by Dr. Ilanit Hoory

Thinking about the unique and unexpected opportunity we were given to host Israeli students who are temporarily living in Westchester fills me with pride. I always knew we were a kehilah that supports one another, but now we have been given a chance to walk a path that is beyond our own community - one that combines all of The Leffell School’s Core Values. We are living our values of Ahavat Yisrael, Kehilah, Character, Joyous Jewish Learning, and Citizenship while staying true to Academic Excellence.

When we were approached by our first Israeli families about attending The Leffell School while away from home, the parashah of the week was Lech Lecha. Our students were having powerful conversations about Hachnasat Orchim. We learned about these Israeli families, connected to our Torah learning, and immediately opened the door without questions. From Avraham to now, we are living Torah values in a very tangible way.

We soon realized that it is not enough to say that anyone who wants to join us can come and we’ll figure it out later. We have to plan for additional students using the same thoughtful process we use to meet the needs of each of our current students. Instead of focusing merely on how many students we can help, we are focusing on the quality of the new students’ experiences.

Our unique model of integrating general and Judaic studies throughout the day, instead of half days of each, poses challenges but also allows for out-of-the-box thinking. Our Israeli students are not only immersed in Hebrew and Judaic Studies. They are integrated all day long, enjoying engineering, math, literacy, Limudei Kodesh, and enriched Hebrew language skill-leveled classes. I am also sensitive to the balance of supporting our new students while not overwhelming our teachers or compromising on the quality of everyone’s education.

This whole experience has confirmed that we have an amazing team of educators here at The Leffell School. I reassured our teachers that we will respect them and what they already do to enable our students to thrive. I was not prepared for the level of enthusiasm that our amazing faculty and staff has shown during this time. It is naaseh v'nishma. No one has questioned inviting in these extra students. Everybody feels proud. The staff is not only rising to the challenge but are motivating the students in their classes to welcome in new friends with open arms. I have had teachers approach me asking if a new student could be placed in their class, and, once the child is in their class, they collaborate daily with one another to create the right lessons to meet each child where they are. I was part of a parent-teacher meeting, just days after a child joined our school, and the parent was extremely impressed by how well our teachers already understood their new student’s temperament, stamina, strengths, and areas of challenge.

This new journey, while filled with purpose for all of us, has not been simple, and we have had to make deliberate decisions during this unique time. Our senior leadership and trustees have ensured that financial considerations would not prevent any displaced Israeli family from being part of our school community. Our admissions team and I invited every interested family to tour the school first so we could get to know them and they could get to know us before making final decisions about attending Leffell. Consistently, each child said to their parents mid-tour, “I want to go here.”

Once a family chooses to join our community, we introduce them to our other Israeli families so that they can form a bond within our kehilah. Our teachers discuss welcoming the new student during their class’s Mifgash Boker and reach out personally to each new family, welcoming them, ensuring they’ll have the logistical information they need to transition easily. Each teacher also matches their new student with a buddy who is a native Hebrew speaker. Our PTO pairs families together, arranging playdates and delivering Shabbat baskets to each of their homes. We’ve actually had to streamline the requests to have social gatherings and give assistance, because so many in our community are offering to help.

Behind the scenes our leadership team, teachers, and I create personalized schedules for each new student. The fact that we already customize and individualize our current students’ learning is helpful. We're comfortable thinking creatively to find the right approach for each child. Some students are here all day and others have shorter schedules. Some have not needed any additional support and others benefit from a variety of support options, including help from a volunteer grandparent. We have an ELL (English language learner) class that one of our new students was able to join. Several of our new students take advantage of a Hebrew enrichment class that we were already running for Hebrew speaking students. Some students write their stories in Hebrew and others write in English.

It’s been amazing to see how quickly our new students acclimate to our school! The kids realize that we are tailoring their experience to enable them to thrive, and they feel empowered to advocate for themselves. A fifth grader said to me, “You know what? My day is too long. And having social studies and writing in English back-to-back is too much for me.” So we created a special schedule. Another child said, “I need more English vocabulary practice.” A second grader shared with me that his parent is providing English practice at home because he wants to learn enough English to be able to stay longer each day.

Our new students are not the only ones benefiting. The impact on our student kehilah is Ahavat Yisrael and Kol Yisrael Areyvim Zeh Bazeh at its best. Our American students are excited to speak in Hebrew, welcoming their new friends. They now have their own personal connections to Israel and it means even more when they create doves of peace and Israeli flags to decorate our school. It resonates in a different way with our older students as they write letters of support to Israeli soldiers. The empathy that our students are showing reflects our values of kindness and kavod that permeate our hallways.

I’ve been so proud to read the words of gratitude from our new Israeli families. They confirm that this opportunity to show ourselves and others how we apply values in this difficult time for Israel and the Jewish people is actually who we are as a school and community. And as the families start to leave us to go back to their homes, they’re leaving behind a beautiful impact on our school, and they tell us that their children are leaving our community as changed people, as well. We’ve shed quite a few tears as we’ve said l’hitraot to our new friends. Our students look forward to meeting them again when they travel as a grade to Israel in the years to come.