Tuesday morning will find another long-time NAACHHS presenter, Joe Reimer, moderating a panel on "Understanding Teens." The panel will focus on many contemporary issues facing teens such as family disruption, and use of medication, especially for ADD/ADHD. Panelists will look at existing and non-existing programmatic strategies for coping with these issues in our teen population. Included on the panel will be social psychologist Amy Sales. The morning keynote will expand into sessions dealing with using data to inform practice, faith development, issues of internet and technology safety and ethics, and the legal and social work issues involved with dealing with teens. The afternoon will include a vendor fair of curricula and program models and an evening performance of John Morello's one-man experimental play "Dirt."

Wednesday will find us learning from our peers on issues such as grantwriting, recruitment and retention of both students and staff, supervision and time management.We can't wait to be there, to see all of you, to learn from the amazing presenters--and from each other--and to get re-energized for another year of work. Thanks to conference co-chairs Bess Adler and Robyn Faintich and their able committee for coming up with a conference program that speaks exactly to the issues that concern us as Community Hebrew High directors.

NAACHHS Conference Committee: Miriam Blue, Matt Diamond, Barry Gruber, Erica Hruby, Marjorie Krubiner, Mickie Targum, Beth Young, Bil Zarch.

• Hold a Shadow Night in the spring for prospective students. Arrange for current students to stay with the prospective student throughout the evening, including break. At the end of the evening have the prospective students leave class 10 minutes early and meet with the director to have their questions answered.
• Visit the 7th or 8th grade classes at the local synagogues. Bring a DVD or Power Point presentation if you have one. Tell them about your program, hand out brochures and answer questions.
• Meet with parents of prospective students. Fred Nagler at BCHSJS holds an evening meeting with parents at the congregational school after classes are over, while their teens are treated to pizza and games with the director of student life. Other schools do this in the home of a current or prospective student.
• Send a card to recent bar/bat mitzvahs with a message saying that "We know your Bar/Bat Mitzvah will be only a first step in a lifetime of Jewish learning." Include a coupon to your snack bar if you have one, with a note from a faculty member. At the same time send a letter from the Board chair wishing them mazel tov, along with some newspaper articles, answers to frequently asked questions about your program and any other appropriate information. (Idea submitted by Diane Bernbaum)
• Hold an information session for all prospective students. Distribute note cards and ask students to write down things they have heard about the program. Read these aloud and use them as an opportunity to turn the "not so positive" comments around. Have current students there to talk about their experiences and help answer questions. The program can end with a showcase from the classes and refreshments with the students.
• Send a series of postcards to prospective students-one each for several weeks-each with a different myth--and the reality--about Hebrew high schools.
• Put together a video or PowerPoint presentation to be used for recruitment presentations to parents and/or students. This could be a project done by students as an independent study or in a class. Send this DVD out with catalogues.
• Don't forget about students who didn't come in the first year after Hebrew school. It isn't too late to try to recruit them for your program.

How do you build community among the kids without sacrificing class time? Do you focus on this between classes, during break, or some other way?
Please send your responses to Dara Wood at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can also send in your ideas for FAQ's for future issues.

The FAQ, exploring questions and issues that are common concerns to the field of CHHS, will be a regular feature of "News from NAACHHS."

Claire Mikowski of Peninsula Havurah High in the Bay Area reports that the Bay Area just completed the third cohort of Shalhevet, a program for 11th and 12th graders, which combines classroom study, community service and a trip to Poland and Israel, similar to March of the Living. This year 23 students , two Holocaust survivors, a spiritual leader, a medic and two counselors learned about hundreds of years of Jewish life in Eastern Europe, visited ghettos and concentration camps, and met with teens from both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities of Warsaw. They followed the route of the Exodus to Palestine and into the land of Israel learning what Israel means to the people who immigrated after World War II. The trip was preceded by two months of classroom study, which included talks by local survivors. One highlight of the trip was seeing the reaction of one of the survivors who accompanied the group as he arrived in Israel for the first time in his life. Students are now preparing projects to deliver to their own communities and schools that will teach what they saw and learned.

This program is labor-intensive in the areas of fundraising and recruitment. The funders are a combination of Federation, foundations, private donors and synagogues. There is also a cost to parents. The recruitment happens with the help of a lay committee. There is a distinct advantage of a boutique local Poland/Israel program in that the itinerary can be tailored to the group's needs and interests.

To learn more about this program, contact Claire Mikowski at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

SAT Prep @ Midrasha

Now in its second year at Midrasha, SAT Prep, a partnership program with Princeton Review, allows students to take Princeton Review SAT prep classes at Midrasha. The program runs throughout the semester during first and second periods on Sunday mornings; students are required to take a third period class if enrolled in SAT Prep.

This program has not only helped Midrasha to retain 11th graders who might have taken the year off of Midrasha to take SAT Prep elsewhere, but it has also provided an new opportunity to reach out to non-Midrasha students.

For more information, contact Shira Garber Strosberg ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; 401-331-0956, ext. 191) at the Harry Elkin Midrasha Community High School of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Rhode Island.

Freeconferencing.liveoffice.com is a conference calling service that can accommodate calls of up to 250 participants and up to six hours. Only domestic long-distance rates (applied by each caller's long-distance carrier) apply. The host organization pays no fee. Individual participants only pay if they do not have a monthly flat fee long-distance plan. (Submitted by Trine Lustig)

Cancellations.com is a free service which helps you communicate emergency closings and other urgent messages. Recipients may choose whether to be notified via e-mail or by going to cancellations.com's website. It's easy to sign up and gives you a simple way to let your school community know about closings. (Submitted by Fred Nagler, Principal, Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies, New Jersey)

"Helpful Tips" will run periodically in News from NAACHHS, featuring ideas and services to make our jobs and lives easier. Send your ideas to Fred Nagler at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Reading Resource

From time to time, News from NAACHHS will feature books, articles or research on teen development, Jewish education and other topics of interest to CHHS principals. This issue's reading resource is Forbidden Fruit: Sex & Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers.

"Americans remain deeply ambivalent about teenage sexuality. Many presume that such uneasiness is rooted in religion. But how exactly does religion contribute to the formation of teenagers' sexual values and actions? What difference, if any, does religion make in adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors? Are abstinence pledges effective? What does it mean to be 'emotionally ready' for sex? Who expresses regrets about their sexual activity and why?

"Tackling these and other questions, Forbidden Fruit tells the definitive story of the sexual values and practices of American teenagers, paying particular attention to how participating in organized religion shapes sexual decision-making. Merging analyses of three national surveys with stories drawn from interviews with over 250 teenagers across America, Mark Regnerus reviews how young people learn-and what they know-about sex from their parents, schools, peers and other sources. He examines what experiences teens profess to have had, and how they make sense of these experiences in light of their own identities as religious, moral, and responsible persons." (Summary from amazon.com)

Have you read a book, seen a research report or noticed an article that might be of interest to your colleagues? Please send your suggestions for future reading resources to Susanne Shavelson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

News from NAACHHS is a publication by and for the members of the North American Association of Community Hebrew High Schools, with the generous support of the Legacy Heritage Fund Limited, and JESNA. For more information, contact Devorah Silverman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .