JSkyway is fortunate to have leading educators in the field on its Curriculum Advisory Team. The team is responsible for guiding the staff on the needs of Jewish educators in North America and provide consult and vision to the future of the program. As JSkyway is non-denominational, we have hand selected a conglomeration of individuals in the education field, representing various denominations and geographic regions. The fall meeting was successfully held in Newton, MA. This spring, Hebrew Union College has graciously offered to host the meeting in Los Angeles. The following individuals comprise the team:
Marc Kramer, Ed. D
Dr. Marc N. Kramer is the Executive Director of RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network, the North American association of pluralistic Jewish schools devoted to serving children and families from across the spectrum of religious practice. Additionally, Dr. Kramer is a consultant to the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services where he develops and implements psycho-educational and psychosocial programs which explore the intersection of traditional Jewish text, contemporary social issues, and normative mental health.
Marc earned a bachelors degree in Near East and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, a masters degree in social work from Columbia University, a masters degree in Judaica from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and both a masters and doctorate in education from Columbia University- Teachers College. He is the recipient of the Sachar Award for academic research and the Wexner Foundation Graduate Fellowship. His publications include a study of the poster art of the American Yiddish theatre, training guides for group facilitators, and several comprehensive works on Jewish day school leadership.
Nammie Ichilov, M.A.
Nammie Ichilov is the Head of School for the Jerome Lippman Jewish Community Day School and Community Director of Jewish Education for the Greater Akron Jewish Community. Nammie received his master's degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Central Florida. Nammie's master's thesis was on Jewish family education in the Jewish day school setting, with his current focus on research concentrating on both "motivation and the pursuit of adult Jewish education" as well as "the development of Jewish identity in the Jewish day school student and the influence of the family on a child's identity formation."
Michael Zeldin, Ph. D.
Michael Zeldin is Professor of Jewish Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, and Director of Day School Initiatives for HUC-JIR’s four-campus system. In that capacity, he directs DeLeT: Day school Leadership through Teaching and Jewish Day Schools for the 21st Century. His articles on day schools have appeared in The Journal of Jewish Education, Religious Education, Visions of Excellence, Agenda: Jewish Education, Compass, Jewish Education News, and The Jewish Educational Leaders Handbook. He is also principal author and co-editor of Touching the Future: Mentoring and the Jewish Professional. Dr. Zeldin has recently been appointed Senior Editor of The Journal of Jewish Education, the primary research journal in the field of Jewish education. He is a past chair of the Network for Research in Jewish Education, the scholarly society of researchers and professors of Jewish education.
Dr. Zeldin received his M.A. in Hebrew Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR in 1977 and his Ph.D. in education from the University of Southern California in 1979. He and his wife, Rabbi Leah Kroll, have three children, all of whom attended Jewish day schools.
Elaine R.S. Cohen, Ed. D.
Dr. Elaine R. S. Cohen, joined the executive staff of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in August 2003 as the Associate Director of the Department of Education. In this capacity, she serves as the primary resource person to the network of Solomon Schechter Day Schools, edits the newsletter Shibboley Schechter, and does the placement referrals for the Schechter schools, among other responsibilities. Elaine served for six years (1997-2003) as the Head of School of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union in New Jersey. During those years she was an active member of the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools and the Solomon Schechter Principals’ Council
Dr. Cohen holds a Masters Degree in Teaching from Harvard University and earned her doctorate from Rutgers University. She has served as a mentor in the Day School Leadership Training Institute and has been a madrikha and lead coach for PEJE (Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education). Elaine was the first Project Director of the Teacher Retreat Program, an innovative professional development initiative of the Melton Research Center of the Jewish Theological Seminary. She taught and supervised pre-service teachers in the Jewish Teacher Training Program from 1987 – 1989 at McGill University and was the Educational Director of the United Talmud Torahs day schools and Herzliah High Schools in Montreal from 1989-1997. During those years, she was also involved in the Association of Principals of Jewish Schools, serving as its President in 1996-1997. As a volunteer, she currently serves as the co-chair of the Board of Directors of US/Israel Women to Women.
Larry Acheatel
Larry Acheatel has served, since mid 1998, as the Executive Director of the San Diego Jewish Academy, a Kindergarten – 12th grade Jewish day school serving approximately 700 students. SDJA is a pluralistic, community day school. During this period the school has grown from 450 students, a high school has been formed, and a new 40 acre, 135,000 square foot facility has been constructed.
Immediately prior to joining the Academy, Larry was superintendent of several different public school districts in both northern and southern California. His professional career has also included teaching in California and Spain, as well as school administration. He served as the president of the City Schools Superintendent Association and was a member of the State Superintendent’s Committee of the Association of California School Administrators.
Rabbi Jeremiah Unterman, Ph.D.
