Teacher Retention & Development
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The RAVSAK Journal HaYidion aY idion ח ו רור ףחורף תשס " ט • WinterWin t er 2008200 8 Teacher Retention & Development HaYidion: The RAVSAK Journal is a publication of RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School this issue: Network. It is published quarterly for distribution to RAVSAK member in schools, associate members, and other Jewish and general education organizations. No articles may be reproduced or distributed without What Do Teachers Want? express written permission of RAVSAK. All rights reserved. • by Peter Gow, page 6 Executive Editor: Dr. Barbara Davis Preparing Teachers Editor: Elliott Rabin, PhD Design: Adam Shaw-Vardi The Case for Certification in Jewish Schools • by Dr. Wallace Greene, page 10 Editorial Board Jason Albin, Milken Community High School, Los Angeles, CA Finding and Creating Good Teachers: What Does Ahuva Halberstam, Abraham Joshua Heschel High School, New York, NY the Research Tell Us? Namee Ichilov, King David School, Phoenix, AZ • by Michael B. Allen and Daniel W. Bennett, page 12 Patricia Schwartz, Portland Jewish Academy, Portland, OR Preparing and Launching Novice Judaics Teachers Robert Scott, Eleanor Kolitz Academy, San Antonio, TX Paul Shaviv, Tanenbaum CHAT, Toronto, ON • by Dr. Judy Markose and Dr. Sharon Wall, page 16 Judith Wolfman, Vancouver Talmud Torah, Vancouver, BC Developmental Ladder for Students and Teachers • by Dr. Richard Solomon, page 18 Contributors Michael Allen, Patrick F. Bassett, Daniel W. Bennett, Sarah Birkeland, Training Students to Become Jewish Educators Deborah Court, Shana Dege, Sharon Feiman-Nemser, Shelly Fogelson, • by Ari Y. Goldberg and Ruth Schapira, page 22 Ari Y. Goldberg, Dr. Scott Goldberg, Peter Gow, Dr. Wallace Greene, Rabbi Jill Hammer, Rabbi Elana Kanter, Joni Kolman, Dr. Jeffrey S. Inducting Teachers Kress, Rebecca Lurie, Dr. Judy Markose, Tamar Rabinowitz, Amer School-Based Induction Helps New Teachers Thrive Randell, Richard Sagor, Ruth Schapira, Yona Shem Tov, Dr. Richard • by Sharon Feiman-Nemser and Vivian Troen, page 26 Solomon, Vivian Troen, Dr. Susan Wall, Harry K. Wong. A Ritual for Welcoming Teachers Advertising Information • by Rabbi Jill Hammer, page 28 Please contact Marla Rottenstreich at [email protected] or by phone at 646-496-7162. Developing Teachers Investing in Teacher Development Pays Dividends RAVSAK • by Sarah Birkeland, page 30 120 West 97th Street New York, NY 10025 Tips from the Corporate World p: 212-665-1320 • f: 212-665-1321 • by Rebecca Cole Lurie, page 34 e: [email protected] • w: www.ravsak.org Alternative Approaches to Professional Development • by Joni Kolman, page 36 Professional Development in Jewish History RAVSAK would like to thank our associate members: • by Yona Shem-Tov, page 38 Mentoring Teachers School-based Mentoring: Principles to Live By • by Deborah Court, page 40 Mentorship for New Teachers in RAVSAK Schools • pages 44-50 Collaborative Development Against Mentorship: Induction through Collaboration • by Harry K. Wong, page 52 Action Research • by Richard Sagor, page 54 Re-thinking Pay for Performance • by Patrick F. Bassett, page 56 הידיעון A Word from the Editor, Page 3 • President’s Message, Page 4 • Conference, Pages 24-25 • SuLaM Shabbaton, Page 33 • HaYidion • HaYidion Religious Purposefulness, Page 62 • Bookcase, Pages 64 [2] From the Editor ¿ by Dr. Barbara Davis U.S. chooses ‘change’” is the headline on my Internet chological impact on the human mind. homepage as I begin to write the introduction to this To the fearful it is threatening because it HaYidion means that things may get worse. To the issue of on the day after Election Day. Yet hopeful it is encouraging because things as we all know, change is scary. Nonetheless, change may get better. To the confident it is in- is the fundamental feature of education. The Latin root of spiring because the challenge exists to the word “education” is “e-ducare” which means “to lead make things better.” out.” Education always involves change, as we lead our learners out from the known to the unknown, Dr. Barbara Davis is the Secretary of RAVSAK, from security to insecurity. Editor of HaYidion and Head of School at the Syracuse Hebrew Day School in Dewitt, This issue of HaYidion focuses on a kind of change that involves tremen- NY. Barbara can be reached at dous insecurity: entering the teaching profession, recharging the teaching [email protected]. profession, reinvigorating the teaching professional—specifically within the world of community day school education. The articles that follow come from professionals in the field, researchers, practitioners, and novice teachers themselves. They range from the theoretical to the practical to the personal. All of them Those of us who work in the field of Jew- are enlightening and you will find in them useful information, ideas, and statistics that ish community day school education are, will assist you and your schools to make the case for professional