The Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford (SSDS) has received a grant to strengthen its Hebrew Language curriculum to enhance the Hebrew fluency of its students from an anonymous foundation.

Through the school’s newly launched Enhancing Hebrew Fluency at Schechter Project, SSDS Hebrew Language faculty will engage in a course of professional development and create new curricular materials to support learning in the classroom. Teachers will work with the experts from Hebrew at the Center, a cutting edge institution that is engaged in revolutionizing the effectiveness of teaching and learning Hebrew in educational settings.

“As a Jewish Day School, Schechter is committed to the teaching of Hebrew as the language of the Jewish people, past, present and future,” said Head of School Rabbi Elliot Goldberg. “Fluency in Hebrew opens up pathways for students to connect to the canonical texts of our tradition, modern literature, and, most importantly, their brothers and sisters in Israel.”

During the three years of the grant, the school will focus upon developing new materials and instructional strategies in kindergarten, first and second grades. As the new curriculum takes root, the focus will shift to enhancing the curriculum for grades 3 through 8.

SSDS Hebrew teacher and project coordinator Ziva Kovner

“Our goal is to increase the degree of fluency our students possess as they graduate from our school,” said Hebrew teacher and project coordinator Ziva Kovner. “We are excited about the high quality teacher training that we will receive from our consultants from Hebrew at the Center.  We look forward to integrating what we learn from them into our classrooms.”

In addition to the grant, the school has received funding for the program from alumnus and current trustee Ben Zachs, and alumni parents Susan and Alan Solinsky and Jessica and Eric Zachs.