TABLE OF CONTENTS SUBJECT
TAB
History of Ann & Nate Levine Academy Mission Statement Core Values Statement of Non-Discrimination
1
2
SELF-STUDY COMMITTEE REPORTS
TAB
Administrative Advancement Athletics and P.E. Auxiliary Services Communications
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Community
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Early Childhood Program
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Finance and Facilities
Fine Arts
Governance
Hebrew
Judaic Studies Language Arts Mathematics
Mission Statement
Social Studies
STEM
Student Activities and Community Service
Student Support
Technology
History of Ann & Nate Levine Academy Ann and Nate Levine Academy began as Solomon Schechter Academy of Dallas, founded in 1979 by Congregation Shearith Israel, one of the leading egalitarian congregations within the Conservative movement. It continued as a preschool through grade eight day school under the auspices of Shearith Israel until 1997. That year, following a formal separation agreement, Solomon Schechter Academy acquired its own 501c3 status and became independent. In June of 2005, the school was renamed Ann & Nate Levine Academy, honoring Ann and Nate Levine’s generous support of the school and the Jewish community. Levine Academy is an academically-oriented and values-focused school providing a nurturing Jewish environment emphasizing excellence in General Studies and Jewish Studies for students in Preschool (3 months) through 8th grade. Levine is an inclusive, dynamic community comprising the full spectrum of Jewish affiliations, the unaffiliated, many nationalities, and a diversity of socio-economic backgrounds. Throughout the school’s history, SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, now known as AdvancEd, has accredited Levine Academy. In the 2014-2015 school year, Levine’s Board passed a major strategic plan, designed to elevate the school’s academic profile and to make significant upgrades to the curriculum. An aggressive phase of evolution followed, and in 2019, the Levine Board passed the next strategic plan, allowing the school to invest heavily into additional improvements across the school’s programs while including as one of the school’s four main strategic pillars the focus on Inclusivity. Levine’s eighth graders have experienced exceptional success in being admitted to their top choice high schools. Just over the last few years, Levine graduates have matriculated to the following schools: Yavneh Academy; Parish; Greenhill; Hockaday; Episcopal School of Dallas; Jesuit; St. Mark’s School of Texas; Booker T Washington; Ursuline Academy; Plano Academy; and several area ISD magnet schools in Plano, Dallas, Richardson, and others. In 2019, Levine formally began the accreditation process with ISAS. The Levine board and administrative leadership team have embraced the philosophy of perennial improvement in order to best deliver on its mission of fostering leadership, creativity, critical thinking, and Jewish values, while empowering its students with integrity, self-confidence, and intellectual curiosity.
Mission Statement Ann & Nate Levine Academy is an inclusive, dynamic, Jewish day school which fosters leadership, creativity, critical thinking, and Jewish values while empowering its students with integrity, self-confidence, and intellectual curiosity. Core Values The Levine Academy faculty and staff opens student’ minds to the wonders of learning, teaches with passion and demonstrates sincere caring for each student with a view to fulfilling our stated Mission.
A. Academic Excellence B. Focus on the Individual Student C. Integration of Ethical Covenant 1. Caring 2. Citizenship 3. Holiness 4. Responsibility 5. Justice
6. Respect 7. Integrity D. Love of Israel E. Spiritual Growth
Statement of Non-Discrimination "The Conservative Day School of Dallas, Inc., d.b.a. Ann and Nate Levine Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its education policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs."
Administration Self Study Report Overview
Levine Academy’s administrative team structure underwent a review in 2015/2016 in order to broaden the responsibilities, promote delegation and leadership, create greater coverage of all areas of the school’s management and operations, and also to invest t he head of school with greater flexibility to enhance the success of the school’s strategic priorities. The most significant outcomes of this process were twofold: 1) the number of direct reports to the head of school dropped from 13 to 7 (or 9, if counting two positions with dual reports); and 2) simultaneously, we were able to begin a process of creating faculty deans and faculty leadership roles, such as the Dean of Instruction, Dean of Learning Support, Dean of Hebrew, and Coordinator of STEM. We also instituted faculty roles overseeing the elective program, overseeing Student Congress, and overseeing the new Summer Camp operations in the K-8 divisions. Other major changes in the areas of personnel and administration in recent years include: 1) growing the budgetary line to support faculty and admin professional development; 2) stepping up those professional development activities that are led by Levine faculty and staff; 3) creation of a full-fledged HR Director position who also provides all employees with a “Safe Channel of Communication” in order to allow employees a means to communicate any concerns in confidence; 4) a step up in employee benefits, such as specified time off days and an employer-match program for 403B accounts. Decision-Making Among the Administrative Team The “administrative team” is composed of several positions beyond those who are direc t reports to the head of school - in addition to the direct reports (which you can see in the bold-lined arrows in the organizational chart below), the Dean of Instruction, the Dean of Learning Support, the Athletic Director, the Coordinator of STEM and the Director of After Care and Educare sit in all of the weekly administrative team meetings. For these meetings, the agenda will be advanced to all members prior to the meeting which typically lasts for 90 minutes every Wednesday, beginning at 11:30am. Any member of the admin team may submit items for the agenda in advance. During most meetings, there is opportunity to do a “go - around” s o that all admin can share what is going on in their area of responsibility or pose topics for future discussion. The aim during any discussion where a decision is needed is to come to a consensus. Shy of a consensus, the HOS will make the decision or will delegate the decision to a member of the admin team. The meetings are therefore congenial; viewpoints are heard and responded to with respect; and all have an opportunity to have their voices heard. In addition to the full weekly admin team meeting, there are several smaller group meetings occurring each week, depending on the topic and the Head’s determination of who needs to be present at these ad hoc meetings. The HOS also meets with each member of his direct reports for a one-to-one meeting each week throughout the school year. These are mostly sessions whereby the admin team member will prepare an
agenda of items to report on to the Head; only on occasion, the Head will determine the subject of these one-to-one sessions and will direct the meeting accordingly.
