DeLeT Program Celebrates Alumni Achievements at First-Ever Conference
Brandeis DeLeT Alumni gather at the March 2009 retreat.
DeLeT – Day School Leadership through Teaching – named to honor the Hebrew word for an entry into a career in day school education – has received national attention as a program of teacher education which is enriching and revitalizing Jewish day school education with its unique vision of developing Jewish teacher leadership. This vision is informed by purposeful teaching that integrates the Jewish and general curricula and school experiences.
To build on this foundation and further the vision and successes of DeLeT, Laura Lauder the founder of DeLeT and the Gary and Laura Lauder Foundation sponsored the DeLeT Alumni Conference, March 13-16, 2009. Among the attendees were representatives of many of the foundations that helped to bring DeLeT into existence – Don Sylvan, CEO, JESNA, Joni Blinderman, The Covenant Foundation, Chip Edelsberg, The Jim Joseph Foundation, and Rabbi Richard Marker who headed the DeLeT Advisory Board.
The 3-day conference theme was “MeHazon L'Metziut-From Vision to Reality: Teacher Leaders Integrating Vision into Practice.” The conference was designed to initiate and sustain wider, ongoing contact and collaboration among DeLeT alumni.
Attendees came from 14 states and represented the past six years of graduates from the program as well as this year's and Brandeis University and HUC-JIR fellows. Current fellows were also in attendance to be introduced to the broader community of colleagues and received a preview of the many rich possibilities of work that they will be able to do in the field.
Key facets of the conference program included:
- An opportunity for alumni to revisit DeLeT's vision of teaching and conversations around its realization in Jewish day schools.
- Sessions that highlighted study and reflection on the current practice of DeLeT alumni in day schools around the country.
- Sessions taught by Brandeis and HUC faculty members and DeLeT Alumni.
- A Sunday concert featuring Debbie Friedman and Danny Maseng.
- An address on “The Soul of Jewish Teaching” delivered by Rabbi Ed Feinstein, Rabbi of Valley Beth Shalom Congregation, a Rabbi-educator and former Head of a Jewish day school.
- Establishment of a national DeLeT alumni network and professional learning community.
Alumni commented:
- “These sessions reminded me of much of what excited me about teaching when I began. I'm returning to my school rejuvenated!"
- “I am now able to put my teaching situation INTO perspective, and see that there is much room for growth and many pluses to my professional situation! It is invigorating to realize that!!"
- “Seeing other people making changes in their schools was inspirational to me!"
- “Teachers are not exclusively giving direct service to students in the classroom. We also develop curriculum, observe each other, plan and study lessons, do research, learn and grow"