What is Enhanced Hebrew Learning?
Enhanced Hebrew Learning is Congregation Adat Reyim Religious School’s evidenced-based approach to improve the outcomes of Hebrew learners through intentional assessment, placement of students in small groups, targeted skilled instruction, and ongoing functional assessment throughout the school year. Hebrew teachers will provide individualized instruction based on the skill level and experience of each student. Students participating in this approach have demonstrated improvement in Hebrew letter recognition, decoding, and reading critical for participating in Hebrew prayer.
Here are a few questions that you may be asking:
Q. Wait, does this mean that we will not know the time and/or day of when our child will have their Hebrew group until the Fall?
A. Yes, that is correct. We will be assessing all of our students in the upcoming 3rd-6th grade classes in the weeks leading up to the first day of school. These assessments will be short but meaningful so that we can properly place each child in the most appropriate group for them. We understand that this may be slightly concerning that you will not know the exact schedule until a few weeks before; however, the beauty of this program is that your Hebrew group time will work around your schedule that is already in place. It will take into consideration extra-curriculars, BMitzvah prep sessions, and any other time-restrictive meetings you may already have scheduled.
Q. Do we get to choose whether we meet in person or on Zoom?
A. Every family with a child in 3rd-6th grade in the 2022-2023 school year will need to answer our short questionnaire, by May 13th, to let us know of your preferences. We will try to accommodate everyone’s requests but we cannot guarantee that each request will be fulfilled. These preferences could be day, time, teacher requests, group member requests, but most importantly whether you would like to be in-person at the synagogue or on Zoom. For example, if a student you request is on a different level than your child, we will not be able to place them in your child’s group. This program is also based on staffing needs. We take the health needs of our teachers seriously and at this time we do have teachers who are either immunocompromised or are not yet comfortable meeting in person yet. Your answers on the questionnaire do not necessarily lock you in on your decision. This can change over the next few months. You can find the questionnaire here: https://forms.gle/ie4HEwszXQLYZ9Nm6 Please fill it out by May, 13, 2022.
Q. What days and times of the week could our Hebrew class meet?
A. Our Enhanced Hebrew Learning program is so accessible that it could meet any day or time of the week. For example, if the teacher and the 2-4 families in the group agree that 7:15-7:45 on a Thursday evening at the synagogue or 8:00-8:30 AM on Zoom works best for them, that is when you can meet! After you have been placed in your small groups, the teacher will contact you and together you will choose the best time to meet for the year. If at any point the group decides to change the day and/or time, as long as everyone agrees to the change, you can make that change.
Q. What if there is a holiday (secular or Jewish) that falls on the same day as our Hebrew group?
A. Great question! The group can decide to change days just for that week. It will be up to the group to make that decision in certain circumstances, but the ultimate decision will be made by the Hebrew teacher and Religious Education Director. The Religious Education Director will also supply the school families and staff with a school calendar to base these decisions off of.
Q. As my child advances through the year, will my child need to move groups if they move up in level?
A. No. This program allows for individualized instruction so that no child should need to switch groups throughout the year. This is also why we need to assess students in the Fall and not at the end of the year. It is perfectly normal for students to forget a little of what they learned over the Summer, so we want to place them in groups based on where they are when they come back in the Fall. In these small groups, teachers will also be able to provide attention to each student's specific learning needs. We will continue to assess students throughout the school year as well.
We are so excited to take this next step in our program to help make sure each of our religious school students is successful and has a meaningful and positive Jewish learning 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 are committed to making our Hebrew curriculum more accessible, effective and successful for all our students. We know you will have questions, and we welcome them! The logistics of these changes will continue to develop over the Summer and even into the Fall, so please be patient with us as we navigate this new approach to our Hebrew Curriculum.
With support of our new program from Rabbi Glazer, President Andrea Sobel, and our religious school committee, we hope to get to a place where each of our students at Congregation Adat Reyim becomes a confident Hebrew reader. As always, thank you for your partnership in continuing to create positive Jewish learning experiences for your children.
Warmly,
Leah Miller, Religious Education Director
Jess Schwab & 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 |
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