When the big guys do it right

Wednesday was a great day for the entire Jewish community. PEJE (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education) awarded twenty-five $25,000 awards for ideas of innovation around three different discreet yet closely linked areas of school governance: endowment building, student recruitment and annual fund. They were looking to motivate the greater community to think of creative new ways to innovate the entire Jewish day school field.

I am proud to say that Lander~Grinspoon Academy was one of the winners. We submitted a proposal for our "Double Chai campaign" from the summer. Double Chai was a combination of social networking, rallying a community and finding the right amount to "ask" for from our community all focused around bolstering our annual campaign. The momentum that we built from that project was stunning. And now being acknowledged by a national organization for the work that we did is so gratifying. 

The original intention of my blog was to talk about being Jewish in a small community. The Pioneer Valley is a little bit of everything. It is rural. It is urban. It is suburban. It is exurban. It is really whatever you want it to be. The people you meet here are unique individuals, many of them choosing to move here because it is this valley life they are seeking. One thing that holds true (for me at least) is that it is sometimes challenging to have a "big" Jewish life with all of the trappings that come with being in a bigger community. Please don't mishear me, I appreciate my friends and colleagues here and in the almost four years that we have been here, we have made incredible friends and met amazing individuals who are unique and interesting each in their own right. 

But what this blog has turned into showcasing what a fine school LGA is and how we as a community continue to reflect on educating young people on a daily basis. LGA has been able to find the right balance of progressive education all the while seeking out multiples perspectives to traditional timeless lessons in both Judaic and general studies. This school and this community has the right vibe - hip, young, progressive yet academically challenging, high standards for all students (no matter where they are) and yet nurturing intellectual curiosity. Many schools do all of those well but one thing that makes us stand out is the COMMUNITY. The community that has been built here is unbelievably unique. Children are given examples of how community works on a daily basis. 

I have been attempting to illustrate them with this blog and hopefully will continue to do so. Double Chai reached out to the greater community and it responded. And now, PEJE has said what we did here at LGA was worthy of winning an award so that we could showcase for others that with a little ingenuity and creativity (and maybe a little people power!), we could find new ways to fundraise for the school. 

PEJE is in the business of helping day schools thrive and this challenge award was the best example of that. I maintain that we need more of these types of challenges to motivate our community. I cannot wait to read all about the other entries. PEJE got it right. For me delving into these other ideas is like eating a bag full of Jelly Bellys. Once you rip open that bag, there will be 140 other flavors to salivate over. Some you'll really enjoy exploring and want more of and others won't be your taste but you can understand why someone else might find it tasty.

Would I feel differently if LGA hadn't won a Challenge Award? I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't be as easy to jump on the bandwagon but I'd still be very intrigued and motivated to see what had worked for other communities and where we could improve. 

So, Todah Rabbah, PEJE! Lander~Grinspoon Academy, the Solomon Schechter School of the Pioneer Valley thanks you for this gift. We hope you'll enjoy a few words from our community. 

Could that be challah that I smell?

I have always been someone who enjoys routine and schedules. Knowing where I need to be when or anticipating something in the future has always been quite satisfying to me. As a father, I have completely come to appreciate Shabbat in a completely different way. One day "off" every week means recharging my proverbial battery. Celebrating Shabbat is the ultimate "recharger." In our house, Raviv enthusiastically waits for Shabbat to arrive. The rituals for Shabbat have become second nature to him. He describes it as "our at home" day. We rest, eat great food, read, play, walk. It's great!

With that being said, there is a rhythm to the LGA week that I (and many students and faculty members) have so come to appreciate. Like everything we do here at LGA, our students straddle two distinct worlds, both the secular and Jewish. Children get much needed free time and exploration of activities that the week just doesn't allow for. Every Friday, this building comes alive with getting ready to celebrate Shabbat and the weekend. 

There are a number of rituals here at LGA that makes our celebration homey and lovely. Around 11 AM, every Friday morning, I find a group of Gan (Kindergarten) students making homemade challah. In small groups, they work with one of their teachers to create these doughy and light masterpieces. The smell gently and deliciously fills the main hallway of our building. The Gan often makes more than the requisite two needed for their classroom and delivers them to members of our greater community who are either elderly, sick, or just in need of a delicious Gan challah. 

Morah Amy helps Mira braid the challah.

Mira and Madeline coat the challah with an egg wash for extra shininess. 

