Over sixty principals, heads of schools, and administrators from across the US visited Lubavitch Educational Center in Miami and toured the school as part of a two-day kinus organized by the Menachem Education Foundation.
Escorted by LEC’s principals, participants visited classrooms and spoke with educators in the school’s twenty-eight boys classes in grades one through eight, where they learned about their systems, special programs, and educational philosophies.
Following the tour was a special session featuring workshops by several LEC staff. Rabbi Zalman Mochkin, fourth grade rebbe, presented his division-wide Niflaos Haborei program that teaches students about the world around them through a Torah lens in a hands-on way. Rabbi Chezky Goldstein, seventh grade rebbe, spoke on how to run your class using a business model and how to lift students up by being a compassionate mentor. Longtime mechanech Rabbi Yaakov Roth, who was recently honored at the LEC annual dinner, shared the many letters his students received from the Rebbe and talked about the unique opportunity educators have to influence a child for life. The session ended with a showcase on the school’s security protocols with practical tips by LEC’s head of safety and security, Mr. Zalman Myer Smith.
“The whole two-day conference was worth it just for this tour,” says participant Rabbi Noach Kosofsky, Director of Lubavitch Yeshiva Academy of Western Massachusetts. “I learned so much from it. LEC has really grown into a large school with hundreds of staff and yet it’s so organized and still focused on the details. The scope of what they do is amazing.”
Rabbi Yossi Zavdi, Associate Head of School at LEC, says he and the other participants left inspired and motivated. “Many of them told me they were impressed with the dedication of our staff members and were taken by the smiles on the faces of our students,” he says. “I hope they can implement some of the great things that are happening here on a daily basis in their own schools. Our children deserve the best possible chinuch and it’s through opportunities like these that we can all gain insight and learn from the successes of other mosdos.”
LEC and MEF thanks the those who organized the event including Executive Director of MEF Rabbi Zalman Shneur, LEC Head of School Rabbi Benjy Korf, Associate Head of School Rabbi Yossi Zavdi, and principals Rabbi Moshe Stern, Rabbi Yakov Garfinkel, Mrs. Tzivi Schurder and Mrs. Rochel Gopin.
Photos by Menachem Williams
