This article was provided by Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School.
Adaptation, inclusivity and flexibility are always essential tools for teachers to deliver Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School’s rigorous curriculum – more so this year than ever before. While the quality and scope of the curricular content remains consistent, the delivery is being reimagined from PreSchool to High School to accommodate stringent COVID safety protocols.
We asked expert educators from each division at Beth Tfiloh how they are adapting their classroom experience to be COVID-safe.
PreSchool: Morah Jody Levey and Morah Leslie Erkes, Fours
PreSchool four’s class teachers Morah Jody and Morah Leslie share that life in their classroom is as joyful and instructive as ever, while incorporating important changes to the classroom wellness routines. The PreSchool children have done a wonderful — and adorable — job adapting to the BT mask requirement this year. Nothing can stop them from the invaluable learning and playing with friends and teachers that fosters their academic, social, and emotional growth.
The teachers and their PreSchool fours colleagues have also remained committed to their focus on Kindergarten preparedness. Using both the Handwriting Without Tears and the Heggerty curricula, they continue to ensure that their students are receiving individualized reading and writing instruction as they get ready to transition into Kindergarten.
Lower School: Ms. Elizabeth Feldman, Third Grade
Ms. Feldman’s third grade math class has shifted in some of their strategies this year, but “the students are moving at a steady and productive pace,” Ms. Feldman reports. Since students are not moving to different classrooms throughout the day as they typically do in order to stay in their COVID-safe pods, she has developed an effective way to teach three different levels of math to one class. By dividing the students into skill-based groups within the context of the main classroom, each child benefits from the differentiated instruction needed to advance their subject matter mastery.
Ms. Feldman adds, the students, who are masked and socially distanced, “use only their own individual ‘math bags’ of materials to avoid sharing of objects, often utilizing very different skill-appropriate techniques to solve the same math problems.” This differentiation in the classroom allows Ms. Feldman to teach and challenge students at every level and to help them continue to learn and grow so that they will be prepared for fourth grade as the seniors of the Lower School next year.
Middle School: Ms. Melyssa Manhoff, Humanities and Math
Beth Tfiloh’s Middle School teachers, such as Ms. Manhoff, are making sure their students — both those learning at BT in-person or virtually via Zoom this year — are delivering the same curriculum that they would learn during a typical school year. Classrooms are fitted with monitors so both teachers and in-person students can see students learning virtually, while those attending school in person wear masks and sit at socially-distanced desks to ensure the highest degree of safety.
“Whether we are reading historical fiction of the Revolutionary period, understanding the role of Geography in the development of societies, or mastering the computation of fractions and decimals, the partnership of administration, educators, parents, and students allows for innovation of instruction. Through the commitment of all members of the community, we face the challenges as a village, focused on the goal of growth,” says Ms. Manhoff. Our constituents’ desire to learn keeps everyone motivated and engaged in the classrooms, even though these classrooms look so different right now.
High School: Mrs. Racheli Daniel, Biology and Chemistry
Beth Tfiloh’s ninth grade Biology students and tenth grade chemistry students have continued to develop their skills despite the modifications needed to maintain safety protocols this year due to COVID. Under the skillful and creative guidance of their teacher, Mrs. Racheli Daniel, both the masked in-person students and Zoomers have been able to fully immerse themselves in their science laboratory work with socially distanced set-ups and personalized lab kits. Mrs. Daniel shares that she has “created an environment focused on safe, hands-on inquiry where my students are made to think and do in an effort to seek out the answers to their questions.”
“I am so proud of how our outstanding principals, teachers and guidance counselors have provided each of our Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School students with the rigorous academic program and supportive learning environment that our families have come to expect, while keeping our school community healthy and safe physically and emotionally,” commented Beth Tfiloh Director of Education Dr. Zipora Schorr. “Because of the changes we have put into place, the students are thriving, developing the critical skills for future success as they continue to reach their academic, social and emotional milestones.”
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