Every Friday afternoon, we end our learning early so that we can either gather as a whole school or in small clusters to celebrate Kabbalat Shabbat. We find this time essential to our week. This transition from formal learning to a celebration and reflection of our week behind and ahead of us is an important goal we are teaching  for our school. We are teaching our children to be thoughtful reflectors and to think to themselves about the big (and not so big) questions that often adults have a hard time contemplating. Our Kabbalat Shabbat time is a favorite of our students both current and past. It is the place where many school traditions are formed. 

One such tradition is when members of our 6th grade class write a song for Rosh Chodesh (the new month) about the month that just happened in Torah and holidays to come. Our students study the Bible as both a text that offers a seminal connection to the Jewish people and a rich piece of literature that is beautifully written and allows students to question many aspects of life. Our 6th graders take their responsibility very seriously when it comes to writing these often very funny verses. Students are integrating so much when they write these songs. Enjoy last month's ditty... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaDSt-WjJCc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Morah Devorah, Moreh Aharon and Moreh Dov have worked hard to create a fun, raucous, song filled Kabbalat Shabbat with both new and old tunes. Child friendly yet truly enjoyed by adults alike, LGA has created a bridge to Shabbat and the weekend that is made of memories and connectedness to the Jewish people in really unique ways. Join us for our next all-school Kabbalat Shabbat! You won't be disappointed. 

We do it because we love it...

I am going to start with three statements that I hold as true in my mind about the relationship that lay leaders play in the vitality of the independent school world and that are especially true in the case of Lander~Grinspoon Academy.

1) LGA is a dynamic and complicated organization with many people invested in making it a school of excellence every day. We are not a school with a large overhead of administrative resources.
2) Most independent schools and LGA included depend on the greater community to support it in a variety of ways including both human and financial resources.
3) It currently takes and will continue to take both lay leaders and paid professionals to make LGA a place that maintains to be on the forefront for both the Jewish people and the educational world.

LGA, like many small schools in its shoes, has relatively few administrative positions. As a matter of fact and clarification, our school administrator (Ashley) and myself are the only full time administrators (all of the others have some teaching responsibilities or are not paid to be here every day) outside of the faculty. The school from its roots has depended and continues depend on a strong and robust lay and volunteer leadership to accomplish our mission and vision of being a strong Jewish day school.

On Saturday night, we gathered at the National Yiddish Book Center to put the spotlight on one such lay leader whom from the moment she stepped onto the scene at 257 Prospect Street was an active and fully committed member of our LGA community.  

You see finding lay leaders like Karen Kuhr are rare. Karen’s combination of fierce loyalty, getting down to brass tacks; working hard for the organization that you care so much (in this case her children’s school) about; taking on projects that no one else will do and most importantly rallying the troops for support.  This is all Karen and yet this is and has been so many people at LGA Schechter. This school was built with that in mind. It is with much pride that I could probably look at many people in this room and thoughtfully think about what you have done. This school will always remain that type of community. When it comes to building community, ours is the envy of other schools. Why is that? Because of the genuine compassion of the parent community towards this school, which in turn gets filtered down to our children. For that I thank each and everyone of you.

As many of you know, Karen and Saul love to throw a party. One of my first introductions to this community was their infamous summer party held right before the start of school. They love to host and love to make it big! They fulfill the ultimate mitzvah of Hachnast Orchim, welcoming the stranger. If the school (or I) ever needed to host a small affair, if we are ever short a host for Night Around the Table, Karen, graciously and enthusiastically offered up her home. Saul, with his easy going vibe, always comes along for the ride.

A few weeks ago, we read Parashat Vayera. In this Torah portion, three angels come to the tent of Avraham and Sarah. They do not know these angels, yet Avraham and Sarah open their home widely and with much gusto to make their guests feel welcomed in their home.  They prepared a feast for people that they didn’t really know. Karen and Saul imbue the virtues of welcoming the strangers becoming unbelievable role models for our community.

Karen, Saturday night was our night to say thank you for all that you have done. But it also represented all that everyone has done for this community to make Lander~Grinspoon Academy, the Solomon Schechter School of the Pioneer Valley, the fine community school that it is. 

