s elementary school students rise the ranks from their own pre-school, it is possible to conduct school in Hebrew in a natural and authentic way. The elementary and middle school spiraled curricula are revised and updated every year to ensure that that Israeli culture in the school remains current. Veteran Israeli teachers who have been living for a long time in Southern California rely on the authentic and contemporary cultural knowledge of the youngest members of the Harkham Hillel faculty: 4 young women who come to work at Harkham Hillel for one year as part of their 2-year Sherut Leumi, National Service. These 19-year-old women enthusiastically educate the students at Harkham Hillel, through informal and experiential education that carefully aligns with the school’s formal curriculum. 

The eighth-grade curriculum has two unique foci – Masa Culinary: A journey through Israel’s Culinary Culture, and Israel education with the lens of Israel’s achievements and conflicts – both culminating during the 8th grade trip to Israel at the end of the school year. Harkham Hillel’s leadership believes it is essential to focus on Israel and its conflicts, both external and internal, so that their graduates understand that Israel is a modern, democratic, Jewish, yet imperfect nation. Says Dalia Golan, “it is essential that prior to beginning high school, our graduates understand that not all is well in Israel. Our goal is for students to love ‘the real Israel’ for all that it is.” Before Israeli elections, the positions of all political parties are presented, and the resulting makeup of the Knesset, coalition, and opposition are studied after elections are concluded. Teachers present the broad scope of ideological beliefs in Israel without sharing their own political opinions.  

Masa Culinary is a powerful and delightful organizing theme, after many years of studying the multiple layers of “Israel and its people.” The multitude of influences that converge in Israeli cuisine are delicious. They are also a powerful metaphor for Israel: a complex, nuanced melting pot of the Jewish people. While travelling through Israel, the 8th graders love taste-testing and perusing the aisles of Israeli supermarkets, processing through their senses the layers of Jewish history and Israeli culture. 

Between visiting the sites of Israel about which they have learned throughout their lives and eating the polyglot of Israeli cuisine, the Harkham Hillel 8th graders can be heard singing Israeli hit songs, in Hebrew, at the top of their lungs. They are not singing along with the radio of their tour bus in a second language, nor in a foreign language. They are singing, with love and joy, in S’fat HaAm, the language of the Jewish people. 

Intentional commitment and mindful decision-making to Hebrew Language at Boston’s Jewish Community Day School

Hebrew to follow לעברית, אנא ראו בהמשך

Shavuot flowers made by 1st graders sharing their favorite learnings.

At JCDS, Boston’s Jewish Community Day School in Watertown, MA, Hebrew is a window into Israeli culture, and it is with this understanding and focus that it is taught to their students; Hebrew language IS at their center! When JCDS founder Arnee Winshall was recently asked why Israel was integral to the founders’ original mission of the school, her response was: “Our entire approach was to connect to Israel through creating a dual language and a dual culture environment, where the spirit of Israel would be in the air. A place where we sing Israeli songs, learn Israeli dance, celebrate holidays, cuisine, and  history: find ways to integrate Hebrew and Israel throughout the curriculum, and even make it so on some days you wouldn’t know whether you were in the US or in Israel”.  

Coupled with this vision, and as a pluralistic, 21st century cutting-edge bicultural institution of learning, JCDS has always recognized that exposure to foreign language is crucial in developing its students’ global awareness and appreciation for interconnectedness.  At JCDS, Hebrew extends well beyond the classroom. It is heard in the art room, the hader ochel (dining hall) throughout the hallways, on the playing fields, and it is seen in displays and on bulletin boards. As Head of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, Dorit Zmiri told us, “Through Hebrew, our students are exposed and organically acculturated to the land of Israel and its people”.  

How does JCDS manage to sustain and maintain such a strong Hebrew program?  

Gan Nitzan student creating an Alef” in the sand.

A deliberate decision was made early on in the school’s development, that each Lower School classroom would be home to two full time teachers: an English speaker and a native Hebrew one who would consistently speak their native tongue throughout the day. Within this natural language environment, children are exposed to authentic parlance, speech, and everyday dialect. Be it conversations, stories, talk of feelings and emotions, humor, or the simple giving of directions, the children hear it all in genuine language. As well, the fine arts at JCDS: their music, art, and dance programs are taught entirely in Hebrew (with an occasional English translation if needed). 