Division of Responsibilities between Head, Board, Admin Team, and Faculty As the Head of School is invested with operational final authority, and the Board’s role, beyond its fiduciary responsibility, is to consult and advise the Head, and to oversee the strategic planning process, Levine’s lines of authority are always very clear. The Head sits on every board committee, in addition to a Board committee called “HOSEC” which is the Head of School Evaluation Committee, which serves as a support role to the Head. HOSEC meets monthly, and the Head determines the agendas for most of the meetings. This committee also conducts the Head’s evaluation on an annual basis, a process that includes the Head’s submission of goals for each year that will go through several drafts and several meetings before they are aired fully in front of the full board at the annual Board Orientation Meeting, in August. Also, the HOSEC board members will typically conduct surveys —such as a 360 survey of the Head’s direc t reports; a survey designed to secure input from board members; and also they will factor into their evaluation report
the Head’s own assessment of goals achieved, goals not fully achieved, along with the Head’s articulation of success and challenges each year. The communication flow between the admin teammembers and the board is more regular and formal for the Director of Development and the Director of Finance and Operations, in addition to the Head of School’s regular communication with the Board’s le adership. Each Board meeting will include reports from Admissions, Finance, Development, and then also from the Head of School, who will report on a range of topics throughout the year. The Board President (and the Board President-Elect) have a bi-weekly scheduled meeting, where the Head will introduce topics and the Board’s leadership will share topics and issues relevant to the Strategic Plan as well as current issues the school may be facing. Faculty and Administrative Professional Development The school has devoted considerable attention to faculty and administrative professional development in recent years. Among the main sources and conferences our teachers have attended and participated in include the Columbia University’s Reading and Writing Workshop programs; STEMs copes and STEM conferences; the University of Chicago’s EM4 Math Program; workshops provided by Independent School Management; programs offered by the Legacy Heritage Instructional Leadership Institute through the Jewish Theological Seminary; programs in Conscious Discipline and in Responsibility-Centered Discipline; the Next Generation Science Standards; iTaLAM Hebrew Language program; programs offered by the Center for Initiatives in Jewish Education; programs sponsored by Jewish Family Service; annual programs offered by Prizmah which is the professional support organization for Jewish day schools; programs offered through Region 10, our area public school professional development service; and there have been many more organizations and entities serving as providers to our faculty and staff. What we have always emphasized is that teachers or administrators attending conferences, workshops or courses should actively share with their Levine colleagues, and toward this goal, nearly all of our faculty meetings are organized around professional development presentations so that our own faculty and staff will serve as supporters and resources for our employees. Annual Employee Evaluations – Teachers and Administrators The Levine K8 faculty has implemented, since the 2016/2017 school year, the Danielson Framework for Teaching Excellence. All four domains of the Danielson Framework have become part of our evaluation system: Planning and Preparation; Classroom Environment; Professional Responsibilities; and Instruction. In addition to the annual teacher evaluation process, the HR Department incorporates into every contract — both teacher and administrative annual contracts - our Professional Expectations document. Here is our Professional Expectations document that is included along with the annual teacher contract:
These professional expectations are always a part of our assessment of teachers (administrators have a very similar document, with some minor changes). Any concerns that we may have regarding upholding these expectations will require a conference with a supervisor and very likely will mean a filing of documentation with the HR Department.
