Creating Connections: A Conversation with Rabbi Yahel Tsaidi, Head of Elementary School at Yeshivah of Flatbush
Read below to enjoy the article about our Head of Elementary School Rabbi Yahel Tsaidi, featured in the February 2019 Image magazine!
Creating Connections: A Conversation with Rabbi Yahel Tsaidi, Head of Elementary School at Yeshivah of Flatbush
Rabbi Yahel Tsaidi started as Head of Elementary School at Yeshivah of Flatbush this past September. He came from Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy in Los Angeles, where he served for 12 years in increasingly responsible roles culminating as Judaic Studies Principal. At Hillel, Rabbi Tsaidi was responsible for admissions, student life, curriculum development and supervision, and teacher recruitment and mentorship. Rabbi Tsaidi studied at Yeshivat Har Etzion, Yeshivat Hakotel, Yeshiva University and American Jewish University’s Graduate Center for Education, where he received his Master’s in the Arts of Teaching. He is pursuing his Doctorate in Education at the Azrieli School of Education. Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Rothman, Yeshivah of Flatbush’s Executive Director, sat down with Rabbi Tsaidi recently to talk about the first several months of Rabbi Tsaidi’s tenure at Yeshivah of Flatbush.
Rabbi Dr. Rothman:
What have been your initial goals starting out as Head of Elementary School at Yeshivah of Flatbush?
Rabbi Tsaidi: I want to develop a school culture that educates, empowers and inspires our students. I want to encourage team-building among our faculty and staff in order to help us provide the best possible education and environment for our children. I also want to create a partnership between home and school, between our parents and our educators, as one of the greatest strengths of our Yeshivah.
Rabbi Dr. Rothman:
How have you started to develop a school culture focused on our students?
Rabbi Tsaidi: I want to ensure that our instruction is engaging, innovative and striving for excellence at every juncture in our student’s academic and broader school experience. One way I aim to do so is to mentor, support and empower all of our faculty and staff to seek and introduce innovative techniques and programs in the classroom. In my own role, I am always striving to connect with students on either an individual or group level, with an interactive and educational component. Students visit my office to redeem birthday post cards, good for a one-on-one Torah study session, such as a review of the parasha, topped off with choice of candy to further sweeten the experience. On a broader level, I recently led a program in which we invited a delegation of Israeli soldiers to visit the school, during which all of our students, from Early Childhood through Middle Division, were able to learn about and hear from real-life heroes in person.
Rabbi Dr. Rothman:
How have you been able to facilitate staff team-building?
Rabbi Tsaidi: It starts with striving for excellent communication and planning. We have instituted regular calendar planning meetings that bring together the academic leadership and the executive departments, so that the administration, communications, development, finance, information technology, and operations leadership all have a chance to talk to one another and create interrelated proactive strategies and plans several weeks and even months into the future.
Rabbi Dr. Rothman:
How have you been able to so quickly connect with parents and why is that so important to you?
Rabbi Tsaidi: I think it all started with open dialogue even before I officially began in my role. I started to hold meetings with parents in the summer, both one-on-one and in small groups, as part of my goal to build and foster a community of learning and growth in partnership between home and school. In my interactions with parents, I am interested in true communication, one that is mutual in nature. I am genuinely interested in feedback, including constructive criticism that comes with a parent’s passion for and dedication to the Yeshivah. I believe that the success we will find for our children’s future will come in the form of whole partnership between home and school and I am struck by the unyielding commitment of our YOF families to make this the best place of education for each and every child. I continue to hold meet and greet evenings with parents, parlor-meeting style, in order to continue to connect and communicate. I enjoy sharing a Dvar Torah before a chag in an email to parents. A recent example of the successful partnership between home and school is depicted in a text I received from a parent: “the morning after the Chumash party, I went to wake up my son and when I got to his room, he was sitting and reading from his new Chumash. I asked what he was doing and he said he was reading through Parashat Vayigash because he wanted to see what happens next!”
Rabbi Dr. Rothman:
There is so much ruach on Fridays in the Yeshivah. What’s the secret?
Rabbi Tsaidi: We’ve actually gotten rid of Fridays at Yeshivah of Flatbush and replaced them with Erev Shabbat. We are trying to institute the vibrancy and energy of Erev Shabbat into our building every Friday. The Oneg Shabbat program we have initiated in Lower and Middle Divisions is a great example of how I hope to inspire our students, create staff connections and further bond school and home. Lower Division students in second through fifth grades attend an Oneg Shabbat assembly, in which they enjoy a shortened version of the Friday night experience, including songs, candles, Kiddush, storytelling, and a light discussion of the parasha. Bnot Sherut lead the grades in songs and help organize each week’s event. The “fan favorite” is “Hallelu,” a song that lends itself to two sides of the room competing in verses. The goal of these assemblies is to bring in a certain ruach and share messages of middot. In Middle Division, one class a week is invited into my office for a more kumzits style Shabbat experience. We sing songs, share stories, and learn a little Torah in preparation for Shabbat, culminating with our very popular homemade cholent.
Our Oneg Shabbat experience not only inspires students, but also makes connections among staff as well as connects school and home. A staff member recently shared this note with me: “I wanted to let you know how beautiful and heart-warming the Friday Shabbat program was.... I was truly moved, and as a teacher was excited to see my students participate with such enthusiasm. I believe it would be a wonderful gesture to invite any afternoon staff to see first-hand the Shabbat program....” As a result of this message, I included in my weekly email to all staff a formal invitation to join us in the Friday Oneg assemblies. The connection between school and home is felt through our Shabbat program as well. As one parent recently put it, “They come home and are ready for Shabbat, which is very lovely for us as parents and grandparents and other family members to see around the table.”
Rabbi Dr. Rothman:
What is the Responsive Classroom initiative and why is it important?
Rabbi Tsaidi: A Responsive Classroom links academic study and the social emotional experience of a child. An educator must learn to build a learning environment around the needs of the children in the class. We have launched this initiative in seven classes in Lower Division, in the hopes that its methods will help define an optimal learning environment that will allow teachers to create targeted lessons adapted from classroom conversation. We have also hired professional Responsive Classroom coaches to visit the classrooms on a consistent basis to observe and mentor the teachers as they add new elements of the program to their lessons. The Responsive Classroom techniques are based on the theory that the best way to know what is on students’ minds is to meet with them in an informal setting. Every morning, teachers sit down with their students to have circle time, better known as “morning meetings,” and discuss what is on kids’ minds at the beginning of each day. It is more essential than ever, that from a young age we instill the habit in each of us, to first see all that is beautiful and positive in everyone and everything. The Responsive Classroom promotes yet another type of connection with our school, that of students to each other.
Rabbi Dr. Rothman:
What are some of your thoughts for the future?
Rabbi Tsaidi: I look forward to continuing to inspire our students, foster our team of faculty, and further solidify our bond between home and school, as we continue to strengthen all of our connections within the YOF family with students, staff and parents. I want to ensure that more teachers receive their desired
professional development in all areas of academic and social emotional growth for our students and that we continue to invest in our teachers’ growth in all areas related to our students’ school experience. I look forward to continuing to introduce innovative programming as a joint effort with staff and parents, so that we can continue to provide the best possible education for our students.