(Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Krivoi Rog, Donetsk, and Kyiv) Report of a ...

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20 10. Beit Chana Jewish Women’s Pedagogical College was established in 1995 to prepare teachers and childcare workers for Chabad-sponsored preschools and elementary schools throughout the post-Soviet states. Initially, it recruited its all-female student enrollment mainly from smaller cities and towns, assuming that Jewish young women in such locales would be eager to escape their often-stifling environments for free college programs in a larger city. Over time, Beit Chana grappled with the consequences of lower educational achievement of girls from such circumstances and with demographic developments that sharply reduced the number of Jewish young women in smaller towns, regardless of their capacity to complete post-secondary education programs. Further, notwithstanding their enthusiasm for relocation to a larger city, many young women were reluctant to commit to residence in an isolated gendersegregated dormitory with a religious lifestyle for the duration of their course of study. Beit Chana never reached its capacity enrollment of between 200 and 250 young women. It achieved its peak of 165 students several years ago, and its 2008-2009 enrollment plummeted to 70. Acknowledging that the institution was unlikely to survive without a “new vision”, Beit Chana has made several changes in its operational procedures during the last several years and intends to evolve further in the future. In collaboration with Crimean State University in Yalta, Beit Chana is now accredited to offer a full baccalaureate degree, rather than just the certificate program (approximately equivalent to an associate’s degree in the United States) that was its highest diploma in its earlier years. Its curriculum now includes degree concentrations in additional fields, including psychology, public relations, tourism, and finance, It scrapped its residence requirement, opening its program to day/commuter students from Dnipropetrovsk and environs. In cooperation with Crimean State University, Beit Chana has developed both baccalaureate and master’s degree programs that enroll practicing teachers on a part-time basis. Some such students live and work outside Dnipropetrovsk and travel to the city for intensive courses several times yearly. All of its degrees are recognized both in Ukraine and Israel. According to Rabbi Moshe Weber, Rabbi of the College and its Deputy President for Jewish Studies and Jewish Education, Beit Chana graduates are in demand for teaching positions in Chabad schools throughout the post-Soviet states. Rabbi Moshe Weber, left, has held administrative positions at Beit Chana through several transitions. He directs the Jewish studies and Jewish education component of the curriculum. Photo: the writer. Rabbi Weber stated that current enrollment at Beit Chana includes almost 70 students who follow the traditional curriculum in pursuit of associate or full bachelor’s degrees; 45 of these young women live in the Beit Chana dormitory, and the remainder commute from the city on a daily basis. Another 10 young women from the Chabad Akademia
21 program in Kharkiv come to Beit Chana for intensive educational seminars enabling them to earn baccalaureate degrees. 16 Forty-seven women who already have associate’s degrees in education and are teaching in various schools (in Dnipropetrovsk and elsewhere) are enrolled in Beit Chana on a part-time basis, coming to the college for several periods of intensive education each year so that they can complete bachelor’s degrees. Additionally, Beit Chana hosts a twice-weekly intensive Judaica program for young women, which is an outgrowth of the STARS course; students receive stipends for their participation in this curriculum. Expressing enthusiasm about the new Director of Beit Chana, Stanislav Sapozhnikov (see below), Rabbi Weber said that Beit Chana has improved significantly in the last few years. He expects Mr. Sapozhnikov to bring “revolutionary” changes to Beit Chana and to Jewish education in Ukraine. 17 11. Stanislav Sapozhnikov, a local individual currently writing his Ph.D. dissertation in the field of educational administration, is the new Director of Beit Chana. His previous education experience includes positions at several local universities and other educational institutions. Mr. Sapozhnikov said that he is charged with growing Beit Chana, expanding its enrollment to between 200 and 300 women and adding to the list of its degree programs so as to increase the appeal of the college. He foresees additional concentrations in English, Hebrew, management, banking, and “Ukraine in the world (Украина во мире)”. The new campus (see below) planned for Beit Chana will appeal to Jewish women throughout Ukraine, he continued, because it will have modern dormitories with amenities as well as up-to-date computer laboratories and other facilities. However, he cautioned, Jewish demographic decline has led to a situation in which very few halachically Jewish young people remain in the country; further, he continued, few halachically Jewish young women have the type of Jewish background that would attract them to a Chabad women’s college. Beit Chana must have very strong programs to entice non- Chabad Jewish young women to enroll. Stanislav Sapozhnikov, right, a local non-observant Jewish educator, is the new director of Beit Chana Jewish Women’s Pedagogical College. Photo: the writer. Notwithstanding the inherent difficulties in expanding Beit Chana, Mr. Sapozhnikov said that he is working very hard to attract the best possible instructors. The Beit Chana compensation schedule already is “not the lowest” in the city and he believes that 16 See pages 25 and 53-54 for information about the Kharkiv Akademia program. 17 The former Director, Tamara Olshanitskaya, has retired and moved to Boston to be with her adult children and her grandchildren who have resettled there.
