Dear Religious School Families,
Hebrew instruction at Adat Reyim has evolved significantly between March 2020 and today. We have moved from 100% in-person to 100% online. Our teachers proved to be creative and flexible in finishing the 2020 school year supporting our students. In fall of 2020 we moved to Shalom Learning and used the Hebrew Curriculum available in their online learning platforms. After a long and heartfelt search, we hired Leah Miller as our new Religious Education Director. In hiring Leah, we identified a leader who is committed to making our Hebrew curriculum more accessible, effective and successful for all our students.
During these last two years we have taken the time to re-examine our Hebrew program. Specifically, we have received feedback from some of our parents regarding their concerns about their children’s progress in learning Hebrew during this time. We have heard those concerns, and we are being proactive in planning to revise the instructional delivery of our Hebrew program.
This school year, we have moved forward with a new, pilot Hebrew program for our current 3rd and 4th grade students, taught by Melanie Berman (Morah Malka). During this pilot, we have seen significant and measurable success in our students’ Hebrew learning. Our 3rd and 4th grade students have been split into small groups by Hebrew level, not by grade. In small groups, teachers can better focus on individual student’s learning style, making effective changes in content, and deciding the pacing that is most appropriate for each student. We have seen great successes this year in which we see these students working one-on-one with their teacher, working ahead by choice, and having fun learning Hebrew. Small groups are proving successful!
Parents have shared their children’s successful experiences (below):
“Prior to coming to the religious school, we were a Jewish Day School family. I figured it would be a challenge to meet the needs of my daughter. At the beginning of the year when the class was all together, she was fairly miserable. There was such a wide range of prior knowledge that it would have been very difficult to meet everyone's needs. …splitting up the class into smaller groups, we were thrilled. I wasn't sure how much would be able to be accomplished in the smaller time period, but I figured instruction at different levels was much more important than amounts of time. Morah Malkah talked with us about our goals for Hebrew as well as Navah's interests for the class. My daughter reports that she enjoys class now, which is something that we had hoped could happen. Thank you for making this change!”
-Talya Schultz, parent of current 2nd and 4th grader
“My daughter is a kiddo who thrives on connection and learns best when she feels seen. She is not unique in that need, and without it she can truly struggle. Both her dad and I value Religious School not only as a means of learning Hebrew, Jewish Culture and Values but also as an opportunity to build her Jewish Community and Identity. Learning online for the majority of her time at Adat Reyim has impacted both goals and as parents had us concerned about how to help our kiddo create connections that would foster learning. Morah Melanie (Malka) has done just that in her small group Hebrew learning on Wednesday evenings. My daughter has grown tremendously in the last few months in her skills and (even more importantly to her dad and I) in her willingness, desire, excitement and motivation to learn and participate. The small group/leveled learning has not only tempered some of our concerns about the ongoing impact of online learning but has also shown to be incredibly effective at building my kid’s Hebrew Language skills. We feel that this experience has been a positive turning point for our kiddo and her Jewish education.”
-Nicole Halpern, parent of current 3rd grader
Following this successful pilot, we are in the process of initiating making this change for our school’s Hebrew program. This would include the following changes for next school year:
- Students in grades 3-6 will be assessed at the beginning of the year to be placed in their small groups; that assessment will continue throughout the school year to make sure they continue in the group most appropriate for their level
- The ratio of Hebrew groups would be anywhere from 1:2 to 1:4, teacher to student (based on staff availability)
- Shorter amount of mid-week Hebrew instruction; focusing more on individualized instruction and attention to each student's learning needs.
Ultimately, we want all our religious school students to be successful and have a meaningful and positive, Jewish experience. We continue to be devoted to making sure that each of our students becomes a competent and successful Hebrew learner. These changes will get us closer to that goal.
We continue to invite your feedback. Please use the Google form below to send us your feedback about your child’s experience in our Hebrew program this year. Feedback form: https://forms.gle/ose8DxPW3sU7o2SE9
We will have more detailed information about our Hebrew program for next year soon; so stay tuned! We are excited for the possibilities. Parents are always welcome to join the AR Religious School Committee. We meet on the 1st Tuesday every month; if you are interested in joining us, please reach out to Leah, Steve, or Jess.
Warmly,
Leah Miller, Religious Education Director
Jessica Schwab and Steve Adleberg, Religious School Committee Co-chairs
Congregation Adat Reyim
6500 Westbury Oaks Court
Springfield, Virginia 22152
eddirector@adatreyim.org
703-569-7597
I save all of my communication on the RS Blog located here: https://www.adatreyim.org/religious-school-blog.html
