בס״ד ב׳׳ה נוטר כרמו seeds 10 Years of Growth in Chinuch Contents From the Director: 10 Years of Growth, 10 Avenues of Impact Tending to the Vineyard Pen Tending to the Vineyard..........................................................................3 Dear Friend, Camera Portrait of a Classroom...........................................................................4 1. Training the Front Lines.......................................................................6 With tremendous gratitude to Hashem, in tribute to the that a strong, viable and successful Chabad education can Menachem Education Foundation’s tenth anniversary, and will become a reality. 2. Celebrating Chinuch..............................................................................8 we are proud to present you with Seeds, a magazine The last ten years of growth could not have happened honoring those who have joined us over the last ten years, 3. Building Leadership.............................................................................10 without our staunch supporters, who are not only friends championing a strong chinuch for every student in our of MEF, but advocates for our community’s children. In 4. Continuous Learning...........................................................................12 community. In this magazine you will meet the many faces particular, I would like to thank my dear friends, Mr. Alan those who tend to Hashem’s most precious – ”נוטר כרמו“ of 5. Raising the Standard...........................................................................14 and Mrs. Lori Zekelman for changing the experience of vineyard, our children. Each individual you will meet has Torah for thousands for Jewish children. Globe-Americas Global Impact......................................................................................16 partnered with MEF in ensuring that every student in a 6. Cultivating Community.......................................................................18 Chabad school has access to a high-quality education that This organization’s team has been the collaborative effort will prepare him or her to lead a successful life, imbued of hundreds of Mechanchim and Mechanchos over the 7. A Time to Recharge............................................................................20 with Torah and its values. years who have given of themselves to advance the Shlichus of chinuch. I would like to especially recognize Rabbi 8. Supporting the System........................................................................22 Chabad chinuch has changed in innumerable ways Yossi Rosenblum, Rabbi Mendy Greenbaum, Dr. Sarah over the last ten years. MEF is proud to have played a 9. A Vision for Chinuch...........................................................................24 Rosenfeld, Mrs. Chanah Rose, Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf, significant role in shifting our community’s attention to and Rabbi Noson Gurary whose work in the field has been 10. Planting Seeds of Change...................................................................26 the big picture of our chinuch system while maintaining critical in transforming Chabad chinuch today. Thanks also Comments an unwavering focus on individual student success. Our Looking Forward..................................................................................28 goes to Mrs. Rena Udkoff, Mrs. Leah Caras, and Mrs. Etty many innovative projects – teacher training programs, Teleshevsky for their dedication and talent in producing hand-holding-usd Funding Excellence..............................................................................30 educational conventions, teacher awards, the Zekelman this magazine. Standards – have realized incredible outcomes, and we are so grateful to begin reaping the fruits of our labor with There are countless more people who have played a vital MEF TEAM: enhanced learning, inspired educators, and a community role in the stories you are about to read, and while it is Rabbi Zalman Shneur, Executive Director Mrs. Blumie Gurevitz, Teacher Coaching Consultant that is engaged and proud of their schools. impossible to give all of them adequate credit, it is these Mrs. Chanah Rose, Educational Director Rabbi Yehuda Sugar, School Placement and Recruitment educators and lay-leaders who are shaping the next decade Mrs. Etty Teleshevsky, Administrator Mrs. Rena Udkoff, Communications Specialist As chinuch has changed, so have we. Over the years, MEF for Chabad chinuch. May Hashem bless all who are involved Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum, Director of Zekelman Standards and Mrs. Leah Minkowitz, Curriculum Specialist has kept growing and reinventing ourselves to meet the Leadership Training in the tending of Hashem’s vineyard, and may we see the Mrs. Avigail Bakaleynik, Curriculum Specialist changing needs of the children, teachers, and schools we Rabbi Menachem Greenbaum, Co-Director of Leadership Training seeds we plant today grow to the highest heights of success Mrs. Mimi Mark, Development Specialist serve. As chinuch has become more respected, with higher Dr. Sara Rosenfeld, D. Ed, Director of Zekelman Standards Training Rabbi Reuven Deray, IT Specialist in the renewed vitality of the Jewish people. Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf, Director of Menahaeli Mosdos Chinuch (Head of expectations of excellence, the goalposts have moved. Many Mrs. Leah Caras, Graphic Designer School) Training of the issues we will face in the next ten years of chinuch Rabbi Zelly Silber, Director of Teacher Induction will be different. No matter how difficult the challenge, Zalman Shneur Rabbi Zalman Shneur VAAD RUCHANI: BOARD OF DIRECTORS: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: VAAD HAMECHANCHIM: MEF will continue to rise to the occasion. With the brachos Rabbi Noson Gurary Mr. Gerald Eisenberg Dr. Galina Datskovsky Rabbi Menachem Greenbaum and inspiration of the Rebbe, we are excited and confident Executive Director Rabbi Chaim Dovid Kagan, PhD Rabbi Zalman Shneur Dr. Nathaniel Deutsch Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum Mr. Alan Zekelman Dr. Charlotte K. Frank Rabbi Yosef Simpson 2 3 educators utilize 625 resources that support Portrait of a successful standard implementation at educators were informed www.ZekelmanStandards.org. 850 and inspired at annual summer seminars, conventions and retreats. 167 CLASSROOM schools avail themselves of MEF's wide variety teachers recognized through of offerings. graduates of the Teacher 20 the Chinuch Awards for their 163 Induction Program were positive impact on their students. empowered with practical skills and pedagogical knowledge to actualize students’ potentials in the classroom each day. teachers and 150+ principals were employed through the MEF job fair and job placement services. educators participate 475 annually in professional development webinars to continue learning and honing their classroom skills. principals trained to 60 impact their schools through effective leadership practices in the Chabad School Leadership Program. experienced educators 35 were trained as mentors through the Daniel Kahalani Teacher Coaching Program, and in turn 7,000 mentored 250 new teachers. 3,000+ students benefit from standards-based students participated in customized assessment and individualized instruction. online assessment of the Zekelman Standards for Chumash*. Individualized Instruction for Building theEach Student Capacity of Educators Invigorating 1,860 the Chinuch individual donors from *Educational standards are the Community across the community learning goals for what students rallied to support MEF should know and be able to do at MEF CHAMPIONS THE BEST in a large fundraising each grade level. The Zekelman POSSIBLE CHINUCH FOR effort, proving grassroot Standards for Judaic Studies act EACH CHILD THROUGH A support and wide as uniform benchmarks to ensure that THREE-PRONGED APPROACH: recognition for the rigorous and age appropriate learning takes need and importance of place in Jewish schools around the world. school improvement. 4 5 TIP opened my eyes to a world of tools and techniques that I could use and develop to become a much more effective teacher. TIP laid out a roadmap to classroom excellence and gave us the opportunity to discuss the techniques, to internalize them, and to practice them in the : Training the work that we do both in the TIP classroom and in our own classrooms. Profile: I’ve seen tremendous change in how I approach my class on a daily basis as a result of the program. Rabbi MRS. ZELDY FRIEDMAN Front Lines Teacher, Bais Rivka High School, Crown Heights Dovid Blasberg TEACHER AT CHEDER MENACHEM, 1.Equipping Teachers with Tools for the Most Important Job in the World “My mentor was able to feel my pain and be there for me, LOS ANGELES giving me practical tips to address specific issues,” says hen Rabbi Yehoshua Einbinder completed a year using the best educational practices necessary to succeed Gerlitzky. “Having someone on my team was so important in “When I first started teaching, I was eager to Wof training in the Teacher Induction Program, he in the classroom. The program provides a built-in support making it through that rough first year.” succeed although I had very little knowledge or entered the classroom with new skills and systems for system by pairing new teachers with carefully selected experience in how to make that happen. Without enhancing the learning as well as building rapport with his MEF-trained mentors who work one-on-one with the Practical solutions, like streamlined classroom procedures, any substantial educational background, I was students. His students