The Early Childhood faculty will experience a different approach to evaluation than the K8 faculty. For all EC teachers, the EC Director visits classes very frequently throughout the year; the teachers write their own self-evaluation; a formal meeting is set up with the Director to discuss this evaluation and the Director’s assessment of job performance; the Director will then write up a summary of this formal meeting and the teacher will receive this write-up and can add or comment upon the form, and once signatures are completed, the form is then submitted to the HR department. Also, it should be noted that State Licensing requires that all of our EC teachers receive 24 hours of continuing education in Child Development and/or Early Childhood Education every year. Recent examples of these trainings have included: How To Talk To Parents About Difficult Topics; Kid Talk Trainings; and CJE’s (Council for Jewish Education) Par adigm Project conferences. All direct report administrators receive an annual written evaluation from the Head of School —these evaluations then become step one in the subsequent year’s goal setting process. The Head of School’s direct reports include the following positions: Direct or of Finance and Operations; Director of Development; Director of Admissions; Director of Communications; Early Childhood Director; HR Director; K8 Principal; Director of Jewish Life and Learning; and the Assistant to the Head of School. In each of these evaluations, the Head of School will compose a two-three page appraisal of the entire school year just completed, then will follow this overview with six bullet points that enumerate that administrator’s “Strengths and A ccomplishments, ” followed by three bullet points that point to “Areas for Continued Improvement.” Each administrator will then construct his/her goals for the upcoming school year, usin g the Head’s evaluation of his/her performance as an initial step in the process. Recruitment of Teachers and Personnel The divisional directors in the school [EC Director; K8 Principal; and Director of Jewish Life and Learning] will assume the lead responsibility when it comes to faculty hiring for their departments. The HR Director will be notified of any positions that are open and will collaborate with the Director when it comes to devising any public postings or position announcements and any formal engagement with one of the teacher recruitment agencies. There are many avenues we have used to publicize openings — our own website, our local Jewish agencies, national search firms and various online recruitment services. Of course, we commonly process our own faculty about openings and encourage them to disseminate the word and to suggest candidates. The teacher recruitment process will almost always include an observation of their teaching, whenever this can be arranged. References are contacted and a comprehensive employment application is filled out. Background checks are done on all potential employees. We do not establish any preset number of candidate visits to campus, as we will hire the candidate when we know we have come across the right fit. All administrative hires (direct reports to the Head of School) will undergo a national search, and accordingly the lead agencies will typically be informed and engaged for their services during these searches. Several administrative searches concluded with the
successful candidate having been selected from a different part of the country, reflecting the national nature of these search approaches. For all hiring processes, there is an effort to be fully inclusive in terms of making sure a broad spectrum of faculty and administrators will have an opportunity to meet with and/or interview the candidates. For administrative hires, the Head of School may include multiple constituents in the hiring process — students, parents, board members, in addition to faculty members and administrators. In addition, the Head of School may bring in area clergy from our partnership synagogues to interview candidates. Compensation and Benefits Levine’s administrative team has been working for several years to upgrade employee benefits, and we are proud to share that we have added several features to the benefit package recently that bolsters the attractiveness of working at Levine Academy. Such added benefits as an employer retirement match, a specified number of “personal days,” an annual effort to keep our medical benefits consistent, short-term and long-term disability insurance, time off for Jewish holidays and for Life Cycle events, gap insurance options, and much more. We are working to bring employee compensation in equity alignment internally, and also with independent school compensation data. Phase one of a significant compensation analysis and study was completed in the spring of 2021, and the school will begin implementing adjustment to compensation so that all “like workloads” within divisions are compensated at commensurate levels. We expect the compensation study to take a few years to complete, in terms of being able to adjust salaries to what we may call “industry standard,” so that we are compensating teachers and administrators at levels commensurate to those in similar Levine Academy entered into a significant contract with Campus Outreach Services in order to learn about, assess, and make any updates to our aim to provide a safe and respectful environment for all employees. Such topics as equity, harassment, whistle- blowing, professional boundaries, and respect have been a part of this ongoing training, which began in December, 2020. The outcome of this engagement with Campus Outreach Services will be to revamp our Employee and Family Handbooks to incorporate more fully the many expectations and protections for our students and employees. As part of this effort, Levine has already adopted a Safe Channel Communication policy, in which any employee may express himself/herself to the HR Director regarding any occasion whereby an employee may have felt uncomfortable with a situation. Anonymity will be protected in each of these circumstances, and the appropriate people will be asked - including anybody named in the concern - to help resolve the matter and make things better, if possible. position, at similar-sized independent schools, in our region. Workplace Environment; Safe Communication Channel
Strengths: • The administrative team communicates with each other frequently, both informally and formally, and each member sees his/her roles and responsibilities as working in tandem and collaboratively with each other, strengthening the sense of teamwork. • Through the annual evaluation and goal-setting process, the sense of collective professionalism and leadership is strong, as is the mutual sense of responsibility for the school’s overall success. • The administrative team is consistently involved in pursuing better and better practices, and the assessment of the school’s progress is continuous, in order to support th e school’s faculty and to support the school’s Strategic Plan goals and priorities. • The school’s business operations and development department have been considerably successful in recent years, in terms of delivering on their goals during a most unusual phase of time during the pandemic; likewise, the entire administrative team has been able to mobilize and re-align its priorities in order to adjust to the new realities in a successful way. • There is a clear understanding among administrators regarding appropriate reporting lines, such as when communicating with board members and other constituents, so that together we approach matters with the proper process. • The administrative team has always sought to engage in team building activities as part of its annual retreat (pre-COVID) and the team looks forward to a time when we can renew our efforts and strengthen our sense of team. Challenges: • Coming to a collective agreement will be crucial between key constituents as to the definition and parameters of what a school of inclusivity should entail for Levine — becoming a more inclusive and welcoming school, in order to achieve a broader reach of students, will be critical for the school’s sustainability. • Because of the close interplay of teaching, learning, general and Judaic studies in the school’s programming, the lines of authority between K8 Principal and the Director of Jewish Life and Learning can sometimes cross or be fuzzy, causing confusion. • While the school has pursued a uniform teacher communication system when it adopted Schoology in 2019, the system is still not utilized across the board in an effective manner, and the school still lacks a uniform administrative software system that connects all facets of the school’s operations. • The need for enhanced communications — teacher-to-parent, school-to-home, school-to-potential families, etc. — is ever-present. The administrative team may need to expand in the area of marketing, social media, as well as support to teachers in terms of its communications.
