Rivkah Isaacs Appointed JEC Director of Early Childhood
Elizabeth—The Jewish Educational Center of Elizabeth named Rabbi Uzi Beer the new Principal of its Yeshiva Elementary School division and Morah Rivkah Isaacs Director of Early Childhood Education.
“Rabbi Beer represents a strong and vibrant future,” said JEC Board President Dr. Steve Singfer. “Working with the best faculty and staff in Jewish education, he will lead a renaissance and expansion of a school with a 75-year legacy of achievement and distinction.”
Rabbi Beer, who is a JEC parent and a resident of Springfield, NJ’s vibrant Jewish community, brings over a decade of distinction to his new role. He has served as Yeshivat Noam’s assistant principal for the past five years. “I am humbled by this opportunity,” he said. “Working together with the incredible parents, faculty and students, we will bring the Yeshiva of Elizabeth into the future.”
Already known for its robust STEM education programs, the JEC, together with Rabbi Beer will more broadly integrate cutting-edge technologies into the classroom to deliver a fully immersive interdisciplinary educational experience.
“While robotics, coding, and 3-D printing are viewed as their own fields, they can be even more powerful when used as tools to help teach everything from science and math to history and art, and even Tanach, Gemara and Halacha,” explained Beer.
In selecting Beer from a diverse pool of international candidates, the JEC confirmed that the match reinforced a shared vision of Jewish education.
“The Yeshiva of Elizabeth and Rabbi Beer share a core educational philosophy that collaborates with parents and recognizes individual student strengths, warmly motivating each child to achieve their maximum potential,” said Daniella Hoffer, a JEC Board Member and parent who co-chaired the Search Committee.
“Together we share a vision of education through positive role modeling for students,” she said. “Rabbi Beer and the JEC also see faculty investment and professional development as necessities that enables great faculty to excel even further.”
Rabbi Beer will be joined by Morah Rivkah Isaacs who was named the Yeshiva’s new Director of Early Childhood Education. Morah Isaacs comes to the JEC from the Clifton Cheder where she ran the early childhood department with distinction for nearly a decade.
“The addition of Morah Isaacs to the JEC family is incredible,” said Singfer. “We are adding an experienced, talented and caring leader to a top-rate program with the most dedicated and skilled faculty.”
Morah Isaacs will further strengthen and expand an early childhood program that already has a long reputation of preparing the youngest students to embrace all that life has to offer.
“Great early childhood departments often feel like one large family,” said Morah Isaacs. “I am very happy to have been so warmly welcomed into the JEC’s family.”
As the new Director of Early Childhood Education, Morah Isaacs will, “Work with the outstanding faculty at the JEC to deliver a progressive curriculum that develops student skills in a manner tailored to suit each student’s unique way of learning,“ Isaacs explained. “Our goal is to make pre-school fun, engaging, warm and educational, while preparing for the transition from pre-school to elementary school.”
The new hires come as the JEC prepares to celebrate its 75th Anniversary with a gala dinner at Metlife Stadium on Wednesday, May 18, 2016.
“When my father z’l founded the JEC in 1941 he was a pioneer and leader in the field of Jewish education,” said Rav Elazar Meir Teitz, Dean of the Jewish Educational Center and Rav HaIr of Elizabeth, NJ. “It gives me great joy to see the legacy of creativity, innovation and fidelity to Torah continue.”
“The JEC has hundreds of students and thousands of alumni drawn from Jewish communities around the world. We already have many three-generation JEC families and are looking forward to warmly welcoming the first fourth-generation students in the years to come along with the many new faces that join our family each year.”