Hebrew learning begins in Gan Nitzan and culminates in 8th grade, but at the core of JCDS is that Hebrew language acquisition is assessment based. Every student is evaluated annually through OPI, the Oral Proficiency Interview, and based on progress monitoring, placed at an appropriate level to maximize their learning.  With Sharona Givol at the helm of their Hebrew program for nearing two decades, she developed marvelous units for the learner according to their Hebrew proficiency level and age appropriateness.  

As a result of the Corona pandemic, two major changes transpired at the school. Early on came a 25% increase in students arriving from local public schools with little to no Hebrew background. Conversely, the following year, on

ce some of the restrictions were lifted, several Israeli students arrived at once, speaking almost no English. To address these two opposing challenges, JCDS expediently developed, out of necessity, and in keeping with their original mission, classes to accommodate and meet every student at their individual level, including, for the very first time in its history, an entire year’s unit for 8th grade native Hebrew speakers. Throughout this sophisticated unit, students create a website in which they explore  giving tours around Israel that include information about history, environment, geography and the demographics of its citizens. As well, they create a complete marketing package for schools from abroad wishing to tour The Israel Trail, a hiking path that extends across the country from north to south.  

JCDS students, from Gan Nitzan through 8th grade, live and breathe Hebrew in an authentic bicultural, bilingual environment that was, and will always remain, at their center.  

 

בית ספר JCDS הוקם על  מנת ליצור סביבת למידה שבה התלמידים נעים בנוחות בין שתי התרבויות; האמריקאית והישראלית.  

8th grader is showing off his “Israel Trail “ marketing package

לדברי דורית זמירי ראש המחלקה לעברית ב– JDCS, מייסדי בית הספר חזו בית ספר בבוסטון שבו התרבות הישראלית חיה, עשירה ואותנטית ככל האפשר, וניתן לראותה ולחוש אותה במסדרונות בית הספר, בכיתות, במגרש המשחקים, ובחדר האוכל. 

כיצד הצליח JCDS לקיים ולשמור על סביבת עברית חזקה כל כך במשך כל השנים הללו? 

המחויבות של ארני ווינשל, ממייסדי בית הספר,לשפה העברית ולפלורליזם הפכה אותם לחלק חשוב מהחזון והפילוסופיה החינוכית של בית הספר, ושמרה על קיומם לאורך השנים. 

מחשבה ומשאבים רבים הושקעו בבניית סביבה דו-לשוניתב-JCDS. למשל, בחטיבת היסודי, עובדים במקביל באותה כיתה שני מורים, דובר עברית ודובר אנגלית המדברים את שפתם לאורך כל היום. כמו גם שיעורי אמנות, מחול ומוסיקה מתנהלים בעברית מתוך כוונה לחשוף כמה שיותר את התלמידים לשפה העברית. באותה מידה מצופה מהמורים להביע את מחשבותיהם ורגשותיהם בשפה הנוחה להם באופן מלא ואותנטי, ובמידת הצורך מישהו אחר יתרגם את דבריהם לטובת מי שאינו מבין את שפתם. 

העברית ב– JCDS נמצאת במרכז, בלמידה הפורמלית והחוויתית כאחד. ההוראה בכיתה נערכת בשפה העברית ומתמקדת במיומנויות השפה: דיבור, האזנה, קריאה וכתיבה. התוכנית מבוססת על מנגנון הערכה המלווה את התלמידים לאורך תקופת שהותם בבית הספר. הערכה זו מאפשרת מעקב אחר התקדמות הלומדים ויצירת חומרי לימוד מותאמים לצרכיהם. ברשות בית הספר הצטברו עד כה יותר מעשרים שנה של נתונים על הישגי הלומדים על פי סולם  ACTFL. 

במהלך השנים האחרונות, עקב מגפת הקורונה, התרחשו שני שינויים דמוגרפיים שהיוו אתגר להקניית השפה העברית בבית הספר. מחד, הגיעו תלמידים רבים מבתי ספר ציבוריים ללא רקע בעברית, מאידך, הגיעו תלמידים ישראלים ללא ידע בשפה האנגלית. על מנת לענות לצרכים השונים של תלמידים אלו, נפתחו כיתות מכינה ללימוד העברית, וכיתות ELL ללימוד אנגלית  עבור דוברי העברית.  

