New Sources Added to Web-Based Sources and Print References on Mentoring Jewish Students and Teachers on September 2, 2009

Shalom Colleagues and Friends,

This is a collaborative post. We invite you to submit web-based and print references on mentoring Jewish students and teachers. We want this listing to be as complete and helpful to our readers as possible.


List of Web-based References

http://www.avi-chai.org/Static/Binaries/Publications/Experience%20Speaks_0.pdf Read Godsoe, Bethany et al. (2007) Experience Speaks: The Impact of Mentoring in the Classroom and Beyond. NY: AVI CHAI Foundation.

The AVI CHAI Foundation in partnership with the Jewish New Teacher Project (JNTP) conducted a two year study on the impact of mentoring on new teachers in selected Jewish day schools.

The following eight conclusions were reported:

(1) Mentoring provides moral support through the high challenging first two years of teaching.

(2) Mentoring establishes a framework for new teachers to help them think about their roles, purposes and concrete tasks such as lesson planning, and student assessment.

(3) Mentoring leads to enhanced instruction, particularly through the use of data and non-evaluative observation.

(4) Mentoring helps new teachers see the broader picture in terms of student development and appropriate learning goals.

(5) Mentoring teaches new teachers to learn to be reflective about their own practice, and skills that stays with them long after the mentoring ends.

(6) Mentoring facilitates connections to the broader school community and school-wide philosophy, mission and goals.

(7) Mentoring helps new teachers hand interactions with parents in productive ways.

(8) Mentoring gives new teachers confidence to contribute more broadly within their schools.



http://www.avi-chai.org/bin/en.jsp?enPage=BlankPage&enZone=JLPST On this website you will find information about the following programs: Hebrew Union College MA in Jewish Education with a Specialization in Day Schools, Ivriyon - Hebrew Language Program for Jewish Studies Teachers http://www.jtsa.edu/ivriyon, Mentoring for Novice Teachers, Jewish New Teacher Project, Talmudic Studies Program for Women,Pardes Educators Programwww2.pardes.org.il/programs/educators/overview.php

http://www.berotbatayin.org/about.htm If you click on to this website you will learn how the Midreshet B'erot Bat Ayin uses chevruta and one-on-one mentoring as important instructional methods for Torah education.

http://www.bjeny.org/458.asp?dept=Student+Health On this website you will learn about the Educational Leadership Institute (ELI) sponsored by the Board of

Jewish Education of Greater New York. The ELI program trains 11th and 12th schools students to serve as teaching assistants, and paid substitute teachers in congregational elementary schools.


Sheila Adler, Coordinator, ELI Program;
Educational Director, Bet Torah Synagogue, Mt. Kisco, NY writes:


In the 11th grade... the ELI Program adds 26 two-hour sessions to the normal four-hour-per-week academic program. One hour is given to the Fundamentals of Teaching (lesson planning, classroom management, teaching methodology, supervised practice teaching); one to the elementary school Judaic curriculum (Jewish holidays, Bible, history and prayer). For the 12th grade program, students who completed ELI in 11th grade can continue the program as "educational residents," take two hours a week of classes, one hour of which is devoted to Judaic studies and one hour to advanced teacher education. Twelfth grade participants work as paid full-time aides or substitute teachers in the elementary grades, and as facilitators for high school student discussions as well as for some of the 11th grade ELI training sessions. Because of their greater teaching responsibilities, the ELI educational residents are carefully observed and monitored by their mentor teachers and coached by their lead educator. Students who did not take ELI in 11th grade, and who have decided they would like to be part of the program after all, can participate in ELI with special enrollment requirements as a 12th grade program.


By providing a strong link between elementary and secondary Jewish education, and by motivating students to complete Jewish high school, the ELI program has transformed the Jewish congregational school. It has energized high schools, raised academic standards, given teens leadership skills, responsibilities and Jewish community connections through college and beyond.