So here I go again, using that ever so important word community that gets so overused but is really the essence of our school - one community working together to create a powerful and relevant education for our children. To all those people who spend countless hours at meetings, volunteering, shuttling back and forth, sharing your passion, or giving your dollars, THANK YOU! Know that you are appreciated and how much of an impact it has on the everyday of the school. Karen is one example of someone who leads by doing but she has many who follow her shining example. 

What! Another day off...

Yesterday there were, perhaps, many an LGA parent mumbling expletives about the fact that there was no school. After a long holiday weekend, I appreciate bringing Raviv and Danya to their appointed places, relishing the fact that they are in good hands and we are all back to our routine. So why, then, was there another day off yesterday? It was probably the most important day off that students have taken in a long time. While they were enjoying another day of rest and relaxation, our faculty was deeply immersed in the work of creating a document for a "Vision of Good Teaching" at LGA. This isn't just a one-day, months-long, or even year-long project. This is a multifaceted, ongoing collaboration that is taking our school on a journey to even higher places. Our main question of focus has been, and remains, "How do we make schools a place for teacher learning?"

Yesterday, we focused on two additional questions with four ancillary objectives: "How do we observe to improve learning and teaching?" and "How can standards affect teacher performance?" In the above picture, you will see the four goals of the day. I want to focus a bit on the word niceness. We also used the word politeness a lot. Many elementary schools (and especially LGA) are places that are generally  pleasant, polite places to work. For the most part, faculty members treat each other with the utmost respect. When it comes to their work, they have interacted with each other in rather perfunctory ways - exchanging niceties, never observing each other's classrooms, and assuming that every lesson, from every teacher, every day, is adequate. 

These past three years, we at LGA have started to break down this rather blind vision, and have said our doors are open to learning for everyone in the building. But we haven't been doing this work alone. It is through our time spent with the Mandel Center at Brandeis University that we have really shaped this vision for good teaching. We owe a huge amount of gratitude to Mandel for politely pushing an agenda forward that is in groove with our's as a school. LGA does an excellent job of teaching our students. We must commit to doing the same thing with our teachers. It can't be a one-sided proposition. We are now focusing on the differences between "niceness," "judgement," and "inquiry." As a faculty, we are moving toward "inquiry." In small groups, we started by challenging ourselves to look at a text entitled "Developing Practitioners, Developing Practice." In this article, the authors talk about having "to un-learn the politeness norm that dominates most current teacher discourse." There is a lot to ponder when it comes to this point, largely because of what I mentioned in the previous paragraphs. By nature, we want to be collegial. It's the "nice thing to do." It's part of our school culture.

So how do we become a faculty that takes "inquiry"seriously? We are attempting to hone our skills by splitting into small groups who do "rounds" of observation of each other. We acknowledge that it will be a complicated scheduling task, but it will be worth it. Faculty is being split into groups of five, with a mix of general studies and Judaics teachers. 

Just as when doctors practice rounds, our teachers will explore deeply why certain teacher moves are used. There will be exacting protocols for discussion, and time set aside for teachers to inquire about the lesson that allows for risks to be taken. The teacher will have an opportunity to reflect on what he/she thought went well, and what didn't go as anticipated. It's this commitment to teacher learning that sets LGA apart. When we seek medical attention, we appreciate how doctors are consistently self-improving and staying on top of the latest findings even after years of practicing medicine. Shouldn't we hope for the same for our teachers? 

The word "thanks" can be so complex

I'll admit something right up front. Sometimes I have a hard time remembering to say "thank you." Don't get me wrong -- I am usually so appreciative of any type of gratitude that people show me or the school. It's not that I don't have a good memory. As you may or may not know, I have a freak-like capacity for remembering names and faces. When living in Boston, Rebecca and I went out to dinner with a work colleague and her boyfriend. They invited another person to join us, someone we didn't know. Within minutes, I told him that we had met once before at a random party several years earlier. Rebecca and our new friend sat there astonished by the fact that I remembered this very casual encounter at a crowded house party. I went on to tell him that he had a twin brother and was friends with an old roommate of mine. In short: I have no excuse for not remembering to say "thank you."


Fortunately for me, I am part of a community that takes saying thank you very seriously. Students and faculty members prove this every day. It is more than the simple yet meaningful task of saying thank you that we, as a school, consider such an essential part of a child's education. It isn't negotiable for us. Many of our students come from homes that share these values -- put that thank you into action. We ask our students questions like, "How do you want to change the world?" and "What are you grateful for?" We we don't expect trite responses; we want students to contemplate these questions during their time here. 