בפעם הראשונה נפתחה כיתה לרמת דוברי עברית (ישראלים)  שהצריכה תכנית לימודים שונה ויצירת יחידות לימוד חדשניות. שרונה גיבעול, שבמשך שנים עמדה בראש המחלקה לעברית ופיתחה את כל יחידות הלימוד, ענתה לאתגר ופיתחה יחידת  לימוד חדשה – ״שביל ישראל״ -מסלול טיולים המשתרע לכל אורכה של ישראל. כל תלמיד בכיתה ח׳ קיבל משימה של מדריך טיולים לקטע אחר בשביל ישראל, ויצר תוכנית שיווקית מלאה לבתי ספר מחו״ל שרוצים לטייל. כל תלמיד הקים אתר אינטרנט בעברית שכלל מידע חברתי, סביבתי, דמוגרפי והיסטורי ובנוסף אפשרויות לינה, תחבורה, ארוחות ,בידור ותקציב. 

יכולת בית הספר לקיים סביבה דו תרבותית ודו לשונית שבה חיים ונושמים את התרבות הישראלית עד כמה שניתן לעשות זאת מחוץ לישראל, מעידה על המחוייבות לחזון בית הספר והתאמתו  לנסיבות הזמן. 

 

Unabashed Zionists bring joy to Hebrew at Gray Academy, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Some of us live in communities where there are five Jewish day schools and yeshivot within a mile’s radius, while some of us live in states or provinces with only five such schools. Few of us, however, are part of a Jewish day school or yeshiva that is the only game in town and within a five-hour radius! Welcome to the Gray Academy of Jewish Education, a pluralistic Jewish day school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the only K-12 Jewish day school in Western Canada, and a proud member of Hebrew at the Center.

For those who are unfamiliar, Winnipeg is on the Prairies, 536 kilometers (about the length of New York State) due north of the US border, between North Dakota and Minnesota, halfway between Vancouver in the West and Toronto in the East.

Hebrew language educators at Gray Academy of Jewish Education may be few, but they are mighty! The school was founded in 1997 as the result of the amalgamation of three founding Jewish day schools. Today, Gray Academy is the crown jewel of the Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education, supported by the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, accredited by the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools, and a member of Prizmah.

Winnipeg’s P2G region in Israel is the Gallil and this relationship has run deep over 25 years. Gray’s grade 10 & 11 students provide home hospitality to their Israeli-teen counterparts from Danciger High School in Kiryat Shmona, and then travel to Israel touring, going to school and living in the homes of their host brothers and sisters in the Galil. Real bonds of friendship are formed and often last a lifetime. Many of the parents of today’s students are themselves graduates of Gray Academy or one of its predecessors, including Ronit Amihude, Gray’s Director of Learning and Innovation. Ronit says that approximately 25% of her childhood classmates made aliyah. The Zionist-Jewish community of Winnipeg wants their children to see Hebrew language as a prominent and intentional feature of Jewish life.

As part of a recent accreditation self-study, focus groups with various stakeholders – including with high school students – revealed that attention needed to be paid to revitalizing Hebrew language instruction at Gray Academy. The love of Hebrew was there in the lower grades, but older students in the middle and high school were looking for more when it came for learning the language. Said Ronit, “We learned from teen students that joy and excitement around the language wasn’t what it could be. The structure of the program did not make them understand what is so amazing about Hebrew. Students said they want to be able to have real conversations with their Israeli peers. They want connections.” Gray Academy’s students were able to clearly articulate the sentiments we suspect exist in Jewish students around the globe. Their school’s leadership and teachers decided to take on the challenge to help students find the intrinsic motivation to use and love Hebrew language.

Thus was born a new partnership between Gray Academy and Hebrew at the Center, a non-profit that envisions a world where Hebrew is vibrant, celebrated, and pivotal to a thriving Jewish identity and the global Jewish community. Gray Academy became an HATC Member School, applied for and received a grant from the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba to invest in a two-year deep dive into making Hebrew language instruction more communicative, relevant, contemporary, and youthful.

