Feb 10, 2006 -- How do you bring a first-rate professional development program to educators in day schools from Baltimore to Seattle all in one day? The Association of Modern Orthodox Day Schools and Yeshiva High Schools (AMODS) of Yeshiva University created the Global Learning Initiative (GLI) to meet this need. The GLI –– an interactive, videoconferencing, distance-learning program –– connects educators at the 12 AMODS-affiliated schools with Yeshiva University (YU) professors. Schools in Atlanta, Baltimore, Columbus, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Long Island, Memphis, Montreal, Queens, and Seattle all participate in the program. “AMODS has created virtual classrooms that extend the walls of our institution,” said Rabbi David Israel, director of AMODS, which is part of Yeshiva University’s new Center for the Jewish Future. “With two large monitors and a video camera installed at each site, participants are able to see the instructor and course materials, as well as participants from different sites.” This spring, the GLI is offering three continuing-education seminars and is expanding its offerings to include middle and high school students as well. Dr. David Pelcovitz, Gwendolyn & Joseph Straus Professor of Jewish Education at Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration; Dr. Scott Goldberg, assistant professor of education and psychology; and Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and Senior Scholar at the Center for the Jewish Future, have all been tapped to give presentations to educators. Plans for student programs include special sessions to prepare students for the Pesah Seder, and a special event for Yom Yerushalayim. “The opportunities for new and exciting long-distance programs for students and educators are limited only by our imagination and creativity,” said Nathan Kruman, assistant director of AMODS, which oversees the GLI. “We want to be the bridge between students at AMODS schools and students in Israel or other countries and to national programs at museums, research institutes, and arts centers.” Initial funding for the Global Learning Initiative was provided by the Diamond family of Columbus, Ohio, the Weiss family of Cleveland, and the Jim Joseph Foundation. For more information on the Global Learning Initiative, contact Nathan Kruman, Assistant Director of AMODS, at 212-960-5260, or kruman@yu.edu.