When beginning to think about this topic, I did some research. I stumbled upon an article by Melinda Beck from The Wall Street Journal entitled, "Thank You. No, Thank You." In the article, Beck writes, "Kids who feel and act grateful tend to be less materialistic, get better grades, set higher goals, complain of fewer headaches and stomach aches, and feel more satisfied with their friends, families, and schools than those who don't, studies show." When I was reading it, I thought of students at LGA and the overall gestalt of our community. It is a nice one. This article is talking about LGA.  Students here genuinely care about each other. We don't expect all of them to love each other, but we do expect respect for differences. We are teaching our students how to be grateful for their strengths and "not-yet strengths" that they have been blessed with. When faced with opposition from a student, often you'll hear a classroom teacher say "every single student in our class is working on something." This time of the year often makes us reflect on what we are thankful for. But it can't be the only time of the year that we think of saying thank you, because if so, then we have failed as educators. Throughout the year, students have the opportunity to ask deeper questions about themselves and why being thankful is such a complex idea. 


This Wednesday, as we prepare for Thanksgiving, the whole school will spend the day involved in different service-learning projects. For some of them it will be a culmination of a unit learned, while for others it will be the first time they are learning about terms like homelessness, poverty, and injustice. Still others will be challenged to think past themselves. For all of them, it is just a brief snapshot of being grateful and giving thanks -- and another compelling reason why this school is just that special. Thanks! (See I remembered...)

Four Square...it's sweeping LGA nation!

Getting ready to serve and showing these kids how it is really done. 

 About three weeks ago, I was walking down the hall during an all-school recess and witnessed something that brought back many fond and vivid memories of my childhood. A very large group of 5th grade students playing an old-fashioned, not so newfangled game of Four Square. All they needed was a ball and their hands and occasionally some fancy foot work. (Can anyone tell me what a Black cherry bomb really means?) I walked out there and said "Ladies and gentlemen, step aside. Now you are going to see some real playing." What ensued was a twenty minute round of Four Square where I found myself becoming a kid again. The 5th graders were seemingly having a blast and were slowly getting the attention of other students both younger and older who were curious as to what this game was that they were playing.

The next day, when the school was about to be dismissed for recess, I found myself standing in the office with a ball. I thought to myself, was I really slipping back into 5th grade mode and jumping up and down with excitement for a game of Four Square? (Yes, I was!) And then I thought there must be other things that I should be doing with my time (No, there wasn't) and I was sure that the students were going to have moved on from Four Square to wanting to play or do something else (No, they most definitely didn't). Much to my surprise, the 5th graders came piling out of the school and lined up to play another round of this really fun game. They were excitedly explaining to me new rules and different moves that the "king" (that's the server) might bestow onto the queen, jack and the fourth square (can't remember the name of that one...) What I've learned in researching for this blog post is that Four Square is quite a popular sport and has garnered many a website dedicated to it (http://www.squarefour.org/rules)

Look at my form. These 5th graders don't know how much of a formidable opponent I really am.

So there I was thoroughly enjoying myself when I noticed behind me that a group of 3rd grade girls had started their own game, mimicking what the older students were doing but making it manageable for them. Across the lawn, I witnessed another set of boys also playing. One day, my wife, Rebecca, was walking in our neighborhood and walked passed an LGA families home at dusk and noticed three LGA students intensively practicing Four Square. I asked a parent to paint Four Square boards on the black top on the playground. You would have thought it was painted with gold the way the students were giddy with excitement this morning when they saw these freshly painted boards just waiting for the first game to play. What has come over us? Were we a community obsessed? Yes. Was this necessarily a bad thing? No way!

Tali, Isaac and Ezra team up to get me out. 

I am walking away from this experience with two thoughts. They aren't necessarily profound, but they made me take pause for a few moments and reflect, since they speak volumes about the students at LGA and the values we promote. First, four square is a perfect game to break the ice. You don't always need to have the best coordination, be the fastest, or remember a lot of rules other than to hit the ball into another square. This game is meant to be totally inclusive. LGA students enjoy watching each other compete as much as they do playing. I marveled at how these games, while taking on a life of their own, have stayed quite dignified and remain open to all who want to play. 

