Graduate Profile: Eli Shapiro, Azrieli Graduate School for Jewish Education and Administration
A common spirit runs throughout Yeshiva University: the mandate to matter.
Students of all ages and backgrounds come here to pursue a range of professional and personal dreams, from scientific research and medicine to law, Jewish education or public policy. Our students seek to harness their unique talents and YU education to make a lasting impact on the world around them. This spring, when they graduate from YU, these new alumni will hit the ground running.
In the weeks leading up to Commencement, YU Newswill feature one remarkable graduate from each school, reflecting, in their own words, on their time here, their passions and their dreams for the future.
Meet the Class of 2013.
Azrieli’s Eli Shapiro hopes to professionalize the Jewish education landscape.
Jewish education is the foundation of our community and the basis of our future, but we often approach it in a “this is what’s done” fashion that causes us to miss out on best practices. I feel very strongly that if in some way I can effect a positive change and bring more deliberate practices to such a significant component of Jewish life, I have an obligation to do so. To quote Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Read the rest of this entry…
In State of the University Address, President Joel Recounts Progress, Outlines Challenges and Articulates Renewed Vision for the Future
In his first State of the University address, Yeshiva University President Richard M. Joel announced on September 12 that he would accept the Board of Trustees’ offer to extend his term until June 2018 for a planned 15 years in office and outlined his vision for a united and prosperous University, both as an academic and as a communal institution.
“It is here, in this complex and special space, that we can see our future,” said the president before hundreds of alumni, students, faculty and staff in the Gottesman Library Heights Lounge on the Wilf Campus. Hundreds more watched the streaming broadcast of the address online. “If I listen carefully, I hear the murmurings of a consecrated conversation taking place here—a conversation between Torah and the world, between tradition and modernity, between the sacred contents of this beautiful bastion of wisdom and the wide world around it so desperately yearning for the dissemination of those contents.” Read the rest of this entry…
New Program from YU School Partnership to Develop and Advance Emerging Leaders in the Field of Jewish Education
Yeshiva University’s Institute for University-School Partnership (YU School Partnership) is pleased to announce the launch of YU Lead, a unique and highly experiential leadership development program for aspiring leaders in Jewish education.
Twenty-four participants were selected from a competitive applicant pool of teachers, division principals, student support faculty, curriculum coordinators and student activity directors. They will spend nine months immersing themselves in the study of leadership as they learn with experts in the field of education and a cohort of their peers. The learning will take place online—synchronously and asynchronously—and at two in-person conferences. Sessions will address topics on leadership, mission, vision, philosophy, budgeting and finance, instructional supervision, development, governance, distributive leadership, 21st-century education, parents and communication, and enrollment management. YU Lead will challenge participants to think deeply about their practice and to exercise their reflective, interpersonal and educational skills to maximize their leadership potential. Read the rest of this entry…
With reports of young suicides linked to bullying on the rise and recent New York legislation obligating schools to investigate cyberbullying, Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work hosted an advance screening of “Bullycam: The Video Diary of Kelly Wilson,” a feature film from the perspective of a bullied high school student, on July 9.
"Bullycam" cast and crew take questions from the audience.
Nearly 100 people from across the New York area came together on the Wilf Campus to see the film, which was presented in collaboration with the Museum of Tolerance New York. “Bullycam”is a fictional narrative which purports to be the camcorder diary of Kelly Wilson, a teenager seeking to expose the bullies who torment her by capturing their abuse on video with the help of her best friend. The film is the feature debut of New York City filmmakers Brian Sizensky, Mike Marshall and Vera Hadzi, and has won awards at the Metropolitan Film Festival, NYC Independent Film Festival and the Buffalo/Niagra Film Festival. It has not yet been released to theaters. Read the rest of this entry…
YU School Partnership Builds Infrastructure of Support and Mentoring for New Teachers in 15 Schools
With alarmingly low teacher retention rates in schools across North America, especially among new hires, more and more Jewish day schools and institutions are recognizing the need for increased support for new teachers. But the Yeshiva University Institute for University-School Partnership has found a new way to create strong, effective educators—and it starts from the top down.
