Excellence

"Excellence" is a goal to which many, if not all, day schools subscribe. This issue provides perspectives on this elusive term, offering diverse notions of what day school excellence means and looks like, and suggesting pathways and structures for schools to achieve excellence. Each school must define what excellence means for its community and how excellence relates to the other values in the school's mission.

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Articles From This Issue

Significance, Not Just Excellence

Lee Buckman
When Academic Excellence Isn’t Enough

Jane Martin, Director of Marketing and Communications, Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, Overland Park, KS
When We Strive for Excellence, What Do We Lose?

Dr. Rona Novick
Broadcasting Excellence

Alan Rusonik, Head of School, Jewish Academy of Orlando
The Excellence of the Jewish People: Past, Present and Future

Interview with Gidi Grinstein
The Shalom Room

Mary Grace Lentz, Kindergarten Teacher and Student Support Specialist, Seattle Jewish Community School
Scaling Up Excellence in Jewish Day Schools

Samantha Pack and Y. Boruch Sufrin
How to Define and Measure Outstanding Teaching

Rabbi Mitchel Malkus, Head of School, Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Rockville, MD
The Qualities of Excellence in Leadership

Or Mars and Jay Henry Moses
Student Leadership and Advocacy for Israel

Dr. Laurence Kutler, Head of School, Herzliah, Montreal
The New Excellence Through Online Learning

Eli Kannai
Creating Cultures of Excellence

Questions for Seth Cohen
Building Schoolwide Innovation: Two Critical Planes

Grant Lichtman
Excellent Questions for Excellent Schools

Amy L. Sales
Equal Opportunity Excellence: Enrichment Education for All

Sharon Marson
Seven Lessons in Pursuit of Board Excellence

Orlee Turitz
Why Fix What Ain’t Broke? Striving for Excellence in Hebrew Education

Tal Grinfas-David, Idit BenDavid, and Liat Kadosh
From the Editor: Surprising Insights Into Excellence

Barbara Davis, Executive Editor
Cultivating Pedagogic Excellence in Teachers

Amy Golubtchik Ament, Yael Adler Bailey, Nina Bruder, and Fayge Safran
From the Board: Excellent Leadership as Co-leadership

Rebekah Farber
Badges of Excellence in Professional Development

Sarah Blattner and Samuel Abramovich
Dear Cooki: Recognizing Teacher Excellence

Cooki Levy
Taking Creativity Seriously

Tikvah Wiener
Taking Control: Defining Academic Excellence

Barbara Gereboff
Seeking Excellence: Partnering with Universities

Lynn Raviv, Director of Development, NE Miles Jewish Day School, Birmingham, AL