General Studies Strategy for Oregon Standards at Maayan

                                               

                                           General Studies Strategy for Oregon Standards 

The underlying pin to all of Maayan’s education is the “Jewish values” rich environment, or “the Neshamah”, that Jewish feeling, that is deeply a part of the daily experiences of the children at our school. This feeling becomes deeply embedded in a child’s identity, securely connecting them to their heritage and continuing it on. This is an invaluable gift to a child. 

There is so much excitement, warmth and vibrancy that the teachers create in their classrooms making the children feel nurtured and happy. I see it all over their faces. Part of their happiness comes from the feeling of being valued because we see each child as not just a brain to educate but a “being” made in the Divine image with beautiful talents, only needing our help to make them shine forth. 

Below, we would like to elaborate about our meeting / exceeding Oregon State Standards and how we plan on achieving this necessary aim. 

Here is our current strategy:

1.      We align our general studies program to meet all of the Oregon State Standards for Math, Language Arts (Literacy/ Writing) and the significant standards for Science and Social Studies.

2.      Our curriculum materials are from standardized curriculum publishers for Math and Literacy/ Writing. These curriculums come with assessments, homework, challenge and support materials. This is a tremendous support for guiding teachers each day in the classroom for meeting benchmarks.

3.      Students in Kindergarten and up are formally assessed three times a year by standardized assessments, like the DRA, giving the teacher and parents clear evidence of student progress.

4.      We employ Oregon certified teachers who have taught in the public school system with a number of years of teaching experience.

5.      Teacher oversight: Teachers hand in weekly lesson plans to the director to assure that current classroom instruction is progressing through the benchmarks in the curriculum. Teachers are assessed once a year formally for their teaching efficacy but are observed more regularly. 

6.      We put our main instruction focus on Math and Literacy with rotating thematic units for Social Studies and Science. This means that the meat and potatoes are getting all the focus they need.

7.      Very Important: Our main goal for the next three months is to hire a general studies coordinator who will be guiding and overseeing the developing general studies program with the director and teaching staff.

8.      State Testing will be starting in third grade (formal state testing doesn’t take place before third grade) which will show how our students score on Oregon state standards compared to all public school students.

9.      Our Judaic Studies is a rich and academic program that really develops our students in their analysis, critical thinking and problem solving skills. The time in Judaic Studies also uses its time for reading, writing, researching, music enrichment, art, Jewish history and focus on social skill development. A person needs to see that the time in the Judaic program is also used to reach standards for skills but with other content.

10.  Currently, all of our students are meeting or exceeding benchmarks for Kindergarten and First Grade. This is because of a number of factors, one being that a teacher can move much faster when she needs to make sure 5-10 students have understood the concept versus 17-25.

11.  We do have blended grade classrooms. This allows for students to really fit in where they can grow best. Reading groups are according to reading level which means that students can keep growing as far as their ability level. Math is taught by grade level groupings.

 

Those are the inner workings of our education. I feel confident about what our students are learning and able to do. We make education full of first hand experiences and see the student as the most active participant in the classroom/learning process. Our learning philosophy focuses on the active acquiring of knowledge which helps kids to love being in the classroom and helps them be SELF- MOTIVATED students.

 

If a child does have special learning needs, a professional would need to give guidance to see if this kind of education would fit well for that child. I believe that our small group work, center style learning, and small teacher: student ratio really are an advantage for students who may have some special needs. However, with all special needs, it matters where that child's needs falls on the spectrum to find out if a certain school environment will be conducive to that child’s growth. 

While growing a school, every family and student is important to us, more importantly is that child’s success wherever they go to school.            

 

Aviel Brodkin

www.portlandjewishdayschool.org

Past the Chagim - getting down to business!

Today marks the 23rd day of school, we would think we would be further along in the school year but with all the holidays it is still early on. We expect that the students are well adjusted to their surroundings and schedule but in reality, there hasn't been enough time to gain that comfort.
When starting a new school, a number of students are coming from different past school experiences and it is a major transition to adjust to a new setting. The kids are learning to acclimate both in terms of teachers, staff, physical setting, and school culture. But by far, the hardest transition is making new friends.
For both the new students and older students, kids are a little reticent to extend themselves, not out of a lack of friendliness but more out of comfort with people they are familiar with.
A goal of a jewish day school, and ours at Maayan Torah Day School, is to inspire and teach our students the Jewish values of being in someone else's emotional "shoes". Moving beyond how we feel, and thinking from the perspective of the other person is a deep Torah value that can be educated from a young age.
It is extraordinary to see children's understanding when you open their eyes to someone else's pain or feelings.
Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov in his book, A Jew in his Home, mentions that we must start very early with educating children from a very young age in sensitivity and kindness with others.
Here are two suggestions for helping your child break into friend circles. Playdates with classmates and good home/school communication are some ways to help new students make the adjustment to a new school environment easier. Informing teachers about certain social dynamics help the teachers to proactively group kids in certain ways and positively reinforce extra inclusion of peers.
Wishing everyone a Rosh Chodesh Tov for Cheshvan!
Aviel Brodkin

Maayan Torah Day School, a Jewish Day School in Portland, Oregon, offers a solid Jewish and General Studies education. We have super dedicated teachers committed to instilling a love of Jewish values and living.
A parent of a two year old mentioned that it's his "MY - yan HaTorah." We take great pride in making a "learner centered" school, where the student takes on the active role of learner. There are no observers just participants!

Today, was my first day of school with 5 classrooms and lots of kids. Teachers didn't sleep and kids were too nervous to eat breakfast. I have been wide eyed since 4:45 am and two ibuprofen. I think it's been a smooth day, besides the unexpected -- boys walking in halls, and middle school girls stampeding down them!
But I feel honored to have this chance to be part of providing a Jewish education to my local community children in Portland, Oregon.
Maayan Torah Day School - we are so excited to start a new year and a new school.