Plans & Priorities: • For the school’s next Strategic Plan, the admin team and the board will need to address the prevailing sense of imbalance in the school’s educational program (time devoted to general studies versus time devoted to Judaic programming) – in the Parent Survey, 15% of the parents disagreed with the current level of balance, and only 44% strongly agreed that the balance was at the right level. • The administrative team will need to continue its study and analysis of faculty compensation levels in order to be competitive and maintain its level of faculty quality in the years to come as more retirements are anticipated. • Outreach, marketing, and financial assistance will be central to the school’s efforts to maintain enrollment levels and to seek enrollment growth as affordability becomes increasingly vital in the years to come.
Administrative Self Study Committee Members: Anita Lawless
Human Resource Director, Committee Co-Chair Head of School, Committee Co-Chair Director of Finance and Operations
Tom Elieff Brad Fleury Yael Twito
Director of Development, Parent Director of Admissions, Parent
Nicole Rosenbaum Courtney Hensel Rabbi Jeremy Litton Stephanie Taylor Liz Lawlor
Director of Communications and Marketing
K-8 Principal
Director of Jewish Life and Learning Director of Early Childhood Program
School Advancement Self Study Report Development Overview
The development department of Ann & Nate Levine Academy is responsible for raising funds to support the school and its mission through its annual fund, annual gala, grants and capital campaigns. As a member of the senior administrative team, the development director oversees all aspects of the department, participates in policy decisions, and acts as a liaison to the development committee of the board of trustees. The development director reports to the board at monthly meetings and maintains an open door policy with faculty, administrative staff, parents, alumni and trustees. In addition to the director, the development department includes one full-time employee--the development assistant. The development budget consists of four main sources of revenue: the annual fund “Levine Fund , ” capital campaigns, grants, and one large annual gala. The annual fund bridges the gap between tuition and the actual cost of a Levine Academy education, representing 7% of the annual operating budget. It provides essential resources for creating innovative student programs, attracting and retaining the best faculty, and ensuring the upkeep and maintenance of our campus. The gala, which celebrated the school ’ s 40 th anniversary in 2020, accounts for a significant portion of funds raised annually and enlists the volunteer support of our parent and grandparent body. Capital campaigns fund special needs or capital projects as determined by the board or the donor’ s restriction. Small capital campaigns are initiated annually to meet the needs of a particular project. Capital upgrades are funded by generous donors to enhance the school programs and fill Levine Academy’s campus with state -of-the-art facilities to support our programs. In recent years, our attention has been focused on updating all of our playgrounds and gymnasiums as well as renovating our classrooms with 21 st century furniture including flexible seating creating a cutting-edge learning environment for students of all ages. Recent capital improvements also included new Smart TVs, teacher iPads and laptops, upgraded makerspace, and a new garden and greenhouse for our STEM program. Successful fundraising efforts rely on building and maintaining relationships, which the development department accomplishes by designing and distributing marketing materials, soliciting gifts, and promoting awareness about the importance of supporting Levine Academy. Examples include direct mail solicitations, periodic donor and grandparent newsletters, all-school email correspondence, school-wide programs and events, and communication via the school website and social media. While technological methods have proven highly successful, the development department also recognizes the value and necessity of personal relationships with our constituencies. For this reason, great emphasis is placed on individual and group meetings, as well as the formation and continuation of committees such as an alumni committee, a grandparent committee, a gala committee and a legacy giving committee. Collaboration with the Parent Association is also central to the success of the development efforts at Levine. Over the last two years, we launched a new initiative and established our grandparent committee. We successfully ran a grandparent back-to-school night, annual Grandparents and Special Friends Day
for our Early Childhood, Lower, and Middle schools and a monthly volunteer club giving grandparents the opportunity to come together at school enjoying each other’s company, some snacks, and getting to work cutting, pasting, and assembling projects to assist the teachers with their work. In recent years, we have rebranded our annual fund to the “Levine Fund” with a new logo, new name, and new way of describing and thinking about giving in our school. We have shifted the culture of giving over the last three years fro m a message of “we are all obligated to give” to a message of “give to help your school” and “give be cause it means something to you. ” We are proud of the response we have received as we shifted from a “grade race” competition mindset of giving to a meanin gful giving culture in our school. The development committee consists of a core group of trustees, the director of development, parent representatives, the chair of the alumni committee, the chair of the grandparent committee, and the chair of the gala committee. It advises the board on the financial goals of the annual giving campaigns