In summary, what distinguishes ELI from other Jewish teen leadership programs is that it:

*has significantly increased high school enrollments, maximized attendance and retained students through the twelfth grade;

*is a formally designed, curriculum-driven, carefully supervised student teacher training program with high eligibility standards and performance expectations;

*is a sixteen-year-old proven model of teen leadership development that has been replicated successfully in five congregational and community schools;

*trains teen student teachers to work in elementary school classrooms and serve as role models for younger students, many of whom aspire to join the program when they reach 11th grade;

*has become, because of positive peer modeling, an elite group to which younger teens aspire to belong;

*has raised the level of teaching in the elementary schools by making mentor teachers more reflective practitioners, and, by infusing new teachers into the field as some ELI graduates choose Jewish education as a career;

*issues a Board of Jewish Education Certificate of Completion;

*helps students stay involved Jewishly during their college years, finds them positions as congregational classroom teachers while in college, and provides them with on-going guidance by and contact with their lead educators.


http://www.brandeis.edu/mandel/pdfs/report0405.pdf In this website you will learn about the Mentor Teacher Development Program of the Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University. The website indicates:

As a professional development initiative, the Mentor Teacher Development Program is structured to support both teacher and student learning. The goal is to create a community of practice among Jewish day school teachers in which active leadership and rigorous exchange about teaching and learning among colleagues are normal instruments of continuous improvement. This requires a commitment to teacher development as part of the ongoing work of teachers, and recognition that mentoring is an important skill in the toolkit of the professional classroom teacher. Accomplishments

• Nine mentor teachers have been actively engaged in creating a cross-school learning community that helps to combat the traditional isolation of classroom teachers.

• Ongoing professional development for mentor teachers takes place through a summer institute, as well asa monthly cross-school study group throughout the school year.

• Leadership opportunities for experienced mentor teachers have been created including facilitating the Beginning Teacher Network, instructing in the DeLeT Program, planning and implementing workshops for new mentors, and doing teacher research on teaching Bible.


http://www.cjlmilwaukee.org/WhatWeDo/WhatWeDo.htm The Coalition for Jewish Learning, On this website you will learn that the Milwaukee Jewish Federation provides mentoring services to novice teachers.

http://www.dphds.org/main/jewish_lifepathing.html If you check this website you will find information about the Jewish Life Pathing (JLP) Mentoring Program at the David Posnack Hebrew Day School in Florida. This program offers students the chance to explore possible career paths while interacting with schoolmates who share similar interests. Students in grades 8 to 11 serve as “coaches” for students in grades 3 to 7. Twice monthly, the older students interact with the younger students in teacher-supervised sessions.

http://www.keshet.org/peerbuddymentoring.asp This publication describes the peer buddy and mentoring program at the Sager Elementary School, Sager Solomon Schechter Middle School and the Ida Crown Jewish Academy in the Chicago area.



http://www.iawaken.org/shiurim/view.asp?id=6638 On this website you will read the words of Rabbi David Lapin who urges students and parents to find a righteous and erudite mentor. He writes: If you are a student... find yourself a great mentor, a rebbewho is a human being of profound intellectual and moral stature, and put yourself in his hands. Allow him to coach you and mold you. If you are a parent, do the same for yourself never mind for your child. You will then be a role-model for your children. They will see what the pursuit of greatness means. They will see what it is to have a coach and a mentor. They will see greatness in you, more and more each day as you grow and progress on your own journey to greatness. Your children will naturally adopt you as their rebbe, their own coaches and mentors. And who is more worthy of coaching your children than you?

http://www.infed.org/biblio/role_model_education.htm On this website you will find the article written by Daniel Rose, The Potential of Role-Model Education. In this article Rose describes role-model education as the basis for mentoring.

http://www.jecc.org/ProfessionalDevelopment/JESP.htm Learn about the mentoring and coaching components in the Professional Development Program of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, OH.


http://www.jesna.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=290&catid=100On this web address you will meet Amanda Pogany, an 8th grade Judaic Studies and Hebrew language teacher at the Solomon Schechter School of Manhattan, the middle school Student Life Coordinator, a mentor to new teachers, and in her spare time, a consultant on pedagogy and curriculum.

