December 10th, 2012
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November 7th, 2012
Team Schusterman will be on the ground at this year’s Jewish Federation of North America’s General Assembly, and we hope to see you! Below is a list of just some of the places you will find us, ROIers and REALITY community members.
We especially hope you will join us:
- Sunday night (9:30-10:30pm) for the Keshet Reception for LGBTQ Jews, Family, Friends and Allies, where we will be introducing the Jewish Organization Equality Index;
- Monday morning (10:45-12:30pm) for the Tikkun Olam Mini Conference, during which CLSPN President Sandy Cardin will be speaking with Ashoka Founder Bill Drayton; and
- Monday night (6:00-7:30pm) for the B’More Schmooze —drinks, snacks and networking on us!
If you have any additions you’d like to make to the schedule below, please email Jen Keys at jen@roicommunity.org. Read More »
November 5th, 2012
From Johannesburg to Jerusalem and many places in between, we have had the privilege of meeting with young Jewish adults all around the world this year who are fueling our optimism about the Jewish future. They are left wing, right wing, straight, gay, religious, secular, from big cities and small towns. But where some might see divisions and irreconcilable differences, these young people see potential for partnerships, for building bridges, for working together to contribute to the global Jewish community and to the world at large.
Indeed, each encounter further confirmed our belief that to be most effective in creating a vibrant Jewish future, we need to put young people—not our organizations, programs or egos—at the center of the relationships, experiences and networks we are supporting.
Herewith, some of the highlights … Read More »
November 1st, 2012
Along with much of the country right now, I am captivated by the commentary surrounding the upcoming election—with sharper lines drawn between the parties’ most ardent followers and a seemingly ever-narrower space for thoughtful discussion. Despite the constant cacophony of pundits and public figures arguing over who is winning and who is losing on any particular day (which—I admit—I read voraciously), I am struck by the deafening silence on the issue I consider most critical: the core values we as a country believe should drive how we make decisions.
“Values” is a loaded term, especially when it comes to politics and religion. Too often co-opted by those on the extremes and ceded by those in the center, it becomes code for where one stands on abortion, same sex marriage and other hot-button issues. The effect is that thoughtful debate guided by a framework of clearly articulated values is subjugated to posturing and sound bites—and leaders focused more on declaring who they stand against rather than what they stand for.
Many exceptional individuals counter this prevailing norm, explicitly applying values to their leadership. Read More »
July 26th, 2012
Apparently we aren’t the only ones who think the 70 Teach For America corps members currently in Israel on the REALITY Israel Experience are noteworthy. Several media outlets in Israel and abroad are tracking their journey. Here are just a few to get you started—we will continue to keep you updated! Oh, and be sure to check out the photos on Flickr!
July 23rd, 2012
In 2008, as an undergrad at Columbia University, George Stern taught teen inmates at Rikers Jail in New York as part of his coursework for a class on the U.S. prison system. In response to an assignment he gave his students, one teen wrote about his fear of not being able to find a job and returning to a life of dealing drugs.
For George, it was a defining moment in which he knew he wanted to play a role in reforming an education system that he believed was failing high-need students. Soon after, he joined Teach For America and became a math teacher at Harrison High School in Colorado Springs, CO.
This week, along with more than 70 of his fellow Teach For America corps members, George is traveling in Israel on a 12-day leadership development program supported by our Foundation and the Samberg Foundation, in partnership with Teach For America. As participants on REALITY Israel, they will explore Israel through a service and education lens and engage in self-reflection and learning. Read More »
July 13th, 2012
70 U.S. EDUCATORS IN ISRAEL TO EXPLORE LEADERSHIP, EDUCATION SYSTEM
REALITY Israel brings Teach For America corps members to meet with Israeli educators and activists; program expanding to include educators from global Teach For All network
July 17-29, 2012
JERUSALEM – July 15, 2012—On July 17, 70 U.S. educators will visit Israel as part of a leadership development program designed to deepen their commitment to education reform and service. They will explore alternative models of education and methods of approaching complex societal challenges, including how Israeli schools address issues of co-existence, religion and minority populations.
As part of their 12-day experience, they will meet with leading Israeli educators and social entrepreneurs, including Einat Wilf, Member of Knesset (Parliament) and Chair of its Education, Sports and Culture Committee, as well as Nir Tzuk, Managing Director of Ashoka Israel. They will also be introduced to trailblazing Israeli initiatives such as The Center for Educational Technology.
The educators are participating in the REALITY Israel program, supported by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the Samberg Family Foundation, in partnership with Teach For America. They are all part of Teach For America, the national nonprofit that recruits and trains outstanding individuals of all academic disciplines to commit two years to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational inequity. While in Israel, they will meet with their counterparts in Teach First Israel, a similar program that launched in 2010 and now has 143 teachers working in 33 schools across Israel.
“These inspiring young leaders are among those powering the education reform movement that is sweeping our country and our world,” said Lynn Schusterman, Chair of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network, which includes the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation. “REALITY enables them to learn from each other while challenging them to build their leadership skills and examine the values that drive their commitment to creating change in their communities, in the Jewish world and beyond.”
Now in its fourth year, REALITY Israel has brought more than 200 Teach For America educators to Israel. As part of this unique program, corps members explore Israel through a service and education lens, as well as engage in self-reflection and learning. Among those participating in the 2012 REALITY Israel experience are:
- Amy Berkhoudt, a high school English and journalism teacher in Detroit, who worked with the Detroit Youth Food Brigade to pair high school students with local businesses and urban farms in the area. The daughter of immigrants, Amy was the first in her family to attend and graduate from college.
