"How many times have you had to explain to jealous friends that teachers don't really have the whole summer off? Most teachers I know have to spend a good amount of time revising old lessons, designing new units, or otherwise trying to improve their skills. This summer, because I'm working at a new school, I have three new courses to write. I haven't had to work this hard since I was a first year teacher! Thanks to my experiences with JSkyway, I'm going to do a lot of things differently. From Effective Classroom Strategy (formerly Skills for Effective Teaching), I'm going to apply what I've learned about active learning, and from Assessment Strategies (formerly Models of Assessment), I'm going to be thinking about assessment goals first. I've already organized my work by designing rubrics which I'll use to assess my students' learning. Now I just have to figure out how to get them to the point where they'll be able to get to those top levels on my rubric. When I made the decision to work at this new school, I made sure that the administration would support my efforts at self- improvement; I was pleased to find out that (because of my experience with JSkyway), I would be asked to mentor some younger teachers as well. I'm going to encourage them to learn from JSkyway, just as I have."
~A JSkyway Participant

“JSkyway is a wonderful resource for educators who want to be part of a learning community and create a flexible learning schedule for themselves. It is especially helpful for those of us in small Jewish communities without access to major Jewish learning centers and resources. JSkyway’s virtual community helped me feel a part of a larger network of Jewish educators. The constructivist approach to Israel education enabled me to think more abstractly about why and what perspective I am bringing to the classroom in teaching about Israel. Connecting with other Jewish educators has been inspiring in planning my curriculum and sharing ideas on the importance of teaching Israel.”
~A JSkyway Participant

We are pleased to announce that three graduates of the JSkyway course, Teaching with Technology (formerly "New Technologies"), have been accepted into the new NY BJE-NY Institute of Technology Collaborative - a two year intensive masters in educational technology with a focus on Judaic Studies. The program, funded through the Covenant Foundation, also provides mentors. Mazal Tov to: Sima Broza from Bi-Cultural Day School in Stamford; Naomi Ikckovitz, Ramaz lower school in NYC; and Rita Kaufman, Solomon Schechter Day School of Westchester.