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DeLeT Students & Alumni

Current Students

DeLeT students bring diverse experiences to their studies, yet all share a passion for Jewish education. The 2008-2009 cohort of DeLeT students hails from across the United States, and Canada.

Cohort Seven DeLeT Students (2008-2009)

Julia Gilbert received her Bachelor of Arts in general studies with a minor in English and Middle Eastern education from the University of Toronto. She also received a diploma in book editing and design from Centennial College. Julia studied at Hebrew University for a year while in college. For the past two years, Julia has been working towards a certificate in Early Childhood Jewish Education at Hebrew College. She was a preschool teacher for eight years and taught Sunday school at Temple Beth Avodah in Newton, MA, and worked as an art specialist at Ramah Family Camp. Julia would like to become “a teacher who enjoys teaching, who enjoys her students, and someone who transmits this joy into positive and successful teaching and learning.”

Samara Danit Shachar Hendin received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in music from Boston University. She attended Jewish day school for nine years and spent her summers as a camper and a counselor in Jewish camps. She was a sixth grade and kindergarten teacher at Temple Emanuel Religious School. Samara places great value in the Jewish day school experience. She believes that “A student at a Jewish day school can walk away with knowledge in her mind paired with a set of values in her heart.”

Ziva Reimer, who is studying in the Brandeis Secondary MAT - Tanakh Program, graduated cum laude from New York University. She spent her junior year studying Hebrew and politics at the University of Jerusalem. After graduating from NYU, she spent two years learning Bible at Pardes in Israel. She also taught in the Genesis program at Brandeis for the past two summers. Ziva is interested in preparing to teach Bible in middle and high school. "When you ask questions and make decisions in the Bible, you will continue to do so when you leave the classroom," Ziva writes. "If you become aware that there is more than one way to read the text on your desk, you cannot help but find that there is also more than one way to read the 'texts' of our lives...In my classroom I hope to teach breadth, depth, and meaning...I truly believe a compassionate, committed, critical education can change an individual person's life and our society as a whole." Ziva is interning at Gann Academy - The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston.

David Roth, a native Hoosier, studied mathematics, computer science, and Jewish studies at Indiana University. For several years, he studied Jewish texts in Jerusalem at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and recently received rabbinic ordination. He was on the Pardes faculty for the past two years. Though he has an interest in almost every Jewish text, his two loves are Talmud and Tanakh. As a teacher, David aspires to make Jewish texts accessible, in terms of both skills and ideas, in order to allow the richness of Jewish thought to impact on us today. This year David will be doing his internship at Gann Academy.

Anna Salomon earned an Associate of Arts in early childhood education from Casper College and a Bachelor of Arts in early childhood studies from Union Institute and University. She is completing a Master of Arts in Jewish studies with a certificate in Jewish non-profit management from Gratz College. Anna has taught preschool, pre-kindergarten, and religious school for grades 1 and 2. Anna has also served as the Children, Youth and Camp Services Director at the Jewish Educational Alliance in Savannah, Georgia. A recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award for The Temple in Atlanta, Georgia, Anna believes that “Jewish day schools are vital to the continuation of American Judaism…. It allows for a deeper understanding of their faith, a solid secular education, and most importantly, a pride in being Jewish.”

DeLeT Cohort 6

DeLeT at Brandeis has graduated six cohorts of fellows since 2001. Over five years, DeLeT alumni have become inspired educators and active teacher-leaders in Jewish day schools throughout the United States, making an impact on Jewish education that is disproportionate to their numbers.

More than 40 people have graduated from DeLeT at Brandeis – all with initial Massachusetts teaching certification. DeLeT alumni have gone on to teach in 14 day schools across the Jewish spectrum, in five states. More than half of our alumni enrolled in masters programs – including 20 who continued their studies here at Brandeis.

Some of the schools in which DeLeT alumni have taught: Davis Academy (Atlanta, GA), Krieger Schechter School (Baltimore, MD), Solomon Schechter Day School (Bergen County, NJ), The Rashi School (Newton, MA), Solomon Schechter High School (New York, NY), Kesher School (Cambridge, MA and Newton, MA), Cohen Hillel Academy (Marblehead, MA), Heschel High School (New York, NY), Striar Hebrew Academy (Sharon, MA), Alperin Schechter (Providence, RI), Ramaz (New York, NY), Jewish Community Day School (Watertown, MA), Solomon Schechter Day School (Haverhill, MA), South Area Solomon Schechter Day School (Stoughton, MA), Metrowest Jewish Day School (Framingham, MA).

In March 2009, alumni from the DeLeT program at Brandeis and at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles gathered for a first-ever alumni retreat. Read more about the event>>