- Katherine Hagan, an 8th grade teacher in Las Vegas who is launching an arts camp for at-risk students with funding from Downtown Project, an organization started by Tony Hsieh—founder of Zappos, the world’s largest online shoe store—to revitalize Las Vegas.
- Nina Safene, who co-founded Colorado’s first single-gender public school—Girls Athletic Leadership School in Denver—where she now works as the school’s Response to Intervention Coordinator.
- George Stern, a high school teacher in Colorado, who previously taught at Rikers Island Jail in New York.
For most participants in the REALITY program, it is their first visit to Israel, and the impact of the experience has proven to be profound. According to the REALITY Israel Experience: An Impact Study, the program strengthens the link between participants’ values and passion for public service. They also gain a deeper understanding of key Jewish concepts, a stronger connection to the Jewish community and powerful insights about their leadership capacities and potential.
“Israel is a classroom for people who want to learn about leadership in the face of extreme challenges,” said Andrew Mandel, Teach For America’s Vice President of Special Projects. “Many of the social justice challenges Israel faces mirror those in the U.S., and our participants get the opportunity to grapple with how best to address those complex issues.”
According to Mandel, what began with REALITY is spreading to the entire Teach For America network. “It’s an incubator for new ideas and has opened the door for us to do more reflective programming with our corps members, professional staff and students,” he said.
Several REALITY participants have already begun implementing programming for their students that allows them to reflect upon what it means to be a leader. Daniel Sass, a teacher and head soccer coach at Digital Harbor High School in Baltimore, Md., is one such an example. After participating on the 2011 REALITY trip, during which he met a teacher working with refugee students in the Golan Heights, Sass recognized a parallel with his own work—a large number of his students were also refugees from Ethiopia, Iraq, Nepal, Sudan, Somalia and Tanzania, among other countries.
“The same cultural, ethnic and religious diversity that moved me in Israel was now presenting itself in the form of my varsity soccer team, and I was given the task of making them coexist as teammates,” Sass said. “It took me by surprise and forced me to reexamine the needs of the community in which I teach.”
In doing so, Sass became involved with an organization that uses soccer as a platform for dialogue and education in its work with marginalized youth. Today, in addition to teaching, Sass coaches Baltimore’s under-18 soccer team, all 20 of whom are refugees. Sass credits REALITY and his experience in Israel with inspiring him to take on the role.
Building on its success, REALITY is expanding to include two new Israel-based programs that will launch in the next year. REALITY Global will be geared to corps members in the global Teach For All network, a collection of independent social enterprises working to expand educational opportunities in more than 30 countries. REALITY Pro will offer an Israel-based experience for Teach For America professionals with affiliations and interests in Jewish life.
“Our goal is to help exceptional people see leadership through a values-rich framework,” said Adam Simon who, as Associate National Director of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, directs REALITY. “We are exploring how we can expand this model to help build a network of leaders who act on deeply held values to enact positive social change and, where relevant, to lead richer, more meaningful Jewish lives.”
The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the REALITY suite of programs are part of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Philanthropic Network, a global network of philanthropic initiatives focused on igniting the power in young people to create change for themselves, in the Jewish community and across the broader world. CLSPN also includes the Schusterman Foundation-Israel and ROI Community.
For more information about REALITY Israel, please visit www.realityexperience.org.
Contact:
Sara Averick, Israel: 052-867-4966 or sara@leadstoryplus.com
Jose Rosenfeld, Israel: 052-287-7646 or jose@leadstoryplus.com
Roben Smolar, USA: 202-289-7000, ext 6 or rkantor@schusterman.org
Abram Shanedling, USA: 202-250-6158 or abram@dershowitzgroup.com
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July 6th, 2012
Andrew Schramm is an alumna of the REALITY Israel Experience, which takes Teach For America corps members on a 12-day trip to Israel to explore educational models and the values that drive their professional aspirations and commitment to social justice. Earlier this year Andrew participated in a reunion for members of the REALITY community that was held in Los Angeles. He shares his reflections on one particular aspect of the experience: a society simulation exercise—also known as SIMSOC—designed to highlight inequalities that exist in society and how groups with access to different resources interact with one another.
We were frantic, panicked and without resources. The 20 of us were huddled in a small, hot room with no ventilation and the tension rose as we tried to figure out how we would pay to eat that afternoon, how we would survive.
The stress of determining how we could meet our needs felt real, despite the knowledge in the back of our minds that this was a simulation and we would return to normalcy at the end of the day. For people actually facing hunger on daily basis, though, there is no end in sight and that discomfort and stress is exponentially greater, which was a sobering lesson. Read More »
April 18th, 2012
As we commemorate the great losses suffered during the Holocaust this Yom Hashoah, we share with you a thoughtful reflection from Natalie Perach, an alumna of the 2011 REALITY Israel Experience for Teach For America corps members program. In December, Natalie used a Make It Happen Project micro grant for REALITY Israel alumni to travel to Poland and Budapest on a trip sponsored by the Jewish Resource Center at the University of Michigan. Having lost family members in the Holocaust, Natalie wanted to explore the vibrancy of Jewish life as it once was, the magnitude of the loss and the seeds of rebirth.
“You’re a sick man,” a member of the trip said to Tzvi, our England born, Israel-residing tour guide, half jokingly, half trying to break the nervous energy that grasped our group. “Scheduling a trip into Treblinka at eleven thirty at night on New Year’s Eve. You’re a sick man.”
Rabbi Lynn (the leader of our trip), passing nearby, overhead my remark. “Welcome to hell,” he commented.
Hell it was. And hell it is. Read More »