KadimaCoaching

🎉 More goodness and more reflections from Monday's Celebration of Learning at The Jewish Education Project. In groups of 2-3 schools, participants from the 10 schools in the NYC multi-school cohort began the day with presentations of what Student-Centered Learning (SCL) initiatives they undertook this past year. Then they moved into Chavruta [paired learning] time--fortified with Kadima coolers packed with yummy snacks!

🗣 Next we broke into two groups where we had Socratic Seminars on how our thinking on SCL changed. Finally, everyone had a chance to have school-based discussions on what they'd learned over the course of the year and day and how that would inform next steps in their schools.

⚡This is what the teachers and administrators shared about what they'd learned about SCL this year:

🎒 Student-Centered Learning isn't a "once in awhile" thing--it informs every day of learning

🎒 Moving to a facilitator role really changes our jobs as teachers. What more should we be doing? How can we help support teachers who don't yet know how to be good facilitators?

🎒 Modeling what we want our students to do in an SCL task or lesson is so important. Once they get it, we don't need to worry about "controlling" the classroom environment so much. It's like helping someone ride a bike--you hold on until they've got it, and then you can let go . . . .

🎒 . . . . Letting go can be scary, but once students take ownership of their learning, you see how much they can succeed

📸 Enjoy these additional pictures from this incredible day!

🙏 With tremendous thanks once again to our partners at The Jewish Education Project and with great appreciation for the generous support of the Mayberg Foundation. We are so incredibly grateful.

🎉 What an incredible day we had yesterday at the beautiful office space of The Jewish Education Project, our partners in a year-long NYC multi-school cohort in student-centered learning! The ten schools in the cohort came together for a Celebration of Learning.

💁 What exactly is that? We want to make learning visible to each other, share ideas, mark milestones and successes, and note challenges and obstacles as we plan for the future.

🙋‍♀️ As you can see from the photos, each school cohort got to present what they had undertaken this year in student-centered learning (SCL), which ranged from giving students more voice and agency and introducing more discussion-based protocols to allowing greater time and opportunities for collaboration among students and designing real-world projects.

👩‍🎨 Each school created a presentation deck and brought artifacts of learning that included student work. It was a fabulous day of connection, collaboration, and inspiration.

Some of the takeaways we heard:

💡One teacher noted that when the year began, SCL seemed unrealistic--not doable because of time, achievement goals, or other factors--but it was totally doable.

💡Another teacher was worried about compromising learning standards by giving choice, but found she could incorporate choice into curricular goals.

💡So many teachers shared that giving students choice was so motivating to them--they loved having agency!

💡Kids who have a harder time learning were more engaged. SCL really helped teachers reach all learners.

⚡There was so much more, which we'll continue to share, but enjoy these pics and reach out to us if you want to learn how to bring a Celebration of Learning to your school--for faculty or students!

👏 Thank you, thank you to all of our incredible partners at The Jewish Education Project and especially to Gary Pretsfelder, who worked tirelessly with us this year on this PD, and to his amazing team, Tova Perlow and Maya Becker. You are the best!

🙏🏼 With incredible gratitude to the Mayberg Foundation for supporting Kadima in our work.

As the data about low test scores in literacy and math reverberates through our schools and classrooms 📉📚, we’re asking: what actually moves the needle?

Check out this powerful podcast featuring two educators who helped take Mississippi from 50th (yes, 50TH! 😳) in reading in the U.S. to the top 10 🚀

So what can we learn—for both General and Judaic Studies classes? 🤔
👉 Strong literacy isn’t just about high-quality instructional materials—it’s about high-quality professional development for teachers
👉 Real change also means bringing parents into the conversation and helping them understand what teachers truly need 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

We’re all in on this approach because that’s how lasting change happens!✨

The Mississippi Miracle Demystified In this live recording from the 2026 National Summit for Improvement in Education, Partners in School Innovation CEO Derek Mitchell interviews Tenette Smith and Elise Brown about their roles in Mississippi's extraordinary improvement in reading, and how they are bringing the lessons from that into t...