Page 1 and 2: OBSERVATIONS ON JEWISH COMMUNITY LI
Page 3 and 4: 3 begin to pay taxes that they had
Page 5 and 6: 5 Dnipropetrovsk Founded in 1778 on
Page 7 and 8: 7 The major entrance to the Menorah
Page 9 and 10: 9 The preschool is operating “at
Page 11 and 12: 11 pupils (503) and the number of y
Page 13 and 14: 13 families whose relationship to C
Page 15 and 16: 15 boys’ home (a former synagogue
Page 17 and 18: 17 The overwhelming majority of lit
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Page 23 and 24: 23 return for the teaching done by
Page 25 and 26: 25 started as more funds become ava
Page 27 and 28: 27 Holocaust, and rebirth of Jewish
Page 29 and 30: 29 manufacturer inevitably will ent
Page 31 and 32: 31 Two newcomers were expected to j
Page 33 and 34: 33 individual needs, providing food
Page 35 and 36: 35 managing. He has heard of very f
Page 37 and 38: 37 committee for the clinic was est
Page 39 and 40: 39 Jewish community. Another 120 in
Page 41 and 42: 41 Natalia Rier, who directs the lo
Page 43 and 44: 43 speakers are fluent in English a
Page 45 and 46: 45 The consul noted that the ICC wi
Page 47 and 48: 47 Ms. Katz confirmed that Hesed Me
Page 49 and 50: 49 Dnipropetrovsk. The relationship
Page 51 and 52: 51 It is very difficult to raise mo
Page 53 and 54: 53 are the daughters of local rabbi
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Page 61 and 62: 61 Rabbi Moskovitz noted, a busines
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71 46. It is common in Ukraine and
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73 purchase new clothing. Donetsk,
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75 The fitness hall is a gift from
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77 National and International Jewis
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79 drain”, but she doesn’t yet
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Jewish Education and Culture 81 52.
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83 Surrounding the prayer hall are
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85 the program is very expensive to
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87 preschools. Authorities could fo
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89 in its generally poor neighborho
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91 connected to the Internet; howev
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93 60. Rabbi Yonatan and Mrs. Ina M
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95 accounting procedures require th
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97 Other individuals in Kyiv with w
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99 64. An organization bearing the
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101 group, but the young women them
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103 worked in Jewish schools and ca
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105 Lo Tishkach arranges all travel
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107 Ukraine in this period. They cl
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109 kashrut, and/or work in secular
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111 Odesa, said Rabbi Dukhovny, pro
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The writer observed 12 to 15 univer
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115 and funds simply do not exist,
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117 rightwing antisemites, i.e., ne
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119 songs, the Holocaust, Jewish he
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121 countries are eligible for aliy
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123 The JDC welfare caseload in the
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125 In response to a question, both
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127 Commentary 84. The Jewish popul
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129 accommodates modernity and thei
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(Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Krivoi Rog, Donetsk, and Kyiv) Report of a ...

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