By COLlive reporter
Dr. Sandra J. Stein, former CEO of the NYC Leadership Academy, is designing and directing Menachem Education Foundation’s all new Chabad School Leadership program kicking off in the summer of 2013 to train aspiring leaders for a new generation of Chabad Chinuch.
Dr. Stein is an internationally recognized expert in school leadership development, well known for her rigorous, experiential approach to developing strong instructional leaders.
Her visionary method of teaching using problem-based, real-world simulations and job-embedded learning has already contributed to the development and success of hundreds of current and prospective principals in New York City.
“After a successful micro round of training for existing principals, the schools and principals made it very clear that an intense complete program was greatly desired and extremely necessary,” says Rabbi Zalman Shneur, executive director of MEF.
“The times we are now in, demand professional training that has until now been largely unavailable due to financial reasons. Chinuch is an absolute priority and MEF is undertaking the responsibility to fund and implement a program that will undoubtedly change the face of Chinuch for our children,” he added.
The foundation brought Dr. Stein on board to lead a team of experts in creating a targeted program that would develop aspiring leaders to meet the unique needs of the Chabad community. For Shneur it was imperative that Chabad schools benefit from the top talent out there.
“We’ve worked with the NYC Leadership Academy for 3-4 years now. Dr. Stein is a nationally recognized powerhouse of innovation,” Shneur asserts. “By dedicating her efforts to creating solutions for our schools, she can be a true agent of change.”
Dr. Stein and her team conducted a preliminary intensive needs assessment to gather data from nearly 25 Chabad schools across the USA.
“Based on our needs assessment we have identified key challenges within the Chabad educational community as well as the anticipated need for new principals in the upcoming years.” said Dr. Stein. “Our program is designed to train potential principals in strategies for improving teaching and learning.”
The program intends to prepare the next generation of school principals through a rigorous professional training program and then leverage their specialized training to create schools that model excellence in Jewish education.
“Schools are only as strong as their leaders,” says Shneur. “We are trying to leverage and empower leadership to inspire a renewed vigor for Chabad education. By putting highly trained people in the right institutions we can establish professional standards and practices in schools.”
The new initiative aims to equip aspiring and new school leaders to run schools that meet the needs of every child through providing effective instructional leadership, creating and implementing performance standards for students and teachers, and fostering a culture and community engaged in the continuous pursuit of knowledge.
Building the professional capacity of a new generation of school leaders is a game-changing idea in the field of Chinuch.
“We knew we wanted to build a program that would bring in outside professional experts in their field to enhance Chinuch,” says Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum, Principal of the Boys Division of Yeshiva Achie Timmim in Pittsburgh, PA.
“By empowering aspiring leaders with an arsenal of training, tools and experience we are ensuring that the people at the helm of our schools for the next 20-30 years will know how to best cultivate a school culture of joyous learning and academic success.”
MEF is specifically seeking highly talented individuals in Chinuch with the ability to become the next principals of Chabad schools. Once a particular candidate is chosen MEF will partner with each school to create specific desired outcomes and work with the aspiring leaders, training them to lead the next generation of Chabad schools.
If you are interested in learning more about the NEW Chabad School Leadership Program join MEF’s webinar on Monday, March 18th, 2013from 8:00-9:00 pm EST. All interested parties – potential candidates and schools – are welcome to join.
The Webinar will cover:
-Key Challenges facing Chabad School Leaders
-The MEF NEW Chabad School Leadership Program Structure
-Eligibility Criteria for Participating Schools and Program Participants
-Indicators of the Program’s Success
-Key Dates and Deadlines
To register for the Webinar please fill out the registration form at http://mymef.org/webinar-registration or email [email protected].
Zalman – keep on rolling. All the best!
which principals of crown heights yeshivos are joining? probably not many, they all know their stuff already and have nothing to learn.
Rabbi Rosenblum is an amazing mechanech, seriously knows his stuff. Keep on doing this stuff, hopefully these kids will have a better education than my generation did.
I know firsthand what an unbelievable project this is, as we have benefitted tremendously by having MEF in our school. Thank you to those involved.
Wow, this is an impressive, professional program! It’s amazing to see that a program is catered to developing our own school systems in a positive, professional manner.
May you all go from strength to strength and continue enhancing our community. Kol Hakovod R’ Zalman Shneur- you do amazing things!
Thank you for arranging this, way to go start from the top! Keep up the great work, looking forward to joining the webinar.
Love MEF!
Kol hakavod. I once heard Dr. Sandra Stein speak and she is really world-class. Reading this article has brought me a tremendous sense of relief that there is an organization devoting themselves to our school systems- on such a professional level. This concepy of training new leaders is EXTRAORDINARY! Pure brilliance.