Kayley, a graduate of the Levine Academy, with a desire to continue her Jewish education in tandem with a strong General Studies program. "Yavneh's supportive environment was another pull factor for me and the school surpassed my every expectation," she said. "I really love it, and the person I've grown to be, because of its influence."

"Attending Yavneh makes it so easy to love school," said Kayley. "The curriculum is thought-provoking; I get to explore my interests with diverse extracurricular activities, and I enjoy the intersection of Judaic and secular material."

"Kayley is one of those students that teachers cannot wait to teach," said Associate Principal/Judaic Programming, Naomi Schrager. "She is motivated, bright, inquisitive, thoughtful and spunky. She approaches all new material with an incredible charisma and wants to understand it from different angles before moving on."

"I greatly admire Kayley's thirst for knowledge and commitment to intellectual integrity. She is always eager to learn new perspectives and she is willing to challenge her own viewpoints and opinions in light of new ideas." 

Accepted to Texas A&M, the University of Georgia, University of Texas/Plan II Honors, and Vanderbilt University, Kayley, has so appreciated her own education, and the teachers with whom she has studied, plans to major in Cognitive Studies, at Vanderbilt, hoping to one day be a teacher. A participant in Yavneh's Students4Students mentoring program, she is comfortable at a desk assisting a child with their math homework, or cuddled in a cubicle for reading support.

"You have to know how to read because it makes you smart," said one of Kayley's "friends" at Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet. "I like when Miss Kayley helps me because she's really nice and she makes it lots of fun."

  In addition to her supportive teachers and the staff at Yavneh, Kayley will long hold tight to the relationships she made and fostered while in high school. "I love my friends! We always support each other, collaborate often and look past little things to avoid drama," she said. "Whenever I feel burnt out, or down, I know I'll feel better after talking with one of them and they know they can come to me, too."

Kayley, a member of BBYO's Wadel chapter, served four terms on the chapter's board. She was a Gerald Klein/Jewish Family Service Intern, servicing the children of Bea's Kids. She is a two-time finalist with the Dallas Library Express Yourself Poetry Contest, and a recipient of a Scholastic Art & Writing SW Regional Gold Key Award. A devoted Camp Young Judaea camper - she's worked as a CIT and looks forward to returning this year as a counselor.   

Tapped by Dr. Cloward as a "poster child for extracurricular activity involvement," Kayley has participated in Mock Trial, Music Ensemble, Theatre, Students4Students, Lady Bulldog Soccer, as a reporter for The Bulldog Print, and as a Student Ambassador.

  Kayley has served near and far, giving her passport a workout.  She's visited Brazil, on an international peace and cultural exchange program through the Children's International Summer Villages, also representing our community on a summer trip to Hungary and Israel, a participant, on the  Jewish Agency for Israel sponsored Partnership With Israel Tri-Teen Summer Program, based at Camp Szarvas.

A Dallas native, Kayley is the daughter of Shani and Jeff and the sister of Serina '15 and Zac '15. A member of Congregation Anshai Torah, Kayley is an assistant in CAT's second grade Sunday School class. "I love that I'm giving positive Jewish experiences and knowledge to potential community leaders," said Kayley. "I love that my parents made a Jewish education a priority for us. I believe that by attending Levine and Yavneh, I am more cognizant of the richness of our religion and our culture."

With a smile as vivid as sunshine, a depth as intent as can be, and a heart as beautiful as the tunes she plays on the piano or her ukulele, Kayley's future, and that of the students, and all others, she will touch, will be bright.