Secondly, it is fascinating to me that with all of the electronics and technology that come our students' way, all they need is a ball to entertain themselves. I put a lot of value on this. With four sqaure, there is a simple joy of kids being kids. It is a timeless game that will be around for generations to come. We often don't give our students enough credit. I honestly don't know how the four square obsession started at LGA, but I am sure glad that it did. It has shown me yet another unique characteristic about a school that is just that special!

I thought you said this wouldn't be hilly...

Some of the LGA contingent at the Ride to Provide

Last Sunday, along with over fifty other members of the LGA community, I participated in the Ride to Provide, a bike ride that helps support the very beneficial work at the Hillel of University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Why did so many of us get involved with helping Hillel when most of us don't have a direct connection to the organization? It helped that they were willing to split whatever money we raised, through entrance fees and coaxing friends and family to sponsor us. But two more reasons come to mind that I'd like to explore: 1) As members of the Jewish community, it is important that we support the organizations that make our community a vibrant and viable place to want to live; and 2) attending community events like the Ride to Provide send a strong message to our children -- namely, that being part of a school community happens for all members of the family, all during the week, not just between 8:15 and 3:15 on weekdays. 

Let me focus on the second point first. The community at LGA is truly a special one, as I've mentioned many times. When prospective families come to tour our school, one of the first "concerns" centers around what type of community LGA is. Our school has done a really good job at getting families from across the Jewish spectrum to feel comfortable walking through our doors. More often than not, parents are sitting on the bench outside the main office questioning the fact that they are considering a Jewish day school for their child. As they walk around the building and peek into classrooms, their fears slowly melt, and their interest is piqued enough to want to continue in the process. But what often seals the deal is talking to other families whose children are in the school. It quickly becomes apparent that, among our many outstanding qualities, this community embraces diversity, and is a warm, loving environment for children to spend their formative years. There is no comparison. 

Now, why is it so important to support other Jewish agencies? I could probably compile a list of reasons a mile long and still come up with more. I always think about one essential question, something that one of my mentors taught me to ask. It's pretty simple in theory, yet it can be answered in many ways: "What is good for the Jewish people?" When faced with a dilemma, asking this question helps crystallize my thoughts for me. When we as a community say that we support the important work of Hillel (or the Jewish Federation or the local synagogues, etc.), we are sending the message that it takes the entire community to support one another, not just those who are directly affected by the results. That's what I mean by asking "what is good for the Jewish people." When our LGA students see cool, hip college kids who are active in their community, that has a lasting effect on them. I clearly can remember when a group of teens came into my Hebrew school class to talk about youth group and all the cool things that they did. I was sold on getting involved. That was good for the Jewish people. 

Last Sunday, as I was riding my bicycle with my 30-pound son in the seat behind,  climbing the eighteenth "mountain"in Amherst and rueing the day that I signed up for the ride, I chuckled to myself:  This is what I meant by "what is good for the Jewish people"? Stepping outside our own organizational bubbles to help other organizations strengthens all organizations. 

Living under one roof...

I am going to let you in on a secret: My wife, Rebecca, and I (and this is going to be hard to believe!) don't see eye-to-eye on everything. Don't get me wrong, I love Rebecca unequivocally. When it comes to parenting we wholeheartedly agree on many, many things, but there are also times that we have to compromise before we come up with a decision that feels right.

When reaching such a decision, we often weigh the pros and cons. Sometimes the conversations are more spirited and one of us has to capitulate. But in the end we form a united front, and we support each other even when the decision didn't go our way. This is what it means to live under one roof.

LGA shares a similar ethos when we approach decision-making. The difference is that there are so many voices to take into account. Multiple voices can result in a refreshingly open process at best, but at worst the results can be alienating, leaving people feeling bad or left out.

Many times it is all about compromise. This being a small Jewish community, some voices can seem like solo opinions because there aren't many others aligning with them. In these cases, the school makes decisions that will make our entire community comfortable. One area that comes to mind is not holding birthday parties on Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

For an important segment of our community, there is no compromising on this issue. Shabbat is the center of the home. These families send their children to a Jewish day school in part so that they won't have to choose between Shabbat and a birthday party. Students at LGA genuinely like each other -- you will often see an entire class invited to a birthday celebration. When we decide to celebrate a birthday on Shabbat, however, we are asking some families to make concessions on their belief systems, and we are excluding students from participating in important rites of passage.

