OU’S YACHAD PRESENTS ANNUAL ELECTION DAY NJ STATEWIDE EDUCATION CONFERENCES FOR JEWISH DAY SCHOOL EDUCATORS; NEW LOCATION AT YESHIVAT NOAM IN PARAMUS
Election Day in New Jersey has become an annual opportunity for teachers in New Jersey Jewish Day Schools, as well as for their counterparts from around the country to improve their teaching skills, as Yachad/National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NJCD), a program of the Orthodox Union, once again this year presents two high-level conferences.
This year’s dual conferences will be held from 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at the new location of Yeshivat Noam in Paramus, 70 West Century Road.
With the shared theme of “Balancing 21st Century Learning and the Neshamot (Souls) of our Students,” the dual conferences — the New Jersey Statewide Professional Development Conference for Elementary, Junior High School and Special Education levels, and the National Special Education Professional Development Conference — will run simultaneously and will concentrate on general, Judaic studies, and special education, as well as on serving children with special needs, providing educational advocacy, leadership development, teacher recruitment and training, and developing programs of Inclusion.
These conferences are organized by the New Jersey Association of Jewish Day Schools and the International Jewish Resource Center for Inclusion and Special Education respectively. Both are divisions of Yachad/NJCD.
NJCD, which is directed by Conference Keynote Speaker Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman, is an agency of the OU that provides educational and social inclusion programs through its two major components, Yachad, for children and adults with learning and developmental disabilities, and Our Way for the deaf and hard of hearing.
“Like schools throughout the United States and the world, our yeshiva day schools have entered a new age of imparting information to our children,” declared Batya Jacob, Director of Educational Services of NJCD, and Associate Director of both the New Jersey and the National Associations. “We are now ‘21st Century Learners,’ accessing technology and the Internet on a regular basis. The use of SMARTBoards, iPads, Google Earth, the Internet, and distance learning is a mainstay in our educational environments today. We must help our educators to meet these new challenges, but still ensure that children remain children, learning middot (proper behavior) and social skills as well as the vigorous academics.”
In addition to New Jersey educators, special-education teachers from around the country are expected to attend. As in past years, more than 800 educators are expected to participate in these conferences.
Before following their separate programming tracks, both groups will join to hear the keynotes. The first, “Keeping the Neshamah in 21st Century Learning,” will be presented by Dr. Lichtman, who will explore the balance between important areas of learning while remaining current and competitive.
It will be followed by “The Emerging Culture of Teaching and Learning,” presented by international leader in educational technology Dr. Alan November, who will focus on practical examples of how emerging technologies provide educators with an opportunity for continuous professional improvement.
Travel subsidies are available for educators traveling from outside the New Jersey and New York areas. For registration costs and for more information contact Batya Jacob at 212-613-8127 or 551-404-4447, or email {encode=”mailto:batyaj@ou.org” title=”batyaj@ou.org”}.
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