http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/page.aspx?id=180986&page=4 In this article written by Ronit Sherwin the author addresses the personal benefits she has derived by being mentored by Hannah Rubin-Schlansky. Ms. Sherwin writes:


Appoint a teacher for yourself . . .” (Pirke Avot 1:6)
This teaching from Ethics of the Fathers is what I believe is the foundation to engaging, strengthening and maintaining young professionals in our Jewish communities. Young professionals need strong mentors, as Debbie had been to me as a young teacher. They need teachers who can guide them in effective committee processes and lay relationships, challenge them to build their competencies and model commitment and passion. Mentors are not only critical for young professionals, but for all professionals. All professionals benefit tremendously from mentors who challenge them and provide a safe space to discuss issues and receive critical feedback and structure.


“Appoint for yourself a teacher; acquire for yourself a friend; and judge everyone favorably” (Pirke Avot 1:6). The full mishnah speaks to the fruitful results of strong mentors for young professionals. It is only through relationships that challenge us to learn and to teach others that we develop into our best selves, with the eyes to see our community and our world more discerningly and more honestly. And it is only through such communal professionals that we will ensure a strengthened future for the Jewish people.

http://www.jewishlife.org/programs.html Click on to this website and learn about the many worthy programs supported by the Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life. We have included these programs because each one can inspire participants to become Jewish mentors and leaders: Birthright Israel, B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO), The Curriculum Initiative, The Foundation for Jewish Camping,The Grinspoon/Steinhardt Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education,Hillel Jewish Campus Service Corps, Hillel Rejewvenation, Hillel at the University of Pennsylvania, Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI) Jewish Heritage Programs, MyJewishLearning.com,

Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE),

Professional Leaders Project, Spark Partnership for Service, STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal), Steinhardt Jewish Heritage Festival at BAM ,The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute.

http://www.jimjosephfoundation.org/PDF/Brandeis%20Mapping%20Professional%20Development.pdfRead about some of the initiatives in the professional development of Jewish educators in this manuscript: Sales, A. L., Samuel, N. & Koren A. (2007). Mapping Professional Development for Jewish Educators. Brandeis University, Waltham. MA: The Fisher-Bernstein Institute for Jewish Philanthropy and Leadership.

http://jrf.org/tel-post-bnai-mitzvah Learn about the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation's (JRF) new post b’nai mitzvah initiative, the TEL program, that involves madrichim training teams of youth (grades eight through twelve) to do congregational and community service.

http://jtec.macam.ac.il/portal/Search.aspx?term=mentoring On this website sponsored by the MOFET Institute you will find several sources and programs on the mentoring of Jewish teachers.



http://www.jtsa.edu/x905.xml#elements Click on to this web address and learn about the Rabbinical School of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) which highlights mentoring into its program. The site includes information on these topics: mentor training, setting up internships, the role of the mentor, written reflections, the elements of mentoring, evaluating the students, and the hard to reach student.

http://www.lookstein.org/online_journal.php?id=168 On this website you will find an article, Birkeland, Sarah & Feiman-Nemser (Fall, 2007), 6(1). Building Professional Learning Communities Through Beginning Teacher Induction. In this article the authors describe a new type of teacher induction that highlights the creation of a professional learning community and mentoring. They write:


At our Center, a team of educators and researchers is collaborating on a project called the Induction Partnership. We have deployed coaches to help build strong systems of new teacher induction in a group of diverse, local Jewish day schools. Our initial goal for the 2-year coaching project was to help make these schools educative environments in which beginning teachers could thrive, by instituting a system of supports specifically geared towards addressing their needs. As they focus their resources and attention on beginning teacher induction, the schools in our partnership are looking more and more like professional learning communities.

http://www.lookstein.org/mifgashim/readings/mentoring.htm Read this insightful article by Stanley Peerless which summarizes the components of an effective mentoring program which include (a) training of the mentor, (b) time for the mentor to work with his or her mentee, (c) proper matching of the mentor with the mentee, and (d) the support and encouragement of the educational leader of the school.