It is natural to want to hold a birthday party on a day off from school, but remember that some families in our school will be alienated. Birthday parties are important times in the lives of children. Fond memories are made of these moments. As a school community, we need to reprogram ourselves to abstain from throwing birthday parties on Shabbat or Jewish holidays where work is prohibited. I am happy to have a conversation with anyone who might have a question.

When we make this choice, we send a strong message to our children about living under one roof as a community, so to speak, and presenting a united front.

You mean you don't know who iCarly is?!?

Don't worry, I am not blogging about this very popular Nickelodeon show. I am painfully aware that I know nothing about iCarly other than that it is a mega-hit in the tween world. But I do know that navigating the social scene in elementary school these days is quite different from when I was in school, both for better and for worse. I'll get back to iCarly in a moment. In 24 short hours, we will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, a time of reflection and introspection for the Jewish community. Today at LGA, I witnessed something that spoke volumes about the moral compass that my uber-sweet school seeks to instill, in both the students and the faculty.

Parts of the story were retold to me; other parts I witnessed myself. The story involves three students at LGA, one of whom is new, and a veteran educator who holds an acute sense of the importance of the social-emotional curriculum of our school. At some point during the day, these three students got into an altercation that left everyone feeling bad. The students walked into the classroom of this teacher, who immediately sensed that something was not right. She could just feel it in the air. The students were not shy about hiding their feelings about what had just happened. This teacher told the three students to stay back while the rest of the class was dismissed for lunch.

LGA teachers have packed schedules. We expect a lot from them. In addition to teaching, every teacher at LGA is committed to serious professional development that involves multiple periods of meetings. When teachers aren't on lunch duty, they are often in a team meeting discussing students. This particular teacher had an actual lunch break today, and could have easily said, "I'll deal with this later." But she knew that the issue needed to be solved immediately. This teacher sat with the three students, asked them to talk about their feelings, and more importantly, made them each take ownership for miscommunicating and/or causing hurt feelings Some were more open to that concept than others, but all began to reflect on what could be different in their relationship. The teacher thoughtfully explored with them what it meant to be in a classroom community, and more crucially, the concept of what it means to be in a new environment.

Meanwhile, I was walking around the lunch rooms shmoozing with students when I noticed that these three students were missing. I asked another student if they knew where so-and-so was? I was told they were eating lunch in the classroom. I bumped into the above-mentioned teacher in the hallway, who told me what was going on and asked if I could follow them, as she had to get ready to teach. As the faculty member explained the story to me, suddenly we turned and looked into the classroom. The three students were dancing to a pop song they all knew. There was genuine laughter, and they looked like they were best of friends. At that point, I couldn't have been prouder of everyone involved.

In the end, was it their like (or dislike) of iCarly that brought these students together? Who knows? But what I do know is that this is what a strong social-emotional curriculum looks like at its finest moment. As an educator, I maintain that using the instances like these as teachable moments is just as important as when a student grasps a mathematical concept or learns a new Hebrew word. We are teaching our children what it means to be a mensch.

Shanah Tovah u'Metukah! May you all have a sweet new year.

The intracacies of school communication...

Communicating with a school community can be like walking a tight rope. We may wobble. We may stumble. We hopefully get to the other side with the satisfaction of a job well done. The way educators approach delicate discussions is probably the single-most important facet of communication. When it is good news, corresponding with parents can be the most satisfying part of a teacher's job -- that proverbial pat on the back, so to speak, can always be a pick-me-up. Yet often parent-teacher conversations have the potential for being complicated, and fraught with emotions on all sides. Will I offend this person? What if they get upset with me? We are not always telling parents exactly what they want to hear. Teachers are sometimes confirming a suspicion that a parent hasn't quite come to terms with.

Teachers at LGA pride themselves on being receptive and open to feedback from parents. But we also hope for the same in return. The faculty does an exceptional job communicating one-on-one with parents. However, we at times have fallen short on getting the message out about what our students are doing in the classrooms on a weekly basis. Over the summer, the administration decided that this was an important topic to tackle with our faculty. During work week, faculty spent an entire session talking about and developing a plan for parent communication. Some plans are creative (e.g., a blog from the kindergarten team). Many plans are traditional by today's standards

(e.g., weekly email journals exploring topics from the week). Teams discussed how and when completed student work should go home. There were a lot of really good conversations happening during that session.