🙌🏼 Truth. 🙌🏼

What truly makes a school a place of growth and learning? This simple yet profound quote invites us to reconsider where the heart of education lies. It's not just in the students, but deeply rooted in the experiences and well-being of the teachers who guide them. When schools cultivate environments where educators can thrive, the ripple effect transforms classrooms into vibrant spaces of curiosity and potential. 🌱

Teaching is more than a job—it's a journey of continuous growth, reflection, and resilience. How often do we pause to reflect on the support systems and culture that empower teachers? The invisible pressures and daily challenges can either ignite passion or diminish it. By prioritizing teacher development and well-being, we unlock new possibilities not just for educators but for every student walking through those school doors.

Consider the interconnectedness of a thriving educational community. When teachers are nurtured, their creativity, patience, and inspiration flow freely, creating a dynamic ecosystem where learning flourishes naturally. This shift requires us to challenge old paradigms and embrace a future where teacher growth is as celebrated and supported as student success. What steps can we take to make our schools the best places for teachers to grow? Let's open this conversation and imagine together. 🍎

🌍 Where in the world is Kadima? 🌍

✈️ From Atlanta we headed to Florida 🌴, where we launched PD with Katz Hillel Hebrew Day School, met with school leaders and educators at JLA, and checked in with our partners at Lubavitch Hebrew Academy!

Phew—there’s been a ton of driving and meeting, but we also got a chance to enjoy some great Florida sunshine.😎

Not pictured—but also SUPER exciting 🎉—is the Hebrew Language PD we launched with our coach Dr. Ketty Granite in Scuole Ebraiche di Roma. Fantastico! 🇮🇹✨

So great to be at Jewish Education Innovation Challenge - JEIC’s IR26 on Monday and Tuesday 🙌, where we thought deeply about the ways we might and might NOT use AI in our classrooms 🤖.

As Tzvi Hametz said, we need to distinguish between “healthy and harmful friction” ⚖️ and Manette Mayberg reminded us that like it or not, AI is here, so we need to harness its power for good and balance it with human interactions that allow for authenticity and vulnerability ❤️.

We also paid homage to the amazing Sharon Freundel, Managing Director of JEIC, who has dedicated her long career to Jewish education and Jewish children and who is now retiring. We will miss you at JEIC, Sharon, but know we will continue to learn from and be inspired by you! 💫

Meet Naomi! One of our Zionist Education Initiative (ZEI) Fellowship educators from KadimaCoaching!

"I’m Naomi Schrager, one of the coaches for the ZEI Fellowship. I’m an educator with over 20 years of experience in teaching and educational leadership.

I believe deeply in student-centered learning and see myself as a guide and co-explorer - partnering with educators to create classrooms where curiosity leads and students take ownership of their growth as lifelong learners.

Originally from Texas, I made Aliyah with my family a decade ago, fulfilling a dream of building a life in Israel. My favorite era of Jewish history? Right now. There’s something extraordinary about living in the Jewish homeland - where ancient values meet a modern vision. (And if I had to choose a favorite place, it would be the Golan.)

I’m excited to work with passionate educators who are ready to dig into Zionism and explore what it means for their students.

I’m looking forward to helping build the confidence, clarity, and courage needed to teach this complex and vital story in meaningful, student-centered ways."

- Naomi Schrager

One of our favorite set of projects from North Shore MS’s Showcase of Learnong last night was a Jewish Superheroes project where the students used research skills to explore Jewish Americans of the 20th century who created impactful inventions and creations—Hedy Lamarr, Jonas Salk, Stan Lee, Ruth Handler, to name a few.

The awesome social studies teacher leading the project, Paula Lubin, wanted students to feel pride in their Jewish American identity. Of course, the students displayed their work using the pop art style of superhero comic books!

In science, under the direction of their amazing teacher Stacy Gurman, the students became inventors themselves, doing research on inventions from around the world and then using Design Thinking to choose a population and country for which to create an invention that would address a natural disaster that country faces.

Loving these projects!

Countdown to North Shore Hebrew Academy Middle School’s 7th Grade Showcase of Learning, where students present their learning from each of their classes. Take a look at this Shabbat project in which students researched a melacha, activity that’s prohibited on Shabbat; analyzed why the act is forbidden and when it might be permitted; wrote up their research in a brochure; and created a physical representation of the melacha.

As you can see, the students’ work was then assembled into a Shabbat table, complete with candles, challah, and flowers; Shabbat music is playing in the background; and yes, there will be cholent and potato kugel!!