http://www.mentornet.net/Documents/Files/SACNAS.Lois.Zachary.pdf Click on to this website and see a power point presentation created by Dr. Lois Zachary which covers these topics: the importance of mentoring, the role of the mentor and the mentee, matching the mentor with the mentee, the process of mentoring and the culture of mentoring.

http://www.nchillel.org/site/c.irKQIUPEIsE/b.3075903/k.69E5/Chevruta_Jewish_Learning_Partnership.htmClick on to this website and see how chevruta study is linked to mentoring at theHillel at the University of North Carolina.



http://notes.hillel.org/Hillel/exchange.nsf/4631b84b253300e4852568da00675ff6/0F1643915742FE5085256E6C00730254?OpenDocument On this site you will find information about a mentoring program co-sponsored by the Broome County Big Brothers and Big Sisters Program, Binghamton, NY and Hillel. In its novice stage there is a program date one Sunday a month where Jewish Binghamton University students organize and facilitate activities for the local Broome County Jewish Elementary School age students. Future plans for this local and University interaction is a listing composed for the University students at the beginning of each semester of opportunities to assist the local Jewish community.This may include requests for a Jewish mentor in the area schools, assistance from college students at the various existing youth group programs, openings for Hebrew school teachers, and other programs.



http://www.panim.org/educatorsinstitute/index.htm Click onto this website and learn about The National Educators' Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values. PANIM: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values offers an annual, week-long Jewish service-learning training. The National Educators’ Institute provides educators with the tools necessary to implement service-learning programs in a variety of settings. This year’s conference is June 21-25, 2009 at the University of Maryland, College Park.

http://www.peje.org/docs/ArticleonLomedL.pdf For schools considering implementing a tutor/mentoring program, click on to this website . Here you will find a practical manuscript titled, A Manual to Create a Volunteer Tutor/Mentoring Program Within Jewish Schools, written by Elizabeth Kotler Glass, and Kenneth Schaefler in March, 2004. In the manual these topics are covered: Program Goals, Methodology, Implementation, Overview of Procedural Steps, Orientation for Principals, Orientation/Training, Lomed___Rules for Tutors, Matching Tutors with Schools and Students, How Tutors are Utlized, Problems that May Arise and Possible Solutions, Plus Sample Administrative Forms.

http://www.peje.org/knowledge/additional_resources/jewisheducationalphabetSoup.phpCheck this website to learn about the many different organizations dedicated to strengthening Jewish Day School Education including Jewish Day School for the 21 Century (JDS21), Jewish Educators Assembly (JEA)- Conservative; Jewish Educational Leadership Initiative (JELI), The Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA), National Association of Temple Educators (NATE)- Reform, United Jewish Communities (UJC), Continental Council for Jewish Day School Education (UJC-JESNA), Association of Modern Orthodox Day Schools and YeshivaHigh Schools (AMODS)- Modern Orthodox, North American Association of Jewish High Schools (NAAJHS), Progressive Association for Reform Day Schools (PARDes)- Reform, Jewish Community Day School Network (RAVSAK./JCDSN), Solomon Schechter Day School Association (SSDSA)- Conservative, Torah U’Mesorah- Orthodox, William Davidson Graduate School for Jewish Education, Jewish Theological Seminary, Day School Leadership Through Teaching (DeLeT), Jewish Teacher Corps, Jskyway, The Lookstein Center, The Melton Centre for Jewish Education, Hebrew University, Pardes Educators Program, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveltchik Institute Fellowship, AVI CHAI Foundation and The Gruss Foundation-The Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Life Monument Fund, Inc.

https://www.policyarchive.org/bitstream/handle/10207/14847/Making%20Jewish%20Education%20Work%20-%20PDP%202.pdf?sequence=1 This website contains the JESNA report, Making Jewish Education Work: Mentoring Jewish Educational Professionals, Lessons Learned from Research and Evaluation in the Field, Report 2. This report offers these five conclusions about mentoring: Mentoring relationships are most beneficial under these five conditions: (1) When orientation and training are provided to both the mentor and the mentee; (2) When mentor and mentee pairings are thoughtfully coordinated; (3) When roles and expectations are clearly defined; (4) When multiple venues of frequent communication and feedback are available and (5) When mentoring programs are thoroughly managed and evaluated in an ongoing systematic manner.