Parents at LGA have a job to do, too, and many of you already do it really well. Keep us informed when something doesn't feel right to you -- contact a teacher or an administrator. Don't let things fester. Be constructive, not just critical. Be concerned, yet optimistic. Be patient, and have realistic expectations.

Most importantly, find the right time to communicate. Arrival and dismissal are usually not the right times. While this may feel like good air time for teachers and administrators, as they aren't teaching, these times are designed for transitioning our students from one situation to the next, and our focus has to be on them. I know this can be confusing, because a faculty member may approach you during one of these times to discuss something they need to connect with you about. Please take their lead at these transition times, and understand that just because they approached you about something at that time, that may not always work.

Our faculty is always happy to meet with you at a time that makes sense. I am struck when I hear a story about a teacher who spent their free evening talking to a parent over the phone, or when I walk around the building at 5 PM and there are parent meetings going on well after teachers are contractually obligated to be here. It’s because of this dedication, on both the parents’ and teachers’ parts, that our school is the special place it is.

The night before school and all through the house...

It is that time of year again - school! Right now, all over the valley, LGA students old and many new are getting ready for a wonderful and inspirational year of learning, searching, stretching, laughing and most importantly challenging themselves to be the best they possibly can be.

So as I recommit to blogging again for the 2011-2012 school year and as we prepare for Rosh Hashanah tomorrow with Rosh Chodesh Elul, I wish all of my LGA students the following blessing for the school year:

May you (students of LGA Schechter) find the strength to have much success in the coming school year. The journey you are about to take is an exciting one filled with very special people and moments. There will be some unexpected challenges and some wonderful accomplishments that each of you are going to strive for.

Tomorrow morning as you walk in that door, take a moment to take in the pleasure of starting a new school year. Your teachers have prepared hard for your arrival and are ready to work even harder to see you succeed. You will reconnect with old friends and meet many new peers as well.

May it be your will to seek guidance when you are struggling and to find happiness from the many morsels of learning that you will do this year. Please know that in me you will find an ally that wants to ensure your success as a student.

Happy First Day of School! No matter what grade you are going into - the first day is always JUST that special. AMEN

See you in a few short hours.

Is there a leader in me?

I am on an airplane flying back to the valley from South Florida. (Wifi on airplanes is a pretty cool feature.) I just spent 36 hours with two teachers from LGA and Heritage. We had the most amazing experiences at three South Florida Jewish day schools. The hospitality shown to us, the time our fellow educators took to show us what was special about their schools, and the way each school takes great pride in educating Jewish children is exhilarating. The main purpose for our trip was to visit schools that are using Stephen Covey's "The Leader in Me." Other than speed reading through the book, I didn't really know much about what it all really entailed. I knew that it involved introducing the concept of integrating "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" but couldn't really explain much past that.

Now you may be asking yourself that my blog is usually about life as a head of school at a small Jewish day school in the Pioneer Valley, why is he sharing his experience about South Florida's schools. but I feel compelled with everyone to share the experience that we witnessed at one of the Jewish day schools that we visited - Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton. I left DKJA in one word - awe.

Like LGA and Heritage, DKJA takes the job of academic excellence and a child-centered approach to learning incredibly seriously. On a daily basis, our schools take their jobs genuinely when it comes to a thoughtful social-emotional curriculum that teaches our children how to approach lifes many challenges in appropriate and respectful ways. It works! At DKJA, it is thoughtfully weaved in ways that figuratively "rocked our educational core" showing us new ways to exhibit leadership in our students. We took an extensive tour of the school. Walking into classroom after classroom, we were not casually greeted by students, but we would have students walk up to us, put out their hand and welcome us in their learning environment. Time after time, without prompting, a student would tell us what was going on. I thought to myself this has to be planned but it wasn't. It's embedded into the culture of the school.

Every morning at LGA, an administrator greets and shakes hands with every student that walked into the building. I've talked many times the importance of this norm in our school culture. Our students are taught to make eye contact and learn how to communicate with an adult that is not their parent. They begin to build self-confidence in a really unique way from a young age. That's imbedded in the school culture of LGA.

The difference between the two schools (and this is not to downplay LGA) is that Donna Klein owns it and has given it a common language that the whole school community can wrap its head around. The administration and faculty embrace this model of student leadership development and see it as a cohesive way to do what they already do best - creating menschen. The 7 Habits are all over the building in prominent places. We read a 1st grade display that took the 7 Habits and explained why George Washington was a hero. We watched two 6th graders who passionately made their case for one of the ten commandments being the most important one while integrating 7 Habits speak. It was impressive to say the least.

