• The Judaic and Hebrew curricular programs have adopted innovative technologically based content delivery and instructional methods, keeping the program on the cutting edge of educational practices. • The school’s embrace and promotion of Jewish values - such as “Kavod” (Respect) and “Tzedakah” (Justice) - is the responsibility of all faculty members, both Judaic and General studies faculty; likewise, the school’s Zionist philosophy - the love of Israel - is a cross-curricular and all-faculty philosophy, which has generated creative incorporation of Israel’s past and present in every student’s learning throughout the years. • The school has moved beyond its restrictive bar/bat mitzvah practice of only allowing those students who are official members of a synagogue and scheduled to have their bar/bat mitzvah at that synagogue to hold a celebration inside Levine Academy; we now embrace all families and cele brate every family’s child, no matter the denominational choice of that family and without consideration of its synagogue membership status. • The faculty’s approach to student engagement honors freedom of expression and open-ended questioning; there is no indoctrination or any expectations of belief systems in the program. Ongoing Challenges in Judaic Studies and Spirituality • Fulfilling the concept of “inclusivity,” which is one of school’s four main pillars of its most recent Strategic Plan, will necessitate a multi-year and multi-constituent effort to realize this universal concept to its fullest. • Levine moved away from its restrictive admissions policy that had been underway up until 2014 and has adopted an open and welcoming admissions approach, whereby questions of patrilineal and matrilineal Jewish identity questions are not part of the application process. At the same time, presenting our program to a broader audience of potential families, regardless of religious background, will remain challenging. • Engaging our Middle School students in our prayer services, in a way that is authentic and deeply felt, remains a challenge during their pre-adolescent years, which may prompt the school to consider more creative and innovative ways to maintain traditional practices and services. • Instituting across-the-board classroom management strategies (such as Responsibility-Centered Discipline) remains a challenge for those teachers in Judaic Studies and/or Hebrew Language classes who come from different classroom teaching and student discipline cultures.
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