including any capital or special projects. The committee meets every other month to review fundraising strategy and progress. Every year, when the budget is set, a number is established for the fundraising goal. That number is based on the results of the previous year along with other considerations (e.g., economic issues). The development department recently upgraded to a new software, which has greatly improved our ability to track donations, donor communication, and donor capacity as well as report on numbers in a clear and concise way. It is expected that every board member donates to the annual fund and all are encouraged to attend and financially support our annual gala. We expect 100 percent of all trustees to make an annual fund contribution that is meaningful to them. Trustees are also encouraged to make peer-to-peer solicitations, identify prospective donors, and host small events to cultivate relationships. Trustees serve as an inspiration to motivate all constituents to give generously. Nurturing and sustaining an ongoing, healthy and effective relationship with our constituents is vital to the preservation and growth of the school. Admissions We take an all-hands-on-deck approach to the admissions process at Levine, although our office is staffed officially by only one individual, the Director of Admissions. From the initial inquiry, to the collection of application materials, to the committee’ s review of the admissions files, and finally the acceptance and welcoming phases — nearly all faculty and administrative staff will play roles in one or more aspects of the admissions process. Since the 2017- 2018 school year, Levine’s admissions moved to a full faculty committee review process. The aim with our committee review is to consider all aspects of the applicant’s profile— school records, teacher recommendations, any professional or specialist reports, the family profile, our teacher observations during the student visit day to Levine, and the family’s understanding of our school program. All of these components
are then reviewed with these questions in mind: Will this family and this student be a good reflection of our school’s mission? Will this f amily and this student be supportive of our school’s mission? Will this family and this student be a positive addition to o ur school community? W ill our faculty and learning support team be able to meet this student’s needs? Here is a graphic overview of our Admissions process, followed by a brief description of each phase:
Inquiry After receiving an inquiry, a phone interview is set up and a tour is scheduled.
Tour The Director of Admissions meets with parent(s) and/or guardian(s) to learn what the family is looking for in an educational experience for its child. Classrooms are visited and students or student ambassadors are invited to greet any visitors and share what they are working on. Application Levine Academy has two sets of requirements for applicants depending on the entry point/grade for each student. These are the required documents that must be submitted to Levine in order to complete any student file: Early Childhood — Admissions Steps 1. Schedule a Meeting 2. Application for Admissions: Applicant families complete the online Application for Admissions. 3. Developmental Profile: Parents then complete the Developmental Profile. 4. Teacher Recommendation: From Child’s Current S chool. 5. Immunization Records Kindergarten-Grade 8 — Admissions Steps 1. Schedule a Meeting
2. Application for Admissions: Applicant families complete the online Application for Admissions. 3. Student Virtual Visit or On-Campus Visit Day 4. Transcript Release: Parents/Guardians submit the Transcript Release form directly to the child's current school. 5. Authorization for Exchange of Confidential Information: Parents should complete the Authorization for Exchange of Confidential Information. 6. Developmental Profile: Parents should complete the Developmental Profile. 7. Teacher Recommendation: Parents submit Teacher Recommendation form (Grades 1-8) (Toddler-Kindergarten) to the child’s current school for completion. 8. Immunization Records Admission Review Committee The Admission Review Committee is comprised of a core committee of administrators and department leaders plus 2-3 teaching faculty. The Director of Admission is a non- voting member of the admission review committee. In rare and extreme cases, the Head of School may be asked to be part of the committee meeting Admission Review Committee Meetings Admission Review Committee meetings take place in late February and early March – after the student visit days. The team meets and determines the admission of the applicant. The team takes into consideration: the make-up of the entering class; mission alignment of the child and family; Teacher Observation Form; Student Learner Profile. Admission Timeline Early October: Application goes live for the following school year Mid November/Early December: Open Houses Take Place September-March: Families are invited to tour Levine Academy Early January: Application Deadline Early February: Visit Days/Interviews Mid-February: Tuition Assistance Deadline Late February and Early March: Admission Review Committee Meetings Early March: Admission Decisions Mailed Late March: Parent Admission Response Deadline