Now our team that went has a lot to do, think about, and propose to our community. What sets us apart from all the other choices that parents can select for their children? First and foremost, we are a Jewish day school. We are proud of that fact! It stands for a lot. And second and I would say as equally important - we are creating students who will be THE leaders in their communities. It takes leadership to create leaders. Donna Klein gets it. LGA & Heritage get it. I look forward to blogging more about this as I ponder this concept of leadership.

Debbie Friedman, MLK, Kabbalat Shabbat, so much to celebrate in a week at LGA...

Today, our second snow day in a week, I have the rare opportunity to reflect on our past week at LGA. It was a really meaningful one and has given me a lot of pause as to why LGA is just one of those special schools.

Remembering Debbie Friedman

Long time ago when I was in Kitah Gimel (3rd grade), my classmates and I stood up on the bimah and belted out the alef-bet to what was back then (the 1980's) a new fangled rendition of an old classic. We all sang with glee as our Romanian-born Israeli teacher, Channah, sang out the letters to the alef-bet by a relative newcomer to the Jewish music scene, Debbie Friedman. This is just one story of many that I can recant about enjoying a Debbie Friedman tune or song. I am sure that many of you don't even realize when you are hearing some piece of Jewish text that Debbie put her great musical prowess to.

Last Monday morning, after receiving the news that she had passed away. Our LGA community gathered together for a tribute and sing-along of some of Debbie's classics. Every Monday morning, students at LGA gather for the first thirty minutes of the day just to sing. Some weeks it is just the lower school, other times it is the whole school. We sing a combination of both English and Hebrew songs. We sing lots of fun songs and we sing folk songs that you rarely hear anymore. Our students look forward to that half-hour. Sixth graders often get nostalgic at their last all-school sing session. Debbie has been a part of our sessions from the beginning. Thanks to her for everything that she did for modern music! May her memory be a blessing...

Celebrating the life and legacy of MLK

At LGA, there is an inherent attribute that infuses every aspect of our daily life. There are deliberate and thoughtful initiatives that we as a community take very seriously. This is our social curriculum. Our students at all ages are taught meaningful life lessons not only about themselves as a Jewish people but also as a member of a large global community that is diverse and cherished for its many gifts. The study of Martin Luther King is one of those times. The weeks leading up to the annual MLK assembly is my favorite time. Students return from December vacation and learn about the rich history of the African-American culture. They read poetry, listen to songs, hear speeches and monologues and dive deeply into a culture that for many (not all) is unfamiliar.

On Friday, the culmination of this time is a celebration of MLK's life and legacy. The Kindergarten started the presentation by slowly and quietly singing "We Shall Overcome," then grade after grade and the assembled adults all joined in. It was quite powerful. Our 5th graders reenacted a scene from the Little Rock 9, the 4th graders stood up on the stage and took turns reciting MLK's "I Have A Dream." Our 2nd and 3rd graders sang a medley of songs that were sung in churches, 1st graders recited a beautiful poem and together our Kindergarten and 6th graders sang "If you miss me from the back of the bus". Many walked out feeling invigorated.

Our normal Kabbalat Shabbat routine

LGA is about community. We find times to work on building community. By Friday afternoon, everyone is ready to move into Shabbat and the weekend. Every week, our school celebrates Kabbalat Shabbat at the end of the day on Friday. Some weeks we do it as a whole school, others in different grade configurations and yet others sometimes just by class. I usually bounce between all the different ones. This week, I walked into where the 2nd-4th grades were gathering and witnessed just a lovely moment. Moreh Aharon was leading the students in a rousing celebration of Shabbat. It was joyous! Kids were laughing, dancing, singing, enjoying each other's company. The 4th graders were sitting around the circle each drumming. Aharon was teaching them a new song. The feeling was electric.

That's what I love about LGA. It's electric. The teachers love this school. The students love this school. I love this school. We all love it because it is electric. After a long week of intense meetings, decisions, strategizing, and planning, this is what it all comes down. I have attached a video that one mother (Thanks, Shana!) quickly took on her iPhone. The feeling here exemplifies an LGA education. Thanks for ending my week that way!

Now I am at the end of my snow day (lots of breaks to finish this blog post) but I feel satisfied and lucky for what I have.