School heads need to manage, decide upon and negotiate difficult challenges every day. This episode gives listeners a window upon the ways that three heads would think about and handle challenges that may arise with various stakeholders. Hear them discuss and probe several cases drawn up by Rabbi Dr. Barry Kislowicz, who moderated the conversation with special guests Ginny Galili, Stephanie Ives, and Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin.  Special guests Ginny Galili is the head of school at Gross Schechter in Pepper Pike, Ohio.Stephanie Ives is the head of school at Beit Rabban in New York City.Rabbi Jeffrey Kobrin is the head of school at North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, New York.Rabbi Dr. Barry Kislowicz is the former HOS at Fuchs Mizrachi School in Cleveland and now head of Kislowicz Consulting. A recipient of the Covenant Foundation's Pomegranate Prize, Barry is now the author of a Substack and podcast called Leadership Lenses.

With a "Culture of Belonging" microgrant from Prizmah, the Seattle Jewish Community School launched a Seattle Sephardic Heritage Initiative in the fall of 2023, in partnership with the Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle.  At its inception, this program aimed to introduce 5th graders from both schools to the distinctive Sephardic roots of Seattle's Jewish community and to the ongoing influence of the Jewish culture of Rhodes and Turkey on their hometown. From the start, this initiative inspired an enthusiastic response from the Sephardic community, opening an array of opportunities, exceeding all initial aspirations. Discover the origins of the initiative and how it has flourished. Presentation followed by a Q&A session with host Josh Gold. Special guests Gabrielle Azose and David Zimand.Gabrielle Azose is the director of curriculum & pedagogy at Seattle Jewish Community School, where she has worked in a variety of roles, including general studies and Jewish studies teacher.David Zimand serves as head of school at the Seattle Jewish Community School, having previously worked in administrative roles at community day schools in Washington, DC, and Palo Alto, CA.

Rabbi Dena Glasgow is the Director of Jewish Education at Gann Academy in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she is responsible for both the Jewish Studies Department and the Hebrew Department. She is also part of the instructional leadership team. Sheri Gross is the Director of Arts, Culture, and Creative Programming at Gross Schechter Day School in Cleveland, and the director of Testimony Theater--a program where teens interview Holocaust survivors and turn their stories into a performance along with personal reflections. She is also the arts critic for the Cleveland Jewish News, and the former director of the Mandel JCC Playmakers Youth Theatre and Performing Arts Camp for 21 years. Why is creativity such an important factor in education? What are the key modes by which creativity manifests itself in Jewish culture? What place does creativity hold in helping Jews and Israelis stay resilient in a post-October 7 world? This conversation explores these questions and more, as participants reflect upon the innumerable ways that teachers and schools foster student creativity. The starting point is Miriam Heller Stern's recent study "Jewish Creativity: An Essential Aspiration for Jewish Education." Dr. Miriam Heller Stern, an expert on creativity and Jewish education, directs the School of Education at Hebrew Union College and is the Incoming CEO of Builders of Jewish Education, Los Angeles. Hadas Wolff Yitzhak, Director of English Educational Programs at Beit Avi Chai and former head of its Hebrew Educational Programs department, previously taught Jewish Studies in Jerusalem’s public high schools and now designs initiatives that foster meaningful connections through music and Jewish Israeli culture. She Lives in Jerusalem.

Prizmah's Director of Knowledge, Research, and Data Odelia Epstein discusses three timely studies transforming how we understand Jewish day school education today:• An early preview of findings from the first full census of Jewish day schools since 2018-19, revealing Prizmah network schools trends in enrollment.• A study showing that new families post-October 7 are turning to Jewish day schools.• A new look at day school alumni: How they engage with Jewish life and Israel on campus.