While admissions activities must be ongoing and year-round, as we are a highly enrollment-dependent school and our market population is far smaller than any standard private school, we do follow closely to our fellow Dallas area private school timelines when it comes to the fall admissions activities: application deadlines, winter review process, and admissions decision dates. Financial assistance is available for families with children in Kindergarten and up — in recent years, our financial aid figure has surpassed $1.5 million. There is some aid for Early Childhood families, but this is simply a uniform amount ($2,500) given to families if they meet a particular income-to-tuition cost ratio. Beyond the family tour that we give to all applicant families, Levine invites its prospective families to attend curriculum nights, Shabbat celebrations, the annual Zimriyah song festival, and our Summer Send-Off outdoor Carnival. All newly admitted families will also be assigned to a buddy family — this would be a family already enrolled in the school who can help the new family navigate new things in school like the “Back -to- School Packet” and dress code details or any other questions they may have. Admissions reports are presented at almost every Board meeting, with any changes and updates to the class lists, admissions activities, inquiries, completed applications, retention and attrition figures, etc. The Board has a very keen interest in all matters relating to admissions, and they have established a Parent Ambassador program, intended to as sist and support the school’s admissions efforts. Preparing Students for the Next Level of Education - “Life After Levine” Program “Life After Levine” is the high school placement program implemented at Levine Academy. “Life After Levine” helps guide the process for entering public and private schools for both eighth grade students and their families. The “Life After Levine” program always begins at the outset of the school year, when the administrative team meets with all 8 th grade parents to preview the program and to discuss the application process to area high schools. The program continues with a full, first trimester course for all 8 th grade students designed to teach them the different facets of the application process. The course is taught and implemented by the Head of School, the 8 th grade Language Arts Teacher, the Director of Admissions, the Middle School Counselor, and the K8 Principal. Throughout the course, students will prepare personal statements, create resumes, learn interview skills and discuss what to expect during the high school years. We believe this program is an integral part of our 8 th grade curriculum and allows our students to prepare for a successful transition to their high school of choice. For parents, the “Life After Levine” program includes consultation and education on all public and private school options in the greater Dallas Metroplex, as well as, preparation for application and testing procedures for private schools and information on honors/magnet opportunities in the public schools.
Strengths 1. 100% Board Participation in Annual Fund 2. Active Grandparent Committee 3. Streamlining and Branding Fundraising Efforts 4. Shifting the giving culture to a positive message 5. Established acknowledgement process
6. Admissions process is designed to determine Mission-appropriateness 7. Admissions retention figures have improved significantly over the last several years. 8. Admissions has instituted many marketing tactics to capture a larger and more diverse audience including use of google advertisement, google analytics, target social media advertisement, and more. 9. Our revamped Parent Ambassador Program has allowed us to reach more families and welcome them as they make the transition to Levine. 10.Our Student Ambassador program has thrived and engaged over 100 students over the last three years, providing opportunities for service and leadership development amongst our middle school students. 11. “Life After Levine” has been a popular program— our students are well placed among their high school choices and often become student leaders in their schools. Challenges 1. Development needs to focus more on alumni efforts 2. Need to engage the board more actively in fundraising efforts 3. Find more grant opportunities for the school 6. Admissions needs to integrate its needs with a strategic marketing plan. 7. School needs to better define what “Inclusivity” entails, in order to reach a broader marketplace of families. Plans and Priorities 1. Boost alumni efforts by working on collecting updated contact information and data and focusing on one age group at a time to establish programs and engage with alumni in different ways. 2. Begin to educate our community about planned giving and legacy giving. Create marketing opportunities to share donor stories and distribute materials to help constituents understand what planned giving is all about. Follow a three-year plan to engage more legacy donors. 3. Create and implement community-building events throughout the year in partnership with the Parent Association to engage with families and raise money for the school. 4. Work on building legacy giving and endowment donors 5. Solicit more donors to increase their gifts year over year
4. Devise a comprehensive marketing and strategic communications plan that is designed to reach a broader spectrum of mission-appropriate families. 5. Continue to broaden our course offerings and other services to help appeal to and move forward with diversification of our parent and student bodies. Development Self Study Committee Members: Yael Twito, Self Study Committee Chair, Director of Development, Parent Courtney Hensel, Director of Communications and Marketing
Nicole Rosenbaum, Director of Admissions, Parent Kelly Jarboe Swofford, Development Assistant
Janis Peiser, Board Member, Alum Parent Jodi Lemeshev, Board Member, Parent Julie Wilkofsky, Board Member, Parent, Past President of Parent Association Laura Weinstein, Board Member, Parent
Sandy Haymann Marks, Board Chair, Parent Michael Zimmermann, Board Member, Parent
Resources 2019-2020 Thank You Brochure (Annual Fund) 2019-2020 Annual Report 2018-2019 Annual Report 2017-2018 Annual Report Donor Newsletter July 2020 Grandparent Newsletter September 2020
Self Study Report on Athletics and P.E.