Teachers entered this process with enthusiasm and excitement and have gotten more clarity about the goals of teaching and learning Hebrew. Says Ronit, “we don’t want our students to learn content through Hebrew, rather, to learn Hebrew as a communicative language.”

At the same time, the process of change has been challenging. While all members of the Hebrew faculty are licensed teachers, none were formally trained as foreign language teachers. With guidance from HATC, they are learning the theories, experimenting, and tweaking their techniques and lessons. At one point or another, each of these dedicated and professional teachers has hit bumps in the road, yet the remain committed to the process.

Because Gray Academy’s leadership recognizes that this kind of deep, nuanced work never happens on a straight, upward-bound trajectory, each of their 13 Hebrew teachers receives individualized coaching from a member of the HATC team. Additionally, HATC’s Chief of Staff and Director of Education, Dr. Esty Gross, has twice visited Gray Academy and she collaborates with Ronit Amihude. However, since Ronit’s responsibilities at Gray Academy span both General and Jewish education, her dream is to one day have an in-house Hebrew language leader at Gray Academy.

Ronit Amihude and the dedicated Hebrew faculty on the prairies of Manitoba continue to grow, persevere, and develop as a team and as individuals, with their eye on their students’ desire to communicate in Hebrew, with authenticity and joy.

A Personal Journey: From Math Teacher in Israel, to Jewish Day School Principal in America

Do you love teaching Hebrew at a Jewish day school, but worry that it is a dead-end job? Are you concerned that the only way to get ahead professionally is to leave the work you love?  Well, buckle up and get ready to be inspired by the career journey of Dr. Ilanit Hoory, an Israeli educator who climbed the ranks in Jewish day school education over the last 30 years, starting as a Hebrew and Limudei Kodesh teacher of young children, rising to the role of assistant principal, and now serving as the beloved Lower School principal of the Leffell School in Westchester, New York. Dr. Hoory’s journey as an educator began in Israel, where she taught math to grades 3-5 students. However, when she moved to the United States, there were barriers to becoming a licensed teacher, so she began teaching Ivrit and Limudei Kodesh at the Brandeis School in Lawrence, New York. Ilanit had no prior experience or formal training in teaching language, Hebrew, or Judaic Studies, but she fell in love with teaching young children, particularly how to read and write, and her students and their parents reciprocated that love. 

In 2000, Dr. Hoory took a position at the Leffell School in Westchester, NY and out of her own curiosity, undertook the best (and free!) form of professional development: closely observing Joyce Wechsler, a Master Teacher, and one of her general studies counterparts across the hall. To this day, Dr. Hoory credits Joyce and all her general studies colleagues for her strong English skills as well as her Hebrew teaching skills. “Year after year, day after day,” says Dr. Hoory, “I was just another first-grade student in Joyce’s classroom, learning the fundamentals and smallest details of English literacy.”  At first, Dr. Hoory was just observing, but over time, her observations became increasingly systematic, and she discovered the subtle but crucial differences between teaching language and teaching reading. “It was an epiphany that within a language-rich environment, each language skill – reading, writing, listening, and speaking – needed to be individually and discreetly practiced, corrected, and perfected.” 

Dr. Hoory’s love of teaching and curiosity led her to earn a master’s degree in Instructional Technology at Touro College and then to a promotion to assistant principal at the Leffel Lower School. Later she enrolled in a doctoral program at Yeshiva University’s Azrieli School of Jewish Education. Although she came from a mathematics background, had pursued graduate training in educational technology, and was focused on educational leadership in her coursework at Azrieli, she chose to focus her dissertation research on Hebrew language instruction, specifically the skill of Hebrew reading. “I wanted to make a lasting impact on our unique language and heritage,” says Dr. Hoory. She chose Dr. Scott Goldberg as her dissertation advisor, a tenured professor of education and psychology, as well as the author of MaDYK (Mivchan Dinami shel Y’cholot Kriah), a tool used in Jewish day schools and yeshivot around the world to assess and monitor Hebrew literacy development. 