Tune in to this Prizmah Podcast Live with The Epstein School in Atlanta's Idit Bendavid and David Welsher to hear how the school built its own Hebrew program—one that puts students at the heart of the learning process. Explore the shift from a rigid curriculum to a student-centered, proficiency-based approach that prioritizes real-world communication. From the perspectives of students, teachers, parents, and school leadership, we will explore the obstacles in language acquisition and how a focus on authentic learning experiences is transforming Hebrew education.   Idit Bendavid teaches at The Epstein School in Atlanta, where she embraced the Proficiency approach and ACTFL guidelines, transforming her instructional practices and becoming a data-driven decision-maker. Since 2021, she has served as the Director of Judaic Studies and Hebrew for grades K-8, leading the development of the Hebrew curriculum using the Proficiency approach and the Judaic Studies curriculum based on the Standards and Benchmarks framework for grades K-4. A graduate of the Mandel Teacher Educator Institute, Idit is committed to driving meaningful change through innovative professional development.   David Welsher is the current associate head of school and elementary school principal at The Epstein School in Atlanta. In partnership with his fellow educators, David is passionate about fostering a vibrant school culture where students and teachers thrive. Under his leadership, The Epstein School has seen improved student performance and increased teacher satisfaction. David's collaborative approach has led to the implementation of innovative programs such as the STEAM initiative and many unique programs to support diverse learners.

How do you help your school's lay leaders become knowledgeable about your school, obtain the skills they need, and gain inspiration to step up their game? Avery Joel of the Fuchs Mizrachi School describes a cohort program they developed to accomplish precisely that. This Podcast Live episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Prizmah Conference in Boston on February 3, 2025.   Rabbi Dr. Avery Joel is the head of school at the Fuchs Mizrachi School in Beachwood, Ohio, where he has served as a teacher and the principal of the Stark High School. Previously, he was a teacher and grade coordinator in Ramaz Upper School. Avery has an EdD in educational administration and rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University, as well as an MPA from NYU. He serves as a mentor in DSLTI.

What would happen if schools thought of play as not just some fun release that takes place outside of the "serious" work, but as integral to the task of education? Learn what play is and why it's so important, and explore the different ways that our schools incorporate play into different aspects of the student day. The conversation is inspired by the recent book A Moral Case for Play in K-12 Schools: The Urgency of Advancing Moral Ecologies of Play by Rabbi Judd Kruger Levingston, PhD.

AI may be the greatest thing to happen to Jewish education since unicode. And it may even be bigger than that. AI is still in its infancy, and it's already allowing teachers to do so much. Join this podcast to dive into how AI can help with note-taking, studying, essay writing, and more – and why that's a good thing. We talk about how it can help teachers present information in more exciting ways. And how it can help personalize education for every student. And the best is yet to come. Special guest presenter: Rabbi Binyomin Segal has been involved in technology and education for many years. In the 80s, he was responsible for Davka’s first educational software for the Apple Macintosh. He began teaching at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in 1993. While there he earned an Ed.D. from Loyola University Chicago. In 2015, he became the Instructional Technology Coordinator for Ida Crown. He continues to teach Tanakh courses as well as coding and computer science.

This podcast, based on the volume Teaching Israel: Studies of Pedagogy from the Field, edited by Sivan Zakai and Matt Reingold, focuses on Israel teachers in the classroom. Who teaches our students about Israel, and in what contexts? How do Israel educators think about their role--as an "explorer" or "exemplar"? What happens when a "micromoment" arises, when a student struggles to understand or is deeply troubled by something they've learned? And how are Israel classrooms adapting to the reality of our post-October 7 world? What has changed, and what hasn't, in this work? (Recorded on 9/27) Special guests Sivan Zakai is the Sara S. Lee Associate Professor of Jewish Education at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and a Senior Editor of the Journal of Jewish Education. Matt Reingold is a Jewish educator with over 16 years of in-class experience teaching Jewish and Israeli history in Toronto Jewish day schools. In addition to co-editing Teaching Israel, with Sivan Zakai, he is the author of four books about Jewish and Israeli comics and graphic novels. Lisa Exler is Director of Jewish Studies and Ivrit at Beit Rabban Day School in Manhattan. Rebecca Boim Wolf serves as Coordinator for Israel Education and teaches history at SAR High School in the Bronx, NY, a modern Orthodox Jewish day school. Jeremy Toren is the ECC-12 Director of Jewish Education at San Diego Jewish Academy.