Overview of P.E. Classes Levine Academy strides to work with the students on all the key components of a well- rounded physical education. Each level is designed to continue to improve overall coordination, confidence, hand-eye coordination, sports abilities, teamwork, health and
many other key components. Early Childhood Strengths
The Early Childhood program is a structured curriculum that is both high energy and fun, using sports skills, age-appropriate challenges and a weekly obstacle course to promote gross motor development, strength and a love to move! Infants through Pre-K advance through the program at their own pace to ensure success and pride in themselves. The EC program also promotes sportsmanship, following directions, friendship, respect and inclusion. By the end of one’s Early Childhood years, students will have experienced all of the basic building blocks of several core sports, with the confidence to excel in each accord ing to one’s unique capability. Elementary School Strengths The program continues through the Lower School, growing on the learned skills from Early Childhood. The program places an emphasis on movement, stretching, adaptability, teamwork, and variations of activity. Each unit is typically a few weeks in which students learn how to accurately stretch the different portions of the body, how to correctly play the sport, endurance training, activities to help gross motor and fine motor skills, improve hand-eye coordination, and play games that involve teamwork and encouragement. Every student knows that when Coach Fernandez says, “That’s time,” they are supposed to immediately say, “Good game.” They know that the game is over, they had fun, and it is time to stretch and cool down the body through basic stretching and Yoga. Middle School Strengths The Levine Academy Middle School P.E. program focuses on many key components. One of the most important skills taught is respect. We teach the students how to respect the place they are playing, their bodies in how they are playing, the players on the other team, the coaches and all aspects of the sports and games that are played. Teamwork is probably the most important component of respect that is taught. Most of the games and activities have a team component where everyone learns how to work with each other.
Health and wellness are always top priorities during P.E. Self-respect, healthy choices (in food and life), and learning the importance of taking care of our body is something that is learned in the program. Students are encouraged to participate outside of school in athletic-based challenges. Some of these include walks for organizations, walking pets outside, swimming, and being active for at least 30 minutes per day. Levine Academy also fosters a challenging sports community. Pre COVID-19, several teams won district championships against some of the most competitive private schools around. Levine Academy is committed to hiring coaches that not only teach sports at elite levels, but they also teach the athlete how to respect the game and every part of it. The most rewarding part of being an Athletic Director is hearing how sweet and respectful our athletes are from the referees and other parents after winning championships. Overall Areas of Growth The biggest area of growth right now is the facility itself. The brand new Haymann Family Court is a beautiful facility and provides just about everything our school needs. We do have to be extra careful of playing many different sports on this hardwood floor, because there is always a risk of damaging the floor. While we are able to run a complete program inside the building on our hardwood floor, adding outdoor space, in the form of a new outdoor sport court, would eliminate the issue of limited space. And being able to update and replace our sporting equipment would help tremendously. Areas of Growth for Early Childhood The program needs more equipment to help us improve gross motor development and overall strength: Small equipment for young athletes and bars and climbing equipment for our more mature athletes. It would be even more beneficial if we could add additional physical education classes each week, especially being able to recognize and focus on the students who need extra help to improve development. A sound system would also be beneficial for the various activities. Areas of Growth for Elementary and Middle School The students would greatly benefit from more outside time. If the fields in the northwest sector of the school were renovated, it would provide the school with ample space, along with additional options, for P.E. programming. Anthills, slopes, cracks, and small holes make it hard to be able to participate in certain activities. Adding more time for P.E. in general would also better support each student’s health and personal growth. Potentially adding time to the lower school classes or adding more to the Middle School schedule would enhance our work with students on healthy choices (physically, mentally, emotionally, nutritionally).
Team Goals The goal for each student is to have fun and become successful in the classroom and life in general. Learning and refining gross motor skills as well as important life skills are the foundation to developing the total child. Teaching each student to make healthy and athletic choices is a fundamental key to success. Athletic Committee Kevin Steinberg, M.Ed. Committee Chair, Athletic Director; Middle School P.E. Teacher Lynne Fernandez Lower School P.E. Teacher Rhonda Adams Early Childhood P.E. Teacher
Self Study Report for Auxiliary Services
Overview Ann and Nate Academy has strived to enhance its auxiliary programs in recent years. For many years, Levine had offered a summer program for Infants through Pre-K age students. Since 2019, the school expanded its summer offering by adding six weeks of programming for students age six through twelve. In addition to the summer programs, the school’s auxiliary activities includes rental of various school facilities, and it also offers both Extended Care programs (before and after school) and Educare Programs for student age three and up. All of these programs remain in high demand among our parents, and the programs continuous enrollment growth is testimony to widespread satisfaction with what we are offering. Camp Shemesh Summer Program 3 months through Rising Kindergarten At Camp Shemesh, we emphasize individual growth by providing each child the opportunity to contribute and grow within a group setting. We foster positive feelings and Jewish ideals in a warm and nurturing environment with caring and experienced staff. Campers develop skills through arts and crafts, physical fitness, science, drama, music, and sports. Each week campers explore new activities and develop new abilities while planting seeds of friendship with memories to last a lifetime. Each week we have a new theme. We incorporate our sensory, fine and gross motor skills, art projects, and science experiments according to the theme. One of the differences with Camp Shemesh is that we bring in a special surprise every Friday to celebrate Shabbat. The surprise goes along with the current theme of the week. For Wild Wild West, we will bring in ponies. For Hawaiian Falls, we would bring in a huge water slide. For Zoo week, we bring in a petting zoo. Camp Shemesh has been enormously popular with our school families and area families (we accept campers from beyond our regularly enrolled students). Depending on the summer schedule, the camp will offer activities for eight or nine weeks of the summer. Aftercare & Educare Programs for 3 Months through 8th Grade Extended Day offers both mornings and after-school programs. Early Care begins at 7:45 AM, and the students are delivered to their classrooms before the start of their school day. The program resumes after morning dismissal until 6:00 PM. Young Toddlers and Two-year-olds take a nap from 1:00-3:00 PM. Three-year-olds and Pre-K students have their choice of an Educare class from 1:00-2:00 PM or 2:00-4:00 PM. Two-year-olds have the opportunity to transition from Nap to Educare in January. Educare classes are followed by a 45-minute rest period. Extended rest time is available. Aftercare students participate in daily specialty classes such as Art, Science, and Tumbling.