Dr. Hoory conducted “action research” at the Leffell School using MaDYK to assess student achievement in Hebrew reading in grades 1-3. To be successful, Dr. Hoory needed to recruit Leffell Hebrew teachers to participate in the action research project, which admittedly, was made easier, now that she had achieved the status of assistant principal. “When we began doing MaDYK reading assessments in 2018,” shared Dr. Hoory,  “there was a lot of disbelief on the part of the teachers that their students were not developing their reading skills at grade level.” Though the results in the first-year baseline assessments were demoralizing, Dr. Hoory and her Hebrew department colleagues persevered and learned from Professor Goldberg to analyze data, identify struggling students, and improve their own instruction.  

Thanks to Dr. Hoory’s in-house action research, the Leffel School is now systematic in teaching Hebrew reading skills. They continue to use MaDYK as a standardized and research-based reading assessment in the primary grades and their Hebrew language curriculum, based on iTaLAM, is enriched using Professor Goldberg’s reading/phonics methodology. Comparing Leffell’s students’ MaDYK scores from 2018 to 2023 shows remarkable progress in young children’s grasp of the important skill of reading, a credit to their teachers who model being lifelong learners.  

Leffell’s Hebrew faculty is now working closely with Hebrew at the Center on additional discreet language skills and according to Dr. Hoory, the Leffell Hebrew faculty have developed a strong bond with Dr. Esty Gross, Chief and Staff and Director of Education at HATC, who pushes the teachers hard. “One thing I love about Hebrew at the Center is the constant growth, change, and renewal, continuously bringing expertise and new ideas,” shared Dr. Hoory. Oral language skills are on the list of long-term Hebrew language challenges. The Leffell School now implements AVANT Assessment in the older grades, which assesses all four language skills, giving the faculty in the upper grades rich data to analyze, study, and utilize to improve their teaching practices. 

Dr. Hoory is proud to be one of the few Israelis in the Jewish day school system who has risen to the position of Principal at an esteemed school and is grateful for the impact her research has had on Hebrew language instruction at the Leffell School. “My dissertation opened the door,” says Dr. Hoory, “but we are still a work in progress. We are fueling and flying at the same time!”  

Dr. Hoory’s journey is a testament to the power of passion and perseverance. By leaning into her curiosity, relying on colleagues in her school and in other organizations, and investing in her own education, Dr. Hoory has significantly led The Leffell School to improved Hebrew language education and results. Dr. Hoory shared her personal story with the hope of encouraging her fellow Israeli colleagues: 

I would like to encourage you and other Hebrew teachers to invest in your careers and in your professionalism as a Hebrew language instructor. Join me! Start small. Take classes through Hebrew at the Center. Spend time observing the English language arts teachers in your school. Rely on your general studies colleagues to provide you with embedded, free professional development as a close observer of their craft. See where it leads you.

Please Note: By being an HATC Member School, The Leffell School has benefited from discount rates on both MaDYK and AVANT assessments. HATC Member schools receive a $350 discount on MaDYK and a 50% discount on AVANT. 

מסע אישי:
ממורה למתמטיקה בישראל, למנהלת בית ספר יהודי באמריקה, המסע של ד”ר אילנית הורי

 האם את/ה אוהב/ת ללמד עברית בבית ספר יהודי אבל דואג/ת שזו עבודה ללא עתיד? האם את/ה מודאג/ת מכך שהדרך היחידה להתקדם מבחינה מקצועית היא לעזוב את העבודה שאת/ה אוהב/ת? ובכן, התכוננו לקבל השראה ממסע הקריירה של ד”ר אילנית חורי, מחנכת ישראלית שטיפסה במעלה סולם הדרגות בעולם החינוך היהודי במהלך 30 השנים האחרונות, מהתחלה כמורה לעברית ולימודי קודש לילדים צעירים, היא קודמה לתפקיד סגנית המנהל, וכעת משמשת כמנהלת בית הספר העממי האהוב של בית הספר לפל בווסטצ’סטר, ניו יורק. 

