Jeff hands his podcast over to Jennifer Bradbury and Shira Leibowitz as the panel discusses Jewish Education in todays society.

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Featured Topics:

• #JedChat
• The success of Jewish Education in todays educational system
• What does Religious Education contribute to 21st Century Classrooms
• How do we transmit and teach current values
• What is the role of Religious education in todays society
• Blending the traditional values while embracing a new
• Teaching Dinner Table skills in the classroom
• Creating a Community of Learners
• The challenges facing Jewish Education today
• Creating a Diverse population filled with Diverse Learners

Featured Guests:

Rabbi Shira Leibowitz, Ph.D. is Lower School Principal at Schechter Westchester in White Plains, New York. Rabbi Leibowitz attended Cornell University, graduating with a B.A. in American Studies Magna Cum Laude and with Distinction in all subjects.  Rabbi Leibowitz was ordained as a rabbi from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and completed a Master of Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

Rabbi Leibowitz held a number of positions in education prior to arriving at Schechter Westchester.  She served as Education Director at Camp Ramah in New England and then as Assistant Director of the National Ramah camping movement featuring both day and sleep away camps throughout the United States as well as in Canada and Israel.  She served as Judaic Studies Department Chair and taught both Bible and Rabbinic Literature at the Solomon Schechter High School in Manhattan during the school’s first two years in existence.  Rabbi Leibowitz then served as Associate Principal at The Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union (now the Golda Och Academy). She was promoted to Lower School Principal at The Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union, the position she held immediately prior to becoming Lower School Principal at Schechter Westchester, where she has served since August, 2000.

Rabbi Leibowitz lives in White Plains with her husband, Rabbi Alfredo Borodowski, and their two children.  Rabbi Leibowitz trains in martial arts and has a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She is a co-moderator on twitter of #educoach, a weekly conversation between prinicipals, educational coaches, and other school leaders about ways of supporting teachers to improve classroom instruction. Rabbi Leibowitz is currently writing on a book about character and values education. She speaks and writes about a wide range of topics in education.

You can follow Shira Leibowitz on twitter at www.twitter.com/shiraleibowitz and on her blog at www.sharingourblessings.wordpress.com

Jane Taubenfeld Cohen is the Director of Capacity Building and has been working at the Yeshiva University School Partnership since September.  Before that, she was the Head of School at the South Area Solomon Schechter Day School for twenty-two years, where she was one of the  founders.  In addition, Jane has been a mentor for 8 years at the Day School Leadership Training Institute (DSLTI). Jane received the Covenant Award in 2006 and she is the recipient of the S’fatei Tiftach award from Hebrew College for her advocacy of specials needs students within the day school movement.

Rabbi Akevy Greenblatt is currently the Judaic Studies Lower School Principal and Middle school Coordinator at the Margolin Hebrew Academy in Memphis TN. Akevy is also part of the administrative team for the Margolin Hebrew Academy/ Finestone Yeshivas of the South, which is a Prek- 12 school.  Akevy has been involved education for the last 20 years and is a leading change agent in trying to incorporate 21st Century skills with Judaic studies.Meeting students needs and differentiated instruction is something that Akevy believes to be at the core of teaching. You can learn more about Akevy from his “Principals Post” at agreenblatt.blogspot.com  and “Beyond the Classrom Walls at akevygreenblatt.edublogs.org. You can also follow him on Twitter@Akevy613

Peter Eckstein began his career as a Jewish educator in 1982 on Kibbutz Ketura, working with children of all ages and serving as the kibbutz Education Coordinator. In 1993 upon  returning  to the U.S., he became the Director of Education and Programming at Temple Israel (Ref.) in West Palm Beach. Currently.  Currently he is the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Beth David (Cons.) in Palm Beach Gardens.

He was very active with CAJE (Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education)as programming co-chair, Shabbat chair and conference chair  for several conferences. He teachesprofessional development courses for educators, Judaic adult education classes, and the Palm Beach County’s Introduction to Judaism course for those seeking to become part of the tribe. He is specializing in teaching educators how to integrate education technology into the Jewish classroom.  He has also served on the faculty at URJ Camp Coleman as an informal Jewish educator and very old camper.

He has spearheaded programs bridging Muslim and Jewish communities and have developed values oriented experiential education programs for middle-school boys. He earned Masters in Elementary Education from Nova Southeastern University and in Jewish Education from Hebrew College.  He has received certification as Reform Jewish Educator (RJE) from NATE  and Conservative Jewish Educator (CJE) from the JEA. He has earned a  Certificate in Educational Technology Integration from Yeshiva University.

Peter is fascinated by how technology and experiential education will aid in the transmission of Jewish awareness to the next generations. He tweets as @redmenace56, blogs as The Fifth Child here: http://jcastnetwork.org/5thchild and emails at terrapin@mindspring.com.

Peter is married to Carol and is father to Ma’ayan and Keren, and lives in Lake Worth Florida.

Jennifer Bradbury is a professional musician and educator. Jennifer’s favorite performances include soloing with orchestra, the Dragonetti Concerto and Koussevitsky concerto under the baton of her husband, Jeff Bradbury. Jennifer Bradbury earned a Master of Music in Double Bass Performance from Peabody Conservatory in 2006 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Double Bass Performance and Music Education from Carnegie Mellon University. Teachers have included Douglas Mapp, Paul Johnson, Anthony Bianco, and Boris Blumenkrantz. Jennifer serves as an instrumental instructor for the Pennsauken School District. In May 2010, under her direction, the Phifer Middle School Orchestra received a superior rating at the High Note Festival in Allentown, Pa. She resides in Pennsauken, NJ with her wonderful husband, Jeffrey.