The Educare Program operates between 1:00-2:00 PM, and 2:00-4:00 PM, where Three-year-olds and Pre-K students will participate in a 30-45-minute activity. Activities may include Ballet, Martial Arts, Cooking, Gymnastics, Cheer, Tumbling, Chess, Sports Club, Science, Art, and Music. Summer@Levine Summer Program for Ages Six to Twelve The 1 st Grade to 6 th Grade summer camp will complete its third year at the end of the summer of 2021. It offers educational elements in an informal setting. Each day campers are offered a sport, creative arts, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) option. Fridays are reserved for field trips around the Metroplex. These experiential learning programs are designed to engage campers, enhancing their knowledge and skills. Playing an active role in the learning process leads to campers experiencing greater depth in learning. Social interactions provide much-needed soft skills that are important later on in life, such as listening to others and learning how to keep long-term friendships. Interaction among social groups also provides a sense of belonging, which is very beneficial once the school year begins. In the summer of 2020, Levine offered (free to families) core academic programs, with instruction delivered virtually, in the areas of language arts, math, and Hebrew. The school will continue to offer this “Academic Boot Camp” for the last week in July— this time it will be live, in-person instruction. This will remain a free service to our families, giving our students an opportunity to be ready for their upcoming grade beginning in August. Rentals throughout the Year at Levine Birthday Celebrations were a great hit before COVID. Parents would often rent out our facilities on the EC side on Sundays. Levine Academy offers outside groups to rent out our facilities. Several institutions have housed or partnered with our school during the summer and through the school year, including:
• Texas Torah Institute • SMU Summer Camps • Camp Invention • The Jewish Community Center of Dallas
Strengths of Auxiliary Programs
◼ A wide variety of ages served. ◼ For Early Childhood, the consistency of having camp provides an easy transition to fall. ◼ Smaller class sizes, which the parents love so we can give each child, individualized attention.
◼ Most of our teachers in the morning stay for aftercare, so this helps with transition times. ◼ We offer an awake room as well as nap rooms. ◼ Our Educare program offers two differ ent options for our 3’s and Pre -K on a daily basis. ◼ PowerKids is a staple in our program. ◼ Summer programs offer an opportunity for families to benefit from a small, intimate environment. ◼ Summer academic programs are incorporated into informal learning and a separate boot camp week to prepare students for the beginning of the school year.
Ongoing Challenges
◼ Generating interest among Middle and High School-aged learners is a market that is difficult to develop. ◼ Moving the tutoring activity away from at-home service to an in-school, after-school service is also a challenge; it is difficult to hire middle school teachers to facilitate after school tutoring. ◼ Hiring staff to work the extended hours in the aftercare and educare programs remains challenging every year. ◼ It would be ideal to establish a permanent water activities area (for Camp Shemesh, our Early Childhood summer camp) so that we can compete with other camps.
Proposed Action Steps
◼ Develop a plan to offer middle school learners an academic component after school during the school year. ◼ Relaunch a theater class/ program - the school used to offer theater some years back, but this program has been missing for several years. ◼ Enhance 2nd to 8th-grade academic summer school beyond the three- subject focus we have implemented thus far. ◼ Continue to grow the fledgling Summer@Levine 6-12-year-old camp program.
Self Study Committee Members Marco Rodriguez
Committee Chair 5 th and 6 th Grade Language Arts Teacher Summer@Levine Director
Dana Shidlofsky Helene Berke Kevin Steinberg Yuri Mintskovsky
Extended Day/Educare Director, Camp Shemesh Director 7 th and 8 th Grade Science Teacher through April, 2021
P.E. and Athletic Director, Parent Levine Parent and Board Member
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