Our Values: — Levine Academy promotes our seven core Jewish values of respect, caring, holiness, responsibility, justice, citizenship, and integrity. In alignment with our Jewish values and school mission are our ten educational ideals of critical thinking, global citizenship, community, confidence, creativity, collaboration, growth mindset, preparatory curriculum, Zionism, and commitment. • Addressing our core values ought to be central to our advisory and counseling program, our parent education program, and our faculty expectations.
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In the fall of 2019, our administrative team began a two year process of professional development on these topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In year one 2019/2020, several administrators took turns making visits across North America to Jewish day schools noted for their reputation of having evolved significantly along the continuumof DEI progress. We visited schools in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Baltimore. We compiled notes on all of these visits, and in December of 2019, we presented our findings to the Board. Our findings were meant as a brainstorming exercise for both the Board and the Admin Team, in order to develop ideas and consider programs and action steps that would help Levine Academy move along its own continuumof DEI progress. Among several illuminating findings from its school visits, Levine chose to move forward at once by making two significant changes to its curriculum in the Middle School: 1) Levine instituted a brand new Judaic Elective Program, whereby the staff, along with outsiders approved by the school to submit proposals, devised four additional electives, offered in each semester, that would be made available to 7 th and 8 th graders. Among our initial offerings were: The History of Jerusalem; Science and Torah; Special Studies in the Holocaust; and Wisdom Literature. 2) We added Spanish as an elective that students can take in addition to Hebrew in the 5 th thru 8 th grade years. In addition to visiting schools across North America, Levine’s Admin Team par ticipated in a Dallas-wide professional development seminar on recognizing, respecting, and being responsive to LGBTQ+ topics. The seminar was presented by Keshet, a non - profit organization with the following mission: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keshet envisions a world in which all LGBTQ Jews and our families can live with full equality, justice, and dignity. By strengthening Jewish communities and equipping Jewish organizations with the skills and knowledge they need to make all LGBTQ Jews feel welcome, we work to ensure the full equality of all LGBTQ Jews and our families in Jewish life. We also create spaces in which all queer Jewish youth feel seen and valued and advance LGBTQ rights nationwide. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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