Rabbi Alan Berkowitz Is Settling In At The Helm of Magen David Yeshivah Elementary School

For most of the 1,600 students in Magen David Yeshivah’s Elementary School (MDYES), one of the first greetings they receive each morning is a smiling and warm welcome from their new Principal, Rabbi Alan Berkowitz. And the comment that causes them to chuckle as they leave at the end of the day is his question, “Who’s coming back tomorrow?”

Rabbi Berkowitz, with over 30 years’ experience in hinuch (education), has brought creative ideas, insightful suggestions and a wealth of educational tools to his new MDY Elementary School family—all with the goal of creating academic excellence. In explaining his vision, Rabbi Berkowitz said “Our mission is to teach Torah and the Torah way of life, consistent with the customs of Aram Soba, in an enriched and warm educational environment.”

To accomplish this, he continued “we need to gain a deep understanding of Torah, along with an awareness of child development and cutting-edge practices in education.”

He fully understands that there are three partners in a child’s education: the Ribono Shel Olam master of the universe), rabbis, teachers, and parents. To work in partnership with the latter two, he has introduced two new successful endeavors—Parent Liaison Committees and Town Hall Meetings. Parent representatives on Parent Liaison Committees meet with the administration on a regular basis to openly discuss, as a team, many different aspects of school life—from lunch menus to the latest in educational technology. Violet Fallas, Liaison Committee Chairperson for grades 5 through 8, noted, “Rabbi Berkowitz made it clear from the outset that the purpose of the committee was to work together towards the common goal of delivering the best education possible to our children, and together we are seeing the fruits of our labor.” Following the meetings, a full report is emailed to all the parents in the division.

Town Hall Meetings, open to all MDY parents, provide insight into the rationale for various programs and activities in the school. As at all public meetings over which he presides, Rabbi Berkowitz opens with Divrei Torah related to the acknowledged goal of teaching the children, who are the community’s future leaders. Feedback from the parent body has been extremely positive. They appreciate the fact that their voices are being heard and that their concerns are addressed in a fully transparent forum.

To the delight of parents, teachers, and students, Rabbi Berkowitz already has made important changes and introduced several exciting initiatives in his first six months of tenure at MDY Elementary School.

For example, an outstanding new art program provides each student with a sense of accomplishment by focusing on the process of art. The Visual Arts curriculum exposes young artists to the fundamentals of art and allows them to explore a variety of media and techniques to hone their artistic skills and discover their artistic potential.

In addition, the halls are filled with the sounds of music as the school’s new partners from the Brooklyn School of Music teach students how to play basic instruments such as drums, harmonica, and recorder. Rabbi Berkowitz also has reintroduced the MDYES Boys Choir, whose angelic voices perform traditional pizmonim as well as contemporary Sephardic, liturgical songs at school events.

The existing MDY Balanced Literacy Program has been enhanced this year by the addition of two full-time literacy coaches to support teachers as they continue to improve, expand, and advance the program.

Math instruction also has undergone several significant changes, with the addition of multiple tiers of instruction for every lesson, including intervention for students who struggle and enrichment through thought-provoking challenges for those students who are ready to go beyond the scope of the lesson.

Rabbi Berkowitz is committed to being a life-time learner himself and devotes time each day to his own Limud Torah. Of course, he also endeavors to keep abreast of news in the growing fields of leadership and education, as well as information relating to the most current studies of the brain and learning. Setting very high standards for himself and expecting the same from the MDY administration and faculty, he has incorporated monthly Professional Development Seminars for all teachers into the school. He has also encouraged teachers to attend MDYES’ Summer School, in which teachers participate in a three week long intensive study program featuring high-level professionals in the field of education, such as the world-renowned Rabbi Dr. David Pelcovitz, a professor of Psychology and Jewish Education at the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education at Yeshiva University. These seminars enable the teachers to remain up-to-date on the latest teaching techniques and also provide an opportunity to share best practices.

Rabbi Berkowitz, with his multi-dimensional approach to Jewish education, is a proponent of experiential learning through which students gain life-long lessons and, in some cases, experience life-changing moments outside the classroom. Accordingly, he launched the MDYES’s Office of Student Life in order to facilitate learning through special programs, hesed opportunities, and inspirational speakers. Recently, the eloquent Chava Willig Levy was invited to speak at MDYES about her vision for leading a productive and satisfying life despite disability. This program was designed to challenge the student body to view all people through the lens of tzelem elokim (G-d’s image)and to understand that each of us are capable of making a difference and bettering the world.

From Monday through Thursday, eagerness for the clock to strike 3 pm is palpable, not because it is dismissal time, but rather because it is when the entire school hears the voice of Rabbi Berkowitz on the public address. During the recent cold winter months, the PA tone would sound and Rabbi Berkowitz would announce Tzaharim Tovim Yeshivat Magen David (good afternoon, Magen David Yeshivah). It is cold outside, but not inside at MDY, because each of you is warming the building with the warmth of your limud torah (Torah study).”

On Mondays, Rabbi Berkowitz includes in the end-of-day announcement a challenging question about the parashah or an upcoming Yom Tov, often along with a pun or hint about the correct answer. (He has set up a special email address to which students and faculty are encouraged to send their answers.) As the week progresses, he expands on the question with other insights and hints about the topic. He concludes the message each day by setting the tone for the school-wide recitation of tehilim and a misheberach (prayer) for those who are ill in the community.

Encouraged by the positive changes that have taken place thus far, Rabbi Berkowitz said, “We have set high objectives for our school, we have accomplished much and, yes, we have more that we need to do, but we are blessed with a rich and holy Sephardic heritage and lineage of great hahamim to guide us on that path. With hard work, perseverance, and berecha (blessing), we will succeed.”