Often, Jewish schools operate in isolation; "teamwork" may mean partnership among the team of administrators, or the head of school with the board. A new initiative in Boston, Stronger Together, aims to foster a culture of collaboration among the city's 14 day schools and yeshivas to explore opportunities for shared success. Explore how the project came about, how it functions, what it has accomplished so far and where it might develop moving forward. Hear from Sheri Gurock, Ari Sussman and Aimee Close.      Sheri Gurock is the executive director of The Beker Foundation and is also a facilitator, consultant, and executive coach. Ari Sussman is a day school consultant to Combined Jewish Philanthropies, Boston's Federation, where he has served as Boston day school's network lead for the past 3 years.Aimee Close is the director of Stronger Together, a Boston-based initiative of Prizmah.  

ADDRESSING THE PIPELINE PROBLEM: MAIMONIDES FELLOWS PROGRAM Explore an initiative that aims to address the national issue of fewer and fewer talented and inspiring adults choosing to become teachers or stay in the field of education. This podcast dives into how the Maimonides School, a Modern Orthodox school in Brookline, Massachusetts, decided to invest in young talent, even before these talented students made the decision to work in education. Featuring Rabbi Yaakov Green, Head of school at Maimonides School. Learn about the initial results of this innovative initiative and the promises they see for the future of the field.

How have our educators been impacted by, and adapted to, the horrific attacks against Israel that took place on October 7 and the ensuing war in Gaza? The starting point for this conversation is the study "Responding to This Historical Moment: Jewish Educators, Clergy, Engagement Professionals and the War in Israel." Hear about the emotional challenges that these educators have faced, and the educational dilemmas that continue to shadow their work in the classroom, during these traumatic times featuring guests Clare Goldwater, Dr. Ezra Kopelowitz, Dr. Alexandria Fanjoy Silver, and Rabbi WIll Keller.   Clare Goldwater is chief strategy officer at M²:The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education. She is based in Jerusalem.Ezra Kopelowitz is the CEO of ReST: Research, Success, Technologies and a fellow at the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education.Dr. Alexandria Fanjoy Silver is a Jewish history teacher at TanenbaumCHAT, a Jewish high school in Toronto.Rabbi Will Keller is the head of school at the Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor in Ann, Arbor, Michigan.

What does it take to build a school from scratch? Especially a school as sophisticated as a Jewish day school. In this podcast, we sit down with Rabbi Dr. Gil Perl, who throughout his career has taken three schools from concept to reality. Most recently, in August 2023, he helped open the Jewish Leadership Academy in Miami, Florida. The Jewish Leadership Academy is a highly selective Jewish middle and high school dedicated to developing the skills, curiosity, and potential of Miami’s most ambitious students for a life of purpose, commitment, and service. Hear lessons learned from Rabbi Dr. Gil Perl, and stories shared from each of his successful schools. Rabbi Dr. Gil Perl is the CEO of the Ades Family Foundation and the founding head of school of the Jewish Leadership Academy in Miami. A nationally sought after speaker and award-winning teacher, Rabbi Perl earned his bachelor’s from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s and Ph.D. from Harvard, and rabbinical ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University. He is the author of the book The Pillar of Volozhin: Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin and the World of Nineteenth-Century Lithuanian Torah Scholarship, as well as numerous articles on the history of Modern Jewry, contemporary Jewish education, and Modern Orthodoxy.

Four heads of school from the Bay Area talk about a mission they took together to Israel during the current war. They depict what it's like in their schools during this time, with heightened antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the region. Their schools are serving as places of refuge, as centers of Jewish pride where people organize opposition to pro-Hamas political proposals. The heads describe the conversations and images in Israel that are seared in their memories, the people they met who are "the traumatized serving the traumatized." They share what they have been communicating with their school since their return.

Learn about the The Milken Way, a unique set of ideas and values that guides how Milken Community School, one of the largest Jewish day schools in North America, operates and thinks about customer service. As Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Customer service has become the most important factor in consumer decisions. In fact, recent studies have shown that 73% of people point to customer service as a key factor in significant decisions. Yet rarely do schools invest in customer service as a primary function of their recruitment and retention strategies. Learn about the customer service model of the Milken Community School in Los Angeles, and how it’s implemented across campus, in everything they do.