From June 24 – 27, representatives from 15 Jewish day schools came together on YU’s Wilf Campus for a summer institute as part of the New Teacher Induction Program, an effort led by the YU School Partnership with a generous grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation.
Instead of focusing on new teachers individually, the program works with school leadership and faculty to build a comprehensive system of support and mentoring within each institution. Read the rest of this entry…
Gruen Fund, YU Institute for University-School Partnership Award Grants to 12 Jewish Day Schools
The Ethel and Ronald Gruen Endowed Fund for the Advancement of Secondary Jewish Education announced today that it will award grants of $20,000 each to eight schools across the country that are intended to provide need-based scholarships to students or to support the schools’ mechina or beginners programs. In addition to these eight schools, four other schools earlier this year received similar grants of $22,500 each. The gift will be administered through Yeshiva University’s Institute for University-School Partnership.
The YU School Partnership was founded in 2008to ensure the excellence and sustainability of Jewish day schools. It aims to advance Jewish education by providing support in the recruitment of teachers and school leadership, professional development and guidance in strategic planning and day school economics.
“This is a critical time in sustaining our schools and people. This grant provides scholarships for day school students, as well as preparation programs for those who have not had the ability to attend day school up to this point,” said Dr. Scott Goldberg, director of the YU School Partnership. Read the rest of this entry…
Gemara Conference Brings Educators Together to Brainstorm New Goals, Standards and Techniques
On June 20, a group gathered in Yeshiva University’s Belfer Hall to engage in passionate debate about the gemara, their arguments peppered with yeshivish sprach [classic Talmudic terminology] and citations. But this was not your average beit medrash scene. Instead of young talmidim [students] trying to understand the content and language of the gemara, the group consisted of teachers, rebbeim and principals searching for new ways to think about teaching this ancient subject.
Azrieli's Dr. Moshe Krakowski facilitated the June 20 conference.
Dr. Chip Edelsberg Implores New Azrieli Graduates to Strive for Authenticity
The buoyant mood and cheerful light that infused the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration’s annual commencement ceremonies served as perfect contrast to the grey and gloomy evening weather outside Belfer Hall on Monday, May 21. Fifty one master’s students, 11 accelerated students, 10 doctoral students, and two specialist certificate recipients received recognition in a packed hall where extra chairs had to be brought in at the last minute to accommodate an overflow crowd of excited family and friends.
For Judith Cahn, who earned her doctoral degree, at least two members of her family didn’t have to worry about finding a chair because they had spots in the section reserved for graduating students. Read the rest of this entry…
Dr. Eliezer Jones and Dr. David Pelcovitz: “Instill Children with Values to Become Their Own Internet Filters”
On Sunday tens of thousands of Jews filled Citi Field in Queens and heard from Haredi leaders that the Internet should be avoided in the home at all costs and used sparingly at work, and then only with a filter blocking out content that could be damaging spiritually.
Debate as you will what some may see as draconian edicts to protect the Jewish community from moral corruption. But at the heart of the matter is a question that should concern us all: How do we keep our children safe on the Internet?
Navi Teachers from Across Tri-State Area Convene to Share Ideas, Discuss Technique
How do you teach Sefer Yeshayahu [Book of Isaiah]?
Dr. Shawn Zelig Aster, assistant professor of Bible at YU, presents methods to enhance understanding of Yeshayahu's vision by comparisons to Asyrian culture.
Fourteen yeshiva high school teachers came together on Yeshiva University’s Wilf Campus in late March to ask each other and themselves that question, under the auspices of YU’s Institute for University-School Partnership. Hailing from a range of schools across the tri-state area, the teachers were united by the subject they all taught (Navi, or The Prophets), their desire to enhance their own approach, and the opportunity to learn from others.
“The purpose is to expand teachers’ thinking about what’s possible in the classroom and to help them clarify their own particular focus,” said Dr. Scott Goldberg, director of the YU School Partnership. “Even though their individual schools are so different, it’s productive and important for them to talk about Navi together. They can relate to each other, but the diversity creates a great learning environment.” Read the rest of this entry…
Debate as you will what some may see as draconian edicts to protect the Jewish community from moral corruption. But at the heart of the matter is a question that should concern us all: How do we keep our children safe on the Internet?