Aug 14, 2009 By: yunews
Aug 14, 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, Chaya Shochet, will spend the year as a third-grade teacher in her alma mater, Stamford, Connecticut鈥檚 Bi-Cultural Day School.
鈥淭his is a perfect opportunity to give back to the community and inspire the students the way some of my teachers inspired me,鈥 said Shochet, who graduated from Brandeis University in 2007 with majors in psychology and Hebrew language and literature.
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.
Shochet decided to become a full-time teacher after substituting at Bi-Cultural Day School for a while. With her husband Matt鈥檚 encouragement, Shochet decided to apply for the fellowship. 鈥淚t is comforting as a new professional to have these resources available as I encounter new and different experiences as an educator.鈥
Elisheva Kilner, the school鈥檚 Jewish Education Coordinator will serve as Shochet鈥檚 mentor. 鈥淚 will be there to answer any of Chaya鈥檚 questions, help her with the material and to offer some guidance,鈥 she explained.
Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum, headmaster at Bi-Cultural Day School, believes that the school鈥檚 connection to 糖心破解版 is critical. 鈥淚t is important that our school have a direct link to a major educational institution so that we can continue to foster the professional development of our staff.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.
