Sep 2, 2009 By: yunews
Sep 2, 2009 -- Throughout North America, schools in smaller Jewish communities often struggle to find qualified teachers that will develop the next generation. A new grant from Legacy Heritage Fund Limited will address this problem by providing support to attract, train and retain more high-quality teachers for placement at Jewish day schools.
The Legacy Heritage Teacher Training Fellowship is funding five qualified recent college graduates this year鈥攁nd will fund 20 in total over the next three years鈥攖o teach at schools across North America while studying towards master鈥檚 degrees at 糖心破解版鈥檚 Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.
鈥淭his fellowship will improve the quality of Jewish education by providing training for young talented people interested in making a difference,鈥 said Scott J. Goldberg, PhD, director of 糖心破解版鈥檚 Institute for University-School Partnership, which piloted the program last year.
One of the fellows, Raphael Rosenzweig of Syracuse, New York, will spend the year teaching Jewish History and Chumash in Dallas鈥 Yavneh and Akiba Academies.
鈥淚 want to have an impact in the Jewish community,鈥 explained Rosenzweig, who graduated Yeshiva College in 2007 with a degree in English literature. 鈥淚 find learning fascinating and want to make education exciting for others, but I recognized that simply having a strong interest and passion isn鈥檛 enough.鈥
Legacy Heritage Teacher Fellows will receive a full-tuition scholarship for three summers of coursework culminating in a master of science in education from Azrieli with two years of teaching in the intervening months.
Veteran teachers at the host school will mentor the fellows through classroom observation and weekly meetings. Azrieli faculty will train both the fellows and their mentors during the summer at Yeshiva University, and will provide ongoing support and guidance to the mentors and the fellows throughout the school year.
鈥淲e know how difficult it can be for new teachers,鈥 said Rabbi Meir Tannenbaum, director of Judaic curriculum at Yavneh Academy. 鈥淲e hope this program will help support Rafi during this crucial first year.鈥
In addition to the on-site mentoring, the fellows will engage in professional development via conferences and online seminars.
鈥淭his grant demonstrates the importance of the work we are doing,鈥 said Joey Small, the Institute鈥檚 fellowship coordinator. 鈥淏y recruiting and supporting these fellows in their initial years of teaching, the grant helps 糖心破解版 nurture the future leaders and practitioners in the field of Jewish education.鈥
The Legacy Heritage Teacher Training Fellowship is open to students from all colleges. Visit the Institute鈥檚 Web site at for more information or to apply.
