The Lookstein Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora of Bar-Ilan University, Principals’ Seminar, Ramat Gan, Israel
The mission of the Lookstein Center is to improve the quality of education in Jewish day schools by improving the quality of their leadership. In 1999, the Lookstein Center established a series of professional development programs targeted specifically to principals of Jewish day schools, who face unique challenges in the workplace. The Principals’ Seminar programs have attracted principals from all over the world to summer seminars in Israel and follow-up mid-winter regional conferences.

Targum Shlishi has provided funding for several years to allow principals from South Florida day schools of different denominations (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Lubavitch) to attend the summer seminars. Topics covered in the seminars include leadership, supervision of instruction, the dynamics of change, the use of technology in Jewish education, team building, and more. The Principals’ Seminar exposes principals to the latest theories, to experts in the field, and perhaps most importantly, to each other. Principals are encouraged to build community and to share experience—objectives the Lookstein Center promotes with its continuing education approach to the Principals’ Seminar, which incorporates e-mail discussion groups, follow-up mid-winter and summer sessions, and the development of regional associations of Principals’ Seminar graduates.

Many Principals’ Seminar graduates have reported that the knowledge and skills
they gained through the program had a significant impact on the ways they approach their jobs, including their personal leadership styles, their interactions with staff, and their strategic planning. “I…found this program to be an extremely enriching professional experience,” wrote Michelle Schneck, an assistant principal at the Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville, Md. “It provided me with a good balance of the theoretical and the practical, with training in leadership skills as well as updates on educational issues and interesting approaches from various academic disciplines. It also helped establish excellent networking opportunities.” www.lookstein.org, www.biu.ac.il

Principals’ Seminar Mid-Winter Conference, Miami Beach
The Lookstein Center’s Principals’ Seminar Mid-Winter Conference is an extension of the Lookstein Center’s Principals’ Seminar described above. The goal of both programs is to promote professional development for principals of Jewish day schools. The Mid-Winter Conference is offered to principals who have attended the summer seminar; it reinforces the community and sense of purpose fostered during the summer session.

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