Rabbi Dr. Jeremiah Unterman is the Director of the Association of Modern Orthodox Day Schools and Yeshiva High Schools (the Association is convened by the Max Stern Division of Communal Services of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University). Dr. Unterman is also Adjunct Professor of Bible at Yeshiva College. Previously, Dr. Unterman served as Executive Director of the Toronto Board of Jewish Education and Vice-President for Education of UJA Federation of Toronto. From 1992-1997, he was Executive Director of the Commission on Jewish Education and Director of the Hebrew College-Hartford Branch, Connecticut. He was Director and Associate Professor of the Jewish Studies Program at Barry University from 1983-1992. He received his B.A. in Hebraic Studies from Rutgers University, a Masters in Bible from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in the Judaica Program of the Near Eastern Studies Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He received semicha in private studies in Israel. Dr. Unterman has authored numerous articles in scholarly journals and books in the U.S. and Israel. His book on Biblical prophecy, entitled From Repentance to Redemption, was published in 1987 in England and is distributed in the United States by Cornell University Press.
In 1999-2000, Dr. Unterman was a Senior Educator Fellow at Bar-Ilan University?s Lookstein Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora. He has taught at Dartmouth College, the University of Connecticut, Northwestern University, the University of California - Irvine, the University of Judaism, Wichita State University and York University in Toronto. He has lectured frequently at scholarly conferences in the United States and Israel, such as the World Congress of Jewish Studies, the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, and the annual meeting of the Association for Jewish Studies.
Jane West Walsh, Ed. D.
For over 20 years, Dr. Jane West Walsh has been serving the North
American Jewish community in a variety of leadership positions in
synagogues, academic settings, special initiatives and central
agencies. Currently she is working with DeLeT: Day School
Leadership Through Teaching and JESNA's JERRI initiaitve focusing
on recruitment, preparation, induction and retention of Jewish
educators for the 21st century.
Frederick S. Nathan, M.A.
Frederick S. Nathan is a graduate of Elementary Jewish Day and Jewish Day High Schools. He received his B.A. from Yeshiva College and BHL from Teachers’ Institute of Yeshiva University and M.A. in Education from N.Y.U. He studied for six months at Hayim Greenberg Institute in Jerusalem. He is a member of the first cohort of AAJE (now JESNA) Educators Development Program and of TIE and is presently serving as Head of School of Solomon Schechter Academy of Dallas. Fred has served as Jewish Day School Head at various schools for 26 years and as Synagogue Educational/Family Ed/Program Director for 18 years. Also, he served for four years as part-time Director of Professional Development for BJE of San Francisco and for 2 years as part-time Director of Stepping Stones for a Jewish Me for the Bay Area.
Rabbi Joshua Elkin, Ed.D.
Rabbi Dr. Joshua Elkin is the Executive Director of the Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education (PEJE), a grant making and advocacy organization for Jewish day schools. Prior to PEJE, he was the Head of the Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Boston for 20 years. Rabbi Elkin was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary and went on to complete a doctorate at Columbia Teachers College in the field of curriculum and teaching. He has also served as Adjunct Lecturer in Jewish Education at the Brandeis Hornstein Program for Jewish Communal Service. In 1987-88, Rabbi Elkin spent a sabbatical year in Israel as a Jerusalem Fellow.
Currently, Rabbi Elkin is on the Board of the New Jewish High School where he is a member of its Nominating Committee. He has served on the Board of Camp Ramah in New England and most recently on its Director Search Committee. He is a Past President of the Solomon Schechter Day School Principals Council. He has authored numerous articles on Jewish education and day schools. A number of institutions have chosen to recognize his contributions, including most recently the Jewish Theological Seminary, Hebrew College, Solomon Schechter Day School of Manhattan, and the Gann Academy-New Jewish High School of Greater Boston.
Steve Kraus
Steve Kraus is JESNA’s Director of Day School, Congregational and Communal Education Initiatives. As part of his duties, Steve directs the Continental Council for Jewish Day School Education, a JESNA/UJC initiative. The Council, comprised of 130 volunteer and professional leaders from across North America, is dedicated to the growth and enhancement of the quality of Jewish day school education. It serves as a forum for addressing key issues facing day schools. Its two most popular publications are a Working Groups ToolKit, consisting of relevant information in the areas of affordability, compensation systems, community relationships, marketing and advocacy and professional recruitment, development and retention and a report on “Day School Tuition Subvention, Reduction and Scholarship Programs.”
Chaim Botwinick, Ed.D.
Dr. Chaim Y. Botwinick is currently the President/CEO of the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education in Miami, FL. Previously, he was the Executive Vice President of the Center for Jewish Education (formally the Board of Jewish Education of Baltimore), and senior educational consultant to THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. Dr. Botwinick also served in numerous positions in the New York Jewish community. Dr. Botwinick has held a number of national Board positions, including the Council for Jewish Education and the National Collaborative of Public and Non-Public Schools and has served as a member of the New York State Governor’s Task Force on Equity and Excellence in Education and the President’s National Commission on the Holocaust.
Dr. Botwinick has been in the forefront of strategic planning for Jewish education and is often called upon by educational institutions, schools, federations, foundations, as well as social services and governmental agencies to provide leadership and consultation in a wide variety of areas, including educational policy and organizational development, program/curriculum design and evaluation, and professional staff development. He has a Masters Degree in Organizational Psychology and a Doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision. Dr. Botwinick, the proud father of two children, resides in Hollywood, Florida with his wife and family.
Susan Shevitz, Ph.D.