School mission statements articulate a hope that through our educational programs, help students gain the knowledge, skills and inclinations needed to make positive change. By putting Tikkun Olam at the core of K-8 programs, Leo Baeck Day School in Toronto has learned how to help students learn to connect their actions to Jewish values. Learn how and why the Tikkun Project at Toronto’s Leo Baeck Day School came to be and hear examples of the powerful learning that emerges when students think critically about themselves and their responsibilities to the world around them.

Listen to a far-ranging podcast and expand your understanding of what Jewish arts education is and can be. Explore how one teacher sets up an artists beit midrash, and how students go about creating art from tefillah. Hear how students at another school pass through a collaborative, multilayered iterative process from study to the creation of objects. Explore the way that a rabbinical school teaches Biblical narrative texts and Talmudic Halakhic passages through the embodied learning of circus arts experiences. Discover how these programs conceive of the relationship between the social and individual aspects of creativity.   Presenters Dr. Ora Horn Prouser is the CEO and academic dean at the Academy for Jewish Religion, an accredited, pluralistic rabbinical, cantorial, and graduate school located in NY but serving students throughout the US and internationally through our distance learning program. She is the co-editor of Under One Tent: Circus, Judaism, and Bible, which is an extension of sacred arts work at AJR. AJR is now home to a Center for Sacred Arts.    Ayal Prouser is a circus artist, choreographer and academic. He is founder & director of Time Flies Circus.   Linda Parmet is Hebrew content dean and director of interdisciplinary Jewish studies at The Weber School in Atlanta, Georgia. She also serves as a mentor on the staff of The Teacher Institute for the Arts run by Kol HaOt. Linda and her students study Jewish sources, values and concepts then use creative design and visual arts to illuminate their thoughts and express their insights. Follow this link to see the class portfolio of Torah, toolkits and power tools.    Ahuva Winslow is the director of visual arts at Yeshivat Frisch in Paramus, New Jersey. She teaches the 9-12th grade art track, which includes artist beit midrash, as well as a 12th grade Biblical portraits Nach elective. 

Learn about the vital, sophisticated work of Reggio-inspired Jewish early childhood educators from two day school administrators and a field leader who is also the author of a recent dissertation. The conversation ranges from the ways that educators understand the minds of young students to the development of Jewish identity and creativity, with a glimpse into the state of the field as well.   Dr. Anna Hartman is the Director of Early Childhood Excellence at the Jewish United Fund in Chicago and the Director of the Paradigm Project. Carla Goldberg is the Director of Early Childhood and Admissions at Akiba Schechter Jewish Day School, in Chicago's Hyde Park. She has been a teacher at Akiba for 32 years  and the Director for 27 years. Abby Aloni is the Head of Early Childhood at Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School, an independent Jewish Day School located in the Lakeview area of Chicago. Entering her 25th year at Bernard Zell, Abby moved from the classroom to administration in 2008 as head of the Lower School and has held her current position since 2016. 

Where does Jewish history live in your curriculum, culture, and approach to education at your school? Jewish history is central to Jewish education, and can be a locus of meaning, authority, and knowledge for all Jewish day school students. Listen to this interesting discussion with Rachel Bergstein, Director of the Center for Excellence and Engagement in Jewish History and Jewish History Department Faculty Member at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School and Rabbi Mitchel Malkus, Head of School at Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD. 

Learn from Rebecca Lurie and Dr. Jonah Hassenfeld how a leadership team structure that is aligned with institutional values has the capacity to effect impactful and sustained change within a school environment. Explore the process by which the organizational structure of Schechter Boston was transformed into a distributed leadership model. This Podcast Live episode was recorded in person at the Prizmah Conference in Denver, January 10, 2023. Rebecca Lurie is the head of school, and Dr. Jonah Hassenfeld is the director of learning and teaching, at Solomon Schechter Day School of Boston in Newton, Massachusetts.