דרכה של ד”ר חורי כמחנכת החלה בישראל, שם לימדה מתמטיקה לתלמידי כיתות ג’-ה’. אך כאשר עברה לארצות הברית, נתקלה במכשולים שמנעו ממנה להפוך למורה מוסמכת, ולכן היא החלה ללמד עברית ולמודי קודש בבית הספר ברנדייס בלורנס, ניו יורק. לאילנית לא היה ניסיון קודם או הכשרה פורמלית בהוראת שפה, בהוראת עברית או יהדות, אבל היא התאהבה בהוראת ילדים צעירים, בעיקר קריאה וכתיבה, ותלמידיה והוריהם השיבו אהבה זו. 

בשנת 2000, ד”ר חורי עברה לבית הספר לפל בווסטצ’סטר, ניו יורק ומתוך סקרנות, בחרה את הדרך הטובה ביותר (והחינמית!) להתפתח מקצועית: היא צפתה מקרוב ולמדה מג’ויס וכסלר, מורה מצוינת ללימודים כלליים, שלימדה מעבר למסדרון. עד היום, ד”ר חורי זוקפת לזכותה של ג’ויס ולזכותם של עמיתיה ללימודים כלליים את כישורי האנגלית שלה כמו גם את כישוריה בהוראת העברית. “שנה אחר שנה, יום אחר יום”, אומרת ד”ר חורי, “הייתי רק עוד תלמידה בכיתה א’ בכיתה של ג’ויס, שלמדה את היסודות והפרטים הקטנים ביותר של אוריינות אנגלית”. בהתחלה, ד”ר חורי רק התבוננה, אבל עם הזמן, התצפיות שלה נעשו יותר ויותר שיטתיות, והיא גילתה את ההבדלים העדינים אך המכריעים בין הוראת שפה להוראת קריאה. “זו הייתה תגלית שבתוך סביבה עשירה בשפה, כל מיומנות שפה – קריאה, כתיבה, הקשבה ודיבור – זקוקה לתרגול, לתיקון ולשכלול בנפרד. 

אהבתה של ד”ר חורי להוראה ולסקרנות הובילה אותה לקבלת תואר שני בטכנולוגיות למידה במכללת טורו ולאחר מכן לקידום לסגנית מנהל בבית הספר היסודי של לפל. מאוחר יותר נרשמה ללימודי דוקטורט בבית הספר לחינוך יהודי עזריאלי בישיבה יוניברסיטי. למרות שהגיעה מרקע של מתמטיקה, למדה הכשרה לתואר שני בטכנולוגיה חינוכית והתמקדה במנהיגות חינוכית בקורסים שלה בעזריאלי, היא בחרה למקד את מחקר עבודת הדוקטורט שלה בהוראת השפה העברית, ובמיוחד במיומנות הקריאה בעברית. “רציתי להשפיע על השפה והמורשת הייחודית שלנו”, אומרת ד”ר חורי. היא בחרה בד”ר סקוט גולדברג כיועץ הדוקטורט שלה, פרופסור מן המניין לחינוך ופסיכולוגיה, וכן מחבר הספר MaDYK (מבחן דינמי של יכולות קריאה), כלי המשמש בבתי ספר יהודיים ובישיבות ברחבי העולם להערכות ולמעקב אחר התפתחות האוריינות העברית. 

ד”ר חורי ערכה “מחקר פעולה” בבית הספר לפל באמצעות MaDYK להערכת הישגי התלמידים בקריאה בעברית בכיתות א’-ג’. כדי להצליח, נדרשה ד”ר חורי לגייס מורים לעברית בלפל להשתתף בפרויקט המחקרי שלה. “כשהתחלנו לעשות הערכות קריאה של MaDYK ב-2018“, שיתפה ד”ר חורי, “היה הרבה חוסר אמון מצד המורים בכך שהתלמידים שלהם לא מפתחים את כישורי הקריאה שלהם בכיתה.” למרות שהתוצאות הראשוניות של הערכות הבסיס של השנה הראשונה היו מעוררות דאגה, ד”ר חורי ועמיתיה למחלקה לעברית התמידו ולמדו מפרופסור גולדברג לנתח נתונים, לזהות תלמידים מתקשים ולשפר את ההוראה שלהם. 

