News from the Society for Advancement of Education,Jerusalem (Kidum)
SEPTEMBER 2020
|
|
We hope you and your families are in
good health and spirits!
|
|
From Jerry Isaak-Shapiro
"I Commend You for the Role You Have Played"
|
|
By now many of you have seen the notices about my recent appointment (as of September 1st, I’ll have a full month under my belt!) as AFK’s Executive Director. In a relatively brief amount of time, what I’ve learned about SAE’s schools and programs in Israel has been inspiring – inspiring for what the schools offer the individual students who attend these exceptional institutions, and exciting for the bigger picture of what all of these programs can do – together – for Israel’s future.
|
|
If you’re receiving this, then you’re already ahead of me in terms of your own connection to SAE, or possibly to a particular school or program. You know the value of these experiences for Israeli youth – and you know the potential that the thousands of SAE-school graduates hold for the Israeli society. Our graduates have gone on to become leaders in their chosen fields – in science and technology, in business, in social service and education and in government. For all that, I commend you for the role that you’ve played – for the support you’ve shown, not only this generation, but for future generations of Israelis.
I’ve been fortunate to have worked in a number of agencies – in the JCC in San Francisco, as a Regional Director in Northern California for Hillel, as a Regional Director for a youth movement in the entire Southwest. In all of these positions and in my previous role as Head of School of the Mandel Jewish Day School in Cleveland, I chose to work in genuinely pluralist settings, environments that reached out to a broad spectrum of the community, irrespective of affiliation or observance, and across the socio-economic gamut. Let’s just say that I’m a big believer that we’re all in this together – and that we all benefit from inclusive participation.
The American Friends of Kidum, in its support of SAE’s schools and programs, is a wonderful example of the same thinking. Taken together, SAE schools reach out to nearly every Israeli “sector” – and do so with quality and innovation. Israeli Arabs, “secular” and Orthodox and Haredi students all benefit from these transformative experiences. Frankly, I wish there were more organizations doing more of this type of work – but there are not. The Society for the Advancement of Education – SAE – is unique in its reach and its impact. And so too is AFK, in our partnership with them.
If you have thoughts about how we can best spread the word about the important work of AFK and our partner schools and programs in Israel, please share them with me. You can write me directly at jisaak-shapiro@kidum-us.org.
I look forward to being able to meet you – in person – when that is again possible. For now though, I wish you and your families good health – and I applaud you all for your commitment and participation in a remarkable enterprise.
Bivracha,
|
|
Jerry D. Isaak-Shapiro
Executive Director
|
|
Learning During the Pandemic --
How SAE Met the Challenges of COVID-19
|
|
The pandemic period has posed complex challenges for the schools and residences of the Society for Advancement of Education, both in the academic and emotional-therapeutic spheres.
SAE Executve Director Eitan Moran describes how the network's educational institutions and staff responded quickly with creative solutions, while developing a system of distance learning and preserving personal connections and treating students with warmth and inclusivity.
|
|
Sindiana Starts 4th Year with Hybrid Learning and Innovative Programs for all Students |
|
The Great Works program, which involves Sindiana's staff, students and their parents in a month-long examination of a well-known cultural work, will continue, even in the face of COVID-19, in the new school year. |
|
Sindiana -- the Arab Youth Village for Leadership -- will begin its fourth school year this week by integrating actual classroom attendance with Zoom classes in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health for combating COVID-19.
In addition, the school will continue two innovative programs that were launched last school year -- Great Works and Sindiana Fingerprints -- which involve all students in joint academic and community service activities.
The school is also embarking on a fund-raising campaign to renovate its chemistry and biology labs to afford new opportunities for students who want to advance their science studies.
|
|
Inbar High School Creates the "Hive" --
A New Learning Model to Mitigate the Virus
|
|
The students and staff at SAE’s Inbar High School, Israel’s first secular leadership school for girls in Jerusalem, engaged in a two-day brainstorming and planning session earlier this summer to determine the best academic and social protocols in this age of COVID-19 when classes start in September.
The result? The "Hive Model" -- named after the industrious bee who is equipped to work both inside (the hive) and outside (the flowers). Inbar principal Miriam Leibowitz-Assaraf explains in detail how it works. Schools in the U.S. might wish to take a few notes!
|
|
Ein Carmit Residence Opens Alumni House |
|
Re'ut Named a Top Israeli High School |
|
SAE's Ein Carmit Residence in Jerusalem opened a three-unit alumni house for graduates of the boarding school aged 18-26 who are in preparation period, year of service, military service and academic studies. More about Ein Carmit
|
|
SAE's co-ed pluralistic Re'ut High School was just named one of the top high schools in Israel by the Ministry of Education. Re'ut will moving to a new purpose-built building, above, this September. More about the selection process here.
|
|
Two Boyar High School Graduates
Named to Important Israeli Government Posts
|
|
Edith Bar, Boyar '99, has been appointed Chairman of the Vatmal, a key Israel Ministry of Interior committee responsible for coordinating housing and municipal development with local governments.
|
|
Esther Elias, Boyar '02, has assumed the important Foreign Trade Administration position of Head of the Economic and Trade Mission (the Commercial Attache) at the Israeli Embassy in Berlin, Germany.
|
|
High-Tech Hydroponic Greenhouse Key Part of New Agrotech Course at Boyar High School |
|
Israelli government officials, agricultural experts and SAE educational leaders were
on hand in mid-August when Boyar High School celebrated the establishment of a state-f-the-art high-tech greenhouse on its Jerusalem campus.
′′The greenhouse is an innovative learning lab for Agrotech,” said SAE Executive Director Eitan Moran, “which combines science, technology and agriculture."
|
|
The hydroponic greenhouse, incorporating the most advanced technologies, is a key part of an new precise farming course that the renowned high school will launch when school opens this September that will combine research and agriculture studies with social action. |
|
Change a Life -- Make a Difference in Israel!
Help students from disadvantaged communities reach their full potential.
Support the Society for Advancement of Education, Jerusalem's
|
|
MEET SAE STUDENTS
Video with Students from Sindiana, Boyar, Re'ut and Hachmey Lev Yeshiva
|
Hear directly from students how SAE high schools are broadening the educational horizons and enriching the lives of gifted students from disadvantaged communities in Israel, instilling a love of learning and and a desire to giveback to their communities. View Video
|
|
|
American Friends of Kidum (AFK) is dedicated to increasing awareness and
financial support for the educational initiatives of the
Society for Advancement of Education, Jerusalem (Kidum).
SAE runs 16 highly acclaimed high schools and residences for talented students from disadvantaged communities in Israel’s economic and geographic periphery, providing them with the academic skills and the social confidence they need to fully participate in and contribute to Israeli society.
AFK cultivates relationships and serves as a vital connection between SAE and its friends,
supporters, partners and alumni in the U.S.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