development of both by definition, optimistic and confident. new and experienced teachers. As you peruse this issue of HaYidion, we know that you will be inspired to make We know that the world we live in today is in a state of flux. The current economic change work for you, for your schools, situation will impact us in many ways, probably none of them particularly positive. But for your students, and for the Jewish fu- as educators, we know that, as King Whitney said, “Change has a considerable psy- ture. ¿ RAVSAK Awards Small School Scholarships Mazal tov to the following • Aleph Bet Jewish Day School • Mizel Jewish Community Day schools for being the recipi- (Annapolis, MD) School (Tulsa, OK) ents of the RAVSAK Small School • B’nai Shalom Day School • N.E. Miles Jewish Day School Professional Development Scholarship. (Greensboro, NC) (Birmingham, AL) These scholarships were made available • Boulder Jewish Day School • New Orleans Jewish Day School to enable educators from small Jewish (Longmont, CO) (Metairie, LA) day schools and small Jewish commu- • El Paso Jewish Academy • Richmond Jewish Day School nities across North America to benefit (El Paso, TX) (Richmond, BC) from the training, networking, and pro- fessional development opportunities of • Friedel Jewish Academy • Syracuse Hebrew Day School the 2009 RAVSAK Annual Leadership (Omaha, NE) (Dewitt, NY) Conference. • Hebrew Day Institute • The Shoshana S. Cardin School (Baltimore, MD) (Baltimore, MD) • Akiva Community Day School • Jewish Community School of *schools confirmed at press time (Nashville, TN) הידיעון (the Desert (Palm Desert, CA • Albert Einstein Academy • Lerner Jewish Community Day This scholarship is made possible by a most generous grant from the Jacob (Wilmington, DE) School (Durham, NC) • HaYidion and Hilda Blaustein Foundation. [3] From the Desk of Susan Weintrob, RAVSAK President he upcoming RAVSAK conference in San Fran- and persuasive. We want our parents and cisco promises to have joyful reunions, pro- non-parents to view us as a community fessional networking, and helpful workshops. asset and an investment in the future. Our conference is a time to learn from each other At RAVSAK, as in all of our schools, we and from national experts. invest in the Jewish future. Now is the time to come together, inspire each other Community at RAVSAK has always been important. Community is more im- and return to our schools with new ideas portant now than ever. During these troubled economic times, we will come together to learn how to keep our institutions strong. Susan Weintrob is the Presi- What can our own communities do—inside our schools, within our towns dent of RAVSAK and the Head of School at the Ronald C. Wor- and regional areas, and as a strong and strategic national organization? nick Jewish Day School in Foster City, CA. Susan can be reached The value that our schools bring to students, families, and communities is at [email protected]. crucial to the growth and strength of the Jewish people. Articulating this value to our families and donors now manifests the priorities of our people. We should tell every parent, “If you ever make an investment, make it in Jewish day school education. No matter what happens in the economy, you will get a 100% return for your investment. No outside factors can affect this and strategies to help us remain healthy outcome.” What other investment can give us this return? and strong. If Jewish education is a “must have,” we must strategize now. We must plot a road See you in San Francisco! that will take us to our goal: challenging education that inspires Jewish lives. Bivrachah, The changing dynamics offer us an opportunity to look at building sustainable in- stitutions. We want healthy schools that continue to tell a story that is compelling Susan ¿ The Executive Committee and Staff of RAVSAK wish you a Happy Chanukah הידיעון HaYidion • HaYidion [4] [HaYidion [5 • הידיעון What Do Teachers Want? Strategies for Keeping Your Best Teachers Happy and Growing ¿ by Peter Gow n recent years, the media have been alive with sto- and benefits a school can offer matters, ries about the coming teacher shortage. As the cur- teachers most desire flexible benefits pro- rent generation of master teachers retires and fewer grams responsive to their specific needs. Younger teachers, for example, may be young people go into the profession, we are told, it looking for childcare or help in paying will become harder and harder for schools to populate off student loans or financing graduate their classrooms with excellent teachers. The num- degrees, while more senior teachers are bers show that there is some truth behind the alarm- likely to be more focused on issues such as pensions and tuition remission for ist tales, and teaching continues to be seen in many their children. While many kinds of ben- quarters as a “soft,” low-paying, and low-prestige efits are expensive to implement, a strong profession that attracts relatively few high-achieving program will help schools keep teachers.