הודות למחקר הפעולה הפנימי של ד”ר חורי, בית הספר לפל פועל כעת באופן שיטתי בהוראת מיומנויות קריאה בעברית. הם ממשיכים להשתמש ב-MaDYK כהערכת קריאה סטנדרטית ומבוססת מחקר בכיתות היסוד ותכנית הלימודים שלהם בשפה העברית, המבוססת על iTaLAM, מועשרת באמצעות מתודולוגיית הקריאה/פונטיקה של פרופסור גולדברג. השוואת ההישגים באמצעות שיטת MaDYK של תלמידי Leffell בין השנים 2018 עד 2023 מראה התקדמות יוצאת דופן בתפיסת מיומנות הקריאה החשובה של ילדים צעירים, וזה נזקף לזכות של המורים המהווים דוגמא כיצד להיות לומדים לאורך החיים.  

המחלקה לעברית בבית הספר לפל עובדת כעת בשיתוף פעולה הדוק עם עברית במרכז (HATC) על כישורי שפה נוספים ולדברי ד”ר חורי, הפקולטה העברית של לפל פיתחה קשר חזק עם ד”ר אסתי גרוס, ראש הסגל ומנהלת החינוך בעברית במרכז אשר דוחפת חזק את המורים. “דבר אחד שאני אוהבת בעברית במרכז הוא הצמיחה, השינוי וההתחדשות המתמידים, שמביאים ללא הרף מומחיות ורעיונות חדשים”, שיתפה ד”ר חורי. מיומנות ההבעה בעל-פה נמצאת ברשימה של אתגרים ארוכי טווח. בית הספר לפל מיישם כעת את AVANT Assessment בכיתות הבוגרות יותר, אשר מעריכה את כל ארבעת כישורי השפה, ומעניקה לסגל בכיתות הגבוהות נתונים עשירים לניתוח, לשם שיפור שיטות ההוראה שלהם. 

ד”ר חורי גאה להיות אחת מהישראלים הבודדים במערכת החינוך היהודית שעלתה לתפקיד מנהלת בבית ספר מוערך והיא אסירת תודה על ההשפעה שהיתה למחקריה על הוראת השפה העברית בבית הספר לפל. “עבודת הדוקטורט שלי פתחה את הדלת”, אומרת ד”ר חורי, “אבל אנחנו עדיין בתהליך. אנחנו מתדלקים וטסים בו זמנית!” 

המסע של ד”ר חורי הוא עדות לכוחם של התשוקה וההתמדה. על ידי הישענות על סקרנותה, הסתמכות על עמיתים בבית ספרה ובארגונים אחרים והשקעה בחינוך שלה עצמה, ד”ר חורי הובילה באופן משמעותי את בית הספר לפל לשיפור החינוך בשפה העברית. ד”ר חורי שיתפה את סיפורה האישי בתקווה לעודד את עמיתיה הישראלים: 

אני רוצה לעודד אתכם ומורים נוספים לעברית להשקיע בקריירה שלכם ובמקצועיות שלכם כמורים ומורות שלהשפה העברית. הצטרפו אלי! תתחילו בקטן. קחו שיעורים בעברית במרכז. הקדישו זמן להתבוננות במורים בשפה האנגלית בבית הספר שלכם. סמכו על עמיתיכם ללימודים כלליים שיספקו לכם התפתחות מקצועית בחינם כמתבוננים מקרוב במלאכתם. תראו לאן זה יוביל אתכם. 

שימו לב: בהיותו בית ספר חבר בעברית במרכז, בית הספר לפל נהנה משיעורי הנחה הן על הערכות MaDYK והן על הערכות AVANT. בתי הספר החברים בעברית במרכז מקבלים הנחה של $350 על MaDYK והנחה של 50% על AVANT.

 

From Hebrew Infusion to Acquisition: Unleashing the Power of the Hebrew Language

When Charles Dickens, a somewhat repentant purveyor of antisemitic tropes, opens A Tale of Two Cities with “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” he might be describing the contemporary Jewish experience. In every generation, our people confront new opportunities, but also new and historic challenges. Today is no different. With a rise in antisemitism, many young people are choosing to move towards the exit of the Jewish community, and the growing gaps between both Jews of different orientations and between the two largest Jewish communities, Israel and North America, are of critical concern. As more Jews begin to define themselves as “Just Jewish,” “Culturally Jewish,” or consider removing “Jewish” from their identities, we must unlock strategies and interventions that creatively weave both the old and the new in ways that engage, inspire, and connect.

