On Tuesday, March 18, Federation hosted Day School teachers, school leadership, and invited guests at our headquarters in Whippany for a celebratory breakfast where teachers had the opportunity to showcase the mental health projects and initiatives they have been piloting in their school as part of a year-long Quest for Teaching Excellence Fellowship: Fostering Deep Listening and Well-Being in Greater MetroWest NJ Day Schools.
Launched in August 2024 by the Greater MetroWest Day School Initiative, this fellowship was made possible through a generous grant from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey (HFNJ). At the breakfast, HFNJ Executive Director/CEO Michael Schmidt and trustee Elizabeth Cohen spoke about the foundation’s commitment to strengthening mental health resources in schools.
A true collaboration, all four GMW Day Schools: Golda Och Academy, Gottesman RTW Academy, The Jewish Educational Center/Bruriah, and Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School have teachers participating in the fellowship.
Last summer, the fellowship had 27 middle and high school teachers participating in an intensive and transformative 3-day deep listening workshop facilitated by the esteemed Stanley H. King Institute, who have been running weeklong residential deep listening workshops for more than 50 years.
As part of the summer training, teachers brainstormed ideas for a school-based project or initiative to enact during this school year so that the impact of their work could be as far reaching as possible. Judi Harrison, Day School Council Member and Quest for Teaching Excellence Chair, shared, “It was wonderful to see how effective the Stanley H. King program has been. Each school has been able to constructively work it into their own culture.”
Rosemary Steinbaum, a member of the Greater MetroWest Day School council and the former Dean of Faculty at Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy/Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School, opened the breakfast with a welcome address. Steinbaum attended the Deep Listening Institute back in the 70s and still uses the tools she gained back then today.
Over the course of the morning, guests had the opportunity to learn about the seven projects that are currently being implemented across our day schools. Through facilitated table discussions, guests engaged with the teachers at their table and had the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the ways in which this group of teachers are addressing the mental health needs of their students. Steinbaum remarked, “I was most impressed with the teachers’ projects, many of which actively and effectively spread the wealth of lessons learned in the summer institute to their school faculties and communities.”
The Day School Initiative and the Quest for Teaching Excellence are made possible by Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest through a generous grant from the Gottesman Family Supporting Foundation.