“Special Sauce”
In 1975, McDonald’s put out a series of commercials to entice customers to buy their Big Mac. The promo listed all the ingredients, including its “special sauce.” Of course, the buzz around the special sauce gave them a competitive advantage against Burger King’s Whopper. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “This is an awfully strange opening from a Jewish day school Head,” but stick with me. There’s a connection.
What makes teaching and learning at EHS different from a public school down the road? The first answer is obvious — we are a Jewish day school. The more nuanced difference is how we foster a love of learning that can be seen across all subject areas and grades. It’s why EHS students always look forward to coming to school each day. And it is how they are such confident public speakers from such a young age. It is our special sauce. It has two main ingredients: EHS teachers and small class sizes which are the best recipe for student engagement and achievement.
How important are teachers now that Claude and his twin Chat GPT can create lessons with a few detailed sentences and one click? Very important. No matter how great the lesson may be, AI cannot create a classroom community where students are motivated, independent, and caring. This only happens when a teacher knows each student so well that they are working on individualized assignments. This only happens when a teacher has created a classroom culture that encourages and reinforces inquiry and appreciation for others and their interests. This only happens when students and teachers have a strong bond of trust and admiration. Walk the hallways and visit classrooms at EHS and you will hear and see all of this through the questions students ask, the answers they give, and the gleam in their eyes as they participate.
EHS teachers are passionate about the subjects they teach and their students. They teach with creativity, spark, and intentionality. They are supported, respected, and encouraged to be learners and collaborators. EHS teachers are connected to one another and to the leadership team who are there to listen and brainstorm. Did you know that teachers meet with Sarah Boland (EHS Director of Curriculum and Instruction) twice a month to review curricular goals, and discuss individual student growth? They meet with Natalie Maryansky (EHS Director of Student Services & School Counselor) twice a month to support students’ social growth and build a strong classroom community. And teachers meet with me once a month to talk about classroom culture and their own professional development. Our faculty and staff turnover rate is so low because no other school can offer this type of environment for teaching and learning. This is not what you find down the street in your local public school.
What else do you find down the street? Much larger classes. When it comes to learning, our small classes provide more opportunities for students to come up to the Smartboard to show their work and answer questions; they have more opportunities to share their opinions and insights in a class discussion; they have more opportunities to practice classroom jobs like greeter, chazan (prayer leader), and calendar helper. Our students have more opportunities to take risks and try new things in the safety of the classroom community which feels like a family. For teachers, it means more time to individualize assignments and projects, and more time to focus on each student’s potential. Small classrooms equals more academic attention. And when it comes time for socialization, EHS students interact with children from other classes when it’s time to play— recess, lunch, PE, buddy activities, and Jewish holiday celebrations. There are plenty of opportunities each day to be part of a larger social cohort.
So the next time you meet someone who asks you about EHS, tell them about our “special sauce” and invite them to attend one of our events, take a tour, join our after school program, and check out the EHS difference.