Read the full article by Rabbi Andrew Ergas in the winter 2023 Jewish Educational Leadership, Building the Jewish Experience issue by The Lookstein Center

TalentEducators: Data-Driven Professional Development for Hebrew Teachers

By: Aharoni Carmel and Yael Harari

The statistics for teachers leaving the field are shocking: between 30-50% of teachers in the US resign within the first five years. Research has also indicated that the right professional development and mentoring can reduce this attrition rate significantly. That said, a one-size-fits-all approach to professional development has proven to be highly ineffective.

For this reason, at TalentEducators, after we match and place teachers in new positions, we place emphasis and resources on highly professional and personalized support for each of our newly recruited teachers. To do this, we work with the educational institution as well as the educator to build a comprehensive support plan that includes programs from many wonderful partner organizations that offer professional development. This support plan looks different for different teachers even if they are teaching the same subject – such as Hebrew – at the same school.

In our experience, there are two specific challenges that need to be addressed when supporting new Hebrew teachers in their positions: the skills involved in teaching a second language and the cultural gap that many non-native North Americans experience when teaching in a day school for the first time.

In the past two years, we placed 59 Hebrew teachers in day schools in North America and the UK. These Hebrew teachers have required different support plans depending on the school requirements, and the teacher’s education and experience:

  • Hebrew at the Center bootcamp. Hebrew at the Center offers a three day bootcamp for new Hebrew teachers. In the last two years, 16 of our North American teachers have attended this bootcamp, preparing them for the first days of school.
  • One-on-one mentoring. All of our fellows have individual mentors who meet with them once a week to coach them through pedagogical approaches as well to address on the ground issues. Many of our mentors are independent though some are through organizations such as BetterLesson, JNTP, and Hebrew at the Center.
  • Curriculum support. For schools that follow a specific curriculum, we fund our fellows participation in iTalam, B’shvil HaIvrit, and Ulpan Or professional development sessions during the summer and throughout the year.
  • Graduate degrees. For teachers who are looking for both practical pedagogy as well as academic rigor, we have funded several of our fellows MA degrees as Middlebury College in Teaching Hebrew as a Second Language.
  • Cohort. We bring our Hebrew teachers together as a cohort to share best practices, ask questions, and create a community of new Hebrew teachers. This cohort has been run by Hebrew at the Center in the past and is now run by a TE staff member who is a veteran Hebrew teacher.

In order to measure the efficacy and success of these teachers as well as the support TalentEducators provides them, we conduct surveys twice a year. Our survey results reveal that these educators’ satisfaction in their positions as well as their administrators’ approval rate is higher than that of other new teachers. On a scale of 1-5, the employers rated their satisfaction with their Hebrew teachers’ work at 4.5, as opposed to an approval rate of 3.9 for other new teachers. In addition, all of the Hebrew teachers felt that their mentors positively impacted their teaching, rating the impact as a 4.6 out of 5. More than 80% of these Hebrew teachers are still in their original position (surpassing the average retention rate even amidst the Great Resignation), and the few who have left have either moved to a new location or have been given expanded responsibilities.

During the course of this work, one of the major challenges that we encounter when working with new Hebrew teachers is the reluctance of day schools to hire teachers with little to no teaching experience. The administration worries that the cultural gap combined with inexperience will ultimately lead to failure. In our experience, focusing on potential while creating a comprehensive personalized support plan can lead to greater satisfaction and retention. There is still a significant shortage of teachers, and specifically Hebrew teachers, however, if there is a mindset shift in addition to personalized professional development and mentoring, perhaps we can slowly bridge the gap.

 

Aharoni Carmel is the founding CEO of TalentEducators and a veteran principal of educational institutions both in Israel and the US with over twenty years of experience in the field of education.

Yael Harari is the Chief Operating Officer of TalentEducators and has more than fifteen years of experience in the field of education: as a teacher of literature and language and as a teacher-mentor in American Jewish schools and in Israeli mechinot.