http://www.spertus.edu/degreeprograms/jewishstudies/majps_info/majps_individuation.phpRead about Spertus College's Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies which includes a mentoring component in its program. Each graduate student in this program is given a personal mentor. The mentor meets with the student on a regular basis (every 2 to 3 weeks). The nature of the role served by the mentor varies from student to student. Some students may choose a reflective practitioner from their field with whom they will regularly discuss the applicability of course materials to practical work. Others may choose to create a more formalized independent study framework with their mentor, based on readings and writing. Still others may choose a mentor with whom they work on a specific profession-based issue over a sustained period of time. Finally, some students may choose a mentor who serves as a personal coach. The program advisor will work with each student in identifying an appropriate mentor and crafting the nature of the work the mentor will do with the student.


http://www.urj.org/chai/teach/elearning/ Read about the electronic mentoring program offered by the Union of Reform Judaism (URJ) which includes sessions on these topcs: What is a mentor?, The Adult Learner, The Mentoring Relationship, The Needs Assessment, Using Understanding by Design, Classroom Observation and The Protege as a Colleague.

http://urj.org/Articles/index.cfm?id=1767 Click on to this website and learn how the internet can be used both for online mentoring and instruction.

http://www.uscj.org/metny/files/tdi.pdf Read about the Teacher Development Institute (TDI) sponsored by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.The Teacher Development Institute prepares new teachers for future success in synagogue, congregational schools and Hebrew high school programs. TDI will provide ongoing mentoring during the two years of the program, and continued mentoring following the program.

http://www.wujs.org.il/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=217 Click on to this website and learn about the World Union of Jewish Students' manual on mentoring in which you will find a definition for mentoring, the roles and responsibilities of the mentor and the mentee (i.e. protege), the benefits of mentoring, and other related areas.



http://www.yu.edu/ujs/page.asp?jss On this website you will learn about the mentoring component of the undergraduate colleges of Yeshiva University (YU). In particular,The Mechinah Program of YU offers individualized mentoring by Rabbi Iaaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) madrichim.




List of Print References

Abrams, Jennifer (2009). Having Hard Conversations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. http://www.corwinpress.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book232302&currTree=WebTopics&level1=Web_Topic1&

Aronson, Judy (2003). Partnering with a Mentor. Moskowitz, N.S. (Editor). In The Ultimate Jewish Teacher's Handbook. Denver, CO: A.R.E. Publishing Inc. 653-661.

Artson, Bradley Shavit (2006). The Gift of Soul, Gift of Wisdom: A Spiritual Resources for Mentoring and Leadership. Springfield, NJ: Behrman House.

Cutter, William (1995). Hierarchy and Mutuality: Mentor, Protégé and Spirit. InTouching the Future: Mentoring and the Jewish Profession. Edited by Zeldin, M. & Lee, S. S. Los Angeles, CA: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Feiman-Nemser, Sharon (2007). Beit Midrash for Teachers: An Experiment in Professional Development. Journal of Jewish Education 72(3), 161-181.

Feiman-Nemser, Sharon(2007). Discovering and Sharing Knowledge: Inventing a New Role for Cooperating Teachers. In Transforming Teacher Education: Reflections from the Field.Ed. Carrol, D., Featherstone, J., Featherstone, H., Feiman-Nemser, S. & Roosevelt, D.. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. 139-160.


Feiman-Nemser, S. (2006). Foreward. Mentoring Teachers Toward Excellence. Ed. J. Shulman & M. Sata, Eds. San Francisco:: Jossey Bass. xi-xv.

