LAUDER SCHOOLS AT THE FOREFRONT-- FOUNDATION DEVELOPS EDUCATORS' NETWORK

With much excitement and enthusiasm, The Ronald S. Lauder Foundation Educators' Network convened its first area conference in Vienna in May bringing together Lauder school teachers of Hebrew and Judaic studies from all over Central and Eastern Europe to discuss new educational directions.

Participants included Lauder elementary school teachers and directors from Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Minsk, and Sofia. As Helise Lieberman, Co-Director of the Educators' Network and Director of The Lauder-Morasha School in Warsaw, happily noted, "it was wonderful to observe the enthusiasm of colleagues sharing and learning from each other's experiences."

The Network's main objective for its first meeting was to introduce to the assembled educators, for use in Lauder schools, the Tal Am/Tal Sela Jewish curriculum, which has been developed for elementary schools by Jewish educators from Montreal. The Lauder teachers were able to witness firsthand the success of the Tal Am program as they watched -- in awe -- first graders from The Lauder Chabad School in Vienna, who have been studying Tal Am/Tal Sela for two years, perform an entire skit in Hebrew. The Tal Am program teaches in a joyful manner Hebrew and Jewish traditions through acting, singing, videos, games, exercise, and class work.

Our Lauder schools will now join over 200 other schools throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe who have similarly adapted the program, which demands a high level of excellence but allows for flexibility and individuality among different schools.

"Without interfering with the special character of each of our schools, using Tal Am/Tal Sela will enable the Lauder Network to establish specific standards for Judaic studies and Hebrew literacy throughout all of our educational institutions. The Tal Am/Tal Sela curriculum further aids us as we work together to develop creative, stimulating and effective pedagogical techniques and approaches," commented Rabbi Biderman, Co-Director of the Network and Director of The Lauder Chabad School and Kindergarten in Vienna.

"The prospect of next year's first graders, whether they are in Warsaw, Budapest, Minsk, or Vienna, sharing the same curriculum with Hebrew as their common language is very exciting," exclaimed Ms. Lieberman. "We are thrilled by the possibility of such an exponential increase in standards of excellence for our schools."

top