Improving Instructional Quality in Jewish Day Schools and Yeshivot ...

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The Transformational Change Project: The Role of theYeshiva University School Partnership inCollaboration with the Azrieli Graduate School“To exercise leadership in this climate of change will require deepconvictions, strong commitments, and clear ideas about directions forchanges in the form and content of schooling.”Robert J. Starratt (1995)This monograph is made possible through work I and otherAzrieli Graduate School faculty do as senior fellows of the YeshivaUniversity School Partnership (YUSP) directed by Dr. ScottGoldberg. 10 The YUSP draws on the intellectual capital and researchexpertise of Yeshiva University and connects it strategically andproactively to teachers and leaders in the field of Jewish education.The YUSP offers extensive continuing education for teachers,administrators, lay leaders and other school-based professionals:recruits and places educators, conducts research and developmentprojects in schools, and publishes practical, research-based materials.Collectively these initiatives improve the academic, behavioral, social,emotional, and religious outcomes for Jewish students in Jewishschools, develop more and better quality educators and lay leaders,and create a culture in the Jewish educational world of research,innovation, experimentation, reflection and collaboration based onJewish values.This monograph grew out of the work I have done with schools interms of assessing their instructional quality in three areas: teachingpractices, curriculum development, and professional development(supervisory) initiatives. It should be noted that the standards ofexcellence in most Jewish day schools and yeshivot are high; however,no school, public or private, excels in all instructional areas, andschools certainly vary in terms of the extent to which adequateattention is drawn to improving teaching, curriculum, andprofessional development. Still, I have been impressed with thequality of most of the Jewish schools I have visited and audited. The24
list that follows summarizes some of what I consider to be assets of theeducational program and practices across all the schools I visited:• dedicated faculty who appreciate the school’s mission• committed board members who deeply believe in the school’smission• teachers who really get to know the students and vice versa• enthusiastic and educationally diverse student body who valueabove all else the relationships with fellow students• administrators who are passionate about their roleEach school, however, faced a number of educational challenges. Mywork was to highlight needed instructional improvements andrecommendations in an attempt to bring each school to an evenhigher level of success thereby effecting transformational school widechange. Project goals included:1. Improving the supervisory knowledge and skills of principalsand their assistants based on cutting-edge technologies ininstructional leadership that are intended to improve teachingpractice (Zeldon, 1998).2. Developing a school-wide professional development planaimed at improving classroom-based instruction by focusingon teaching practices and curricular processes so that allstudents achieve at appropriate levels of performance(Blumberg, 1998)3. Incorporating other instructional leadership initiatives such asaction research (Schmuck, 2006), peer coaching (Truesdale,2009), critical friends (Bambino 2002), meaningful walkthroughs(City, Elmore, Fiarman, & Teitel, 2009), all whichdeepen the school’s commitment to a culture of instructionalexcellence.I believe that transformational school-wide change cannot occurwithout a commitment to meaningful and sustained in-depth work inthese aforementioned areas. Strategic attention to improve eachcomponent of the tripod (see Figure 1 above) is necessary. Initiatives25
Page 1 and 2: Improving InstructionalQuality in J
Page 4 and 5: Appendix C: Assessing Your Role as
Page 6 and 7: others, involved in a cognate enter
Page 8 and 9: Weissberg, Walberg, & Wang., 2004).
Page 10 and 11: all. “We are never asked for what
Page 12 and 13: administrator. He was well-organize
Page 14 and 15: Sartoris, DiPrima Bickel, & Garnier
Page 16 and 17: grade conferences, etc., effective
Page 18 and 19: school’s teaching practices, the
Page 20 and 21: een made in the areas of science an
Page 22 and 23: learning is more likely to occur th
Page 24 and 25: content, and the need to ensure tha
Page 26 and 27: pattern.] I didn’t really realize
Page 28 and 29: constraints, increase in administra
Page 32 and 33: that are not strategic, but episodi
Page 34 and 35: my personal involvement in work wit
Page 36 and 37: schools to even greater levels of s
Page 38 and 39: was: “Well, you know, finding tim
Page 40 and 41: called direct teaching), although e
Page 42 and 43: surprised when no one can answer
Page 44 and 45: RecommendationsI. Teaching1. Teache
Page 46 and 47: standards,” a significant opportu
Page 48 and 49: decide on an area or theme they’d
Page 50 and 51: • Reflective journaling - Another
Page 52 and 53: 3. Deep instructional improvement v
Page 54 and 55: Instructional leadership is about e
Page 56 and 57: 76). Teachers who employ instructio
Page 58 and 59: short answers to two questions. The
Page 60 and 61: may become involved in cooperative
Page 62 and 63: utilized within a differentiated le
Page 64 and 65: Research-Based Teaching Practices i
Page 66 and 67: curriculum? Schools, in my view, to
Page 68 and 69: learning objectives have been ident
Page 70 and 71: Developing curriculum at the planni
Page 72 and 73: 4) Emphasize both the academic and
Page 74 and 75: An Overview of Best Practices in Su
Page 76 and 77: with practices best suited to promo
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• Ongoing - Too much of professio
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to do so. In fact, utilizing in-sch
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greatly to meaningful supervision a
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and amplified by James MacGregor Bu
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Leadership is predicated on the fou
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Citing Jim Collins (2002 cited by F
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Notes1. Before continuing, I sugges
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ubric of “professional developmen
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throughs, explains that according t
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members are not fully cognizant or
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AcknowledgementsI thank all the ind
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Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and
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Burke, P. J., & Krey, R. D. (2005).
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Downey, C. J., Steffy, B. E., Posto
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Fullan, M. (2005). Leadership and s
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Good, T., & Brophy, J. E. (2007). L
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Johnson, C. C., & Fargo, J. D. (201
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Marzano, R. J., & Brown, J. L. (200
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Popham, W. J. (2008a). Classroom as
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Shapira-Lishchinsky, O. (2009). Isr
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Tschannen-Moran, M., & McMaster, P.
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Annotated Works on Instructional Le
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This volume is an inspiring introdu
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you want to learn how to teach stud
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AppendicesAppendix A: Instructional
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Suggested responses:1. To be effect
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Appendix C: Assessing Your Role as
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SA A D SD 3. My spoken language as
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Domain 2: The Classroom Environment
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SA A D SD 13. I have a well-defined
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SA A D SD 13. I rarely desire to se
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20. This is a well managed school.
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Appendix F: Teacher Attitude Questi
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41. My colleagues and I usually dis
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