Feiman-Nemser, S. & Troen, N. (Winter, 2008). School-Based Induction Helps NewTeachers Thrive. RAVSAK Journal, HaYidion.http://www.ravsak.org/news/158/125/School-Based-Induction-Helps-New-Teachers-Thrive/d,HaYidion/

Feirman-Nemser, Sharon (May, 2003). What New Teachers Need to Learn. Educational Leadership. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 60(8).http://prodev.dadeschools.net/MINTMentorSupport/what%20new%20teachers%20need%20to%20learn.pdf



Feiman-Nemser, Sharon (2007). What We Know About Learning to Teach and What This Means for Jewish Education. In What We Know Now About Jewish Education: Perspectives On Research and Practice. Ed. P. Flexner & R. Goodman (Eds.). Los Angeles: Tora Aura Publications.


Goldberg, A. & Schapira, R. (Winter, 2008). Training Students to Become Jewish Educators. RAVSAK Journal, HaYidion. 22-23.

http://www.ravsak.org/news/157/125/Training-Students-to-Become-Jewish-Educators/d,HaYidion/


Gorsetman, C.R. (2005). Mentoring Novice Teachers in Selected Modern Orthodox Jewish Day Schools. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education, Yeshiva University, NY.

Howard, L. B. (2006). The Madrichim Manual: Six Steps to Becoming a Jewish Role Model. Springfield, NJ: Behrman House.

Joseph, S. (1989). The Madrikhim Handbook: A Training Program for Teenagers Working in Jewish Schools. Los Angeles, CA: Torah Aura Productions.

Levin, N. P. & Lee. S.S. (2006). Bridging the Gap: The Power of Mentoring Teachers for Creating Teaching Excellence. Los Angeles, CA: HUC-JIR.

Melamed-Turkish, M. (Summer, 2007). Mitzvot Pairs. Jewish Education News.http://www.caje.org/learn/Summer07/mitzvahpairs.asp


Solomon, R. (January, 2008). A New Career Development Ladder for Professional Development for Supplemental and Day School Teachers. In Creative Solutions to Educational Challenges, Lookjed Electronic Professional Learning Community, The Lookstein Center, Bar-Ilan University. http://lookstein.org/lookjed/read.php?1,16568,16568#msg-16568


Solomon, R. (Winter, 2008). Developmental Ladder for Students and Teachers in a Jewish Day School. RAVSAK Journal, HaYidion. 18-21.

http://www.ravsak.org/news/155/125/Developmental-Ladder-for-Students-and-Teachers-in-a-Jewish-Day-School/d,HaYidion/


Solomon, R. & Davidson, N. (Spring, 2009). Cooperative Learning: Research and Implementation for Jewish Education. Jewish Educational Leadership. 7(3).


Solomon, R., Solomon, E. & Bor, H. (Fall, 2007). From Madrichim to Expert Educators: New Career Ladder for Professional Development for Supplementary and Day School Teachers, Jewish Education News, CAJE, 28 (3).http://caje.wikispaces.com/Jewish+Education+News

Zachary, Lois, J. (Summer, 2006). Creating A Mentoring Culture. Jewish Education News, 27(3), 10-12. In this article Dr. Zachary describes the values of mentoring and compares the process of creating a culture of mentoring to the building of the mishkan. She writes: Creating a mentoring culture, like building the mishkan, is sacred work that connects us more deeply to one another as we take the mentoring journey that renews us individually and collectively as an educational community. An institution or initiative doesn’t need to be large to successfully create a mentoring culture. However, it must be willing to enlarge its thinking. It doesn’t need to possess extensive resources. Rather, it needs to utilize available resources wisely. It takes a commitment to do the right kind of work and provide space for individuals to bring their contribution to bear. The presence of a mentoring culture expands the opportunities for individual, personal, and professional growth and development and prepares us to harness and focus our energy to create momentum that raises the bar for everyone. When the bar is raised, we can achieve amazing results.http://www.caje.org/learn/Summer06/zachary_one.pdf .

Zachary, Lois (Summer, 2001). Lessons from a Mentoring at Sinai. Jewish Education News. 22 (3). http://www.caje.org/learn/a_zachary.htm

Zeldin, Michael (1995).Touching the Future: The Promise of Mentoring. The Journal of Jewish Education. 72 (2), 87-90.http://huc.edu/faculty/faculty/pubs/MichaelZeldin/TouchingTheFuture.pdf