This week I spent four days at Wise School in Bel Air as a member of the WASC Visiting Committee.  The purpose of the visit was to witness first-hand the benefits of a Wise School education.  The school worked collaboratively -- administration, faculty, staff, parents, students, trustees, and lay leaders -- spending  the past 18 months preparing a self-study document which highlights their strengths and identifies their areas of growth with the goal of maximizing learning and improving instruction at their school.

As mandated by the Builders of Jewish Education, all Jewish day schools are WASC accredited.  (Weizmann received the longest allowable term of accreditation in its last accreditation cycle, in 2011.)  As heads of Jewish day schools, my colleagues and I serve on the Visiting Committees of each other's schools.  While it is a tremendous amount of work observing and writing narratives that attest to the evidence of success as outlined in the school's self-study document, it is also a tremendous source of joy and satisfaction to witness the exuberance and enthusiasm of the students, teachers, staff, and parents as they share what they love about their school.  Privileged to serve on teams at Heschel, Wise, Kadima, Beth Hillel, and Emanuel day schools, I am always impressed by the level of professionalism, commitment, and dedication I see expressed by all of the constituencies.

 The reason we as educators volunteer to serve on visiting teams, spending 16 hour days Sunday to Wednesday away from our schools and our own families, is because each and every time, no matter what type of school we visit, we witness engaging learning opportunities. As a result, we also get to bring back to our own learning communities innovative ideas to share with our stakeholders.

Next week, at our weekly staff meeting, I will share with the teachers what I gleaned from my visit to Wise. Together, we will discuss ways that we at Weizmann will continue to assess our strengths and improve our programs with the goal of maximizing student learning and instruction so that we are able to deliver an academically challenging and comprehensive education ... fostering Jewish life and a connection to Israel ... and participate in tikkun olam--making the world a better place.

Shabbat Shalom,

Lisa