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People To People from page 12

strengthen the bonds between the partner-
ship regions," Zucker said.

Behind The Scenes

To help Michigan and Israel young adults
connect, Michigan P2G helps support costs
and programming for TALMA teachers as
well as their Israeli teaching peers from the
Central Galilee and other young Detroiters
living in the Jewish state.
The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit taps its Annual Campaign alloca-
tion to P2G to support English Summer
School and English language education in
general. For 2014-15, Federation allocated
$635,000 for P2G. Federation also arranged
for new English books to be donated to
P2G schools. It is encouraging local Israel
mission-goers and b'nai mitzvah students
(for their community service projects) to
donate books as well.
English Summer School will be mea-
sured by how well students test in their
grasp of, and their willingness to converse
in, English. Israeli kids can't become
Israeli campers at Oakland County-based
Tamarack Camps without proficiency in
English. English skills also help determine
placement in the Israel Defense Forces.
Later, such skills enhance university studies
and career planning.
The bonds P2G has built between the
Central Galilee and Jewish Detroit are rein-
forced every time a Jewish Detroit agency,
synagogue or community partner group
travels to Israel. That's because Federation
often arranges for mission-goers to enjoy
time in the Central Galilee to bond with
the region and build friendships there.
Such an opportunity, including home hos-
pitality, has been a highlight of the Israel
missions I've joined.
Having our young adults mix with
Israeli peers as teachers at English Summer
School in the Central Galilee is indeed a
fine example of augmenting Michigan-
Israel young adult engagement.

On the Periphery
The Central Galilee is located in Israel's
north.
"There, like Detroit,
financial and human
resources are often more
limited than in areas
such as Tel Aviv in the
center of the country,"
said Michigan P2G co-
chair Betsy Heuer of
Betsy Heuer
West Bloomfield.
So it's more difficult to attract and retain
young adults, top educators, physicians and
other professionals there, she said.
"Less English is spoken in the periphery
and there is a large population of olim
[immigrants] in the region, where Hebrew
is not even their first language," she said.
"These factors combined to create a situa-
tion where English language education in
the schools was not really working:'
In 2006, P2G and its three municipalities

14

September 18 • 2014

as well as the Ministry of Education and
the Rashi Foundation partnered to create
an umbrella English language program in
the Central Galilee. Today, the program
serves nearly 4,000 students in 31 schools,
grades 4-12.
In the early years, Federation, in con-
junction with its partners, helped advance
teacher hiring, development and support.
Weaker students received supplementary
instruction as well as other services.
The English language program con-
tinues to change and improve. Its newest
component, English Summer School,
dovetails into Israel's movement toward
year-round school.

A Fruitful Notion
Tova Dorfman, who
previously headed the
Detroit Federation's
Israel office, advanced
the prospect of English
I
ti i Summer School as a
way to add to the teach-
ing of English in Israeli
Tova Dorfman
schools. She was instru-
mental in developing Michigan P2G.
Today, she's a consultant to our Federation
on Israel and overseas matters. With
foundation funders on board, she
approached the Ministry of Education,
which gave a thumbs-up to English
Summer School.
Dorfman, who lives near Tel Aviv,
called the pilot "very successful:'
"We really feel confident the kids got a
basic understanding of English," she said.
"We'll do intensive evaluation of their
retention level:'
Dorfman loves that English Summer
School resonated beyond the classroom:
"We had a song contest where the kids
learned songs in English. Each school
competed against another. Close to 1,400
parents and grandparents in Nazareth Illit
and Migdal HaEmek came out. It proved a
great way to involve municipal communi-
ties in the education process:'
English Summer School will return to
the Central Galilee next year and may be
expanded to Jerusalem. The future might
see Jewish Detroit young adults spending
a year in the Central Galilee to co-teach
English and do onsite teacher training.
Dorfman is aglow with English immer-
sion ideas and is eager to share them.
As she put it: "In Israel, learning
English is a tool for life. Without it, you
are at a distinct disadvantage:'
The Detroit Federation's investment
in English Summer School is prudent as
long as evaluation findings confirm an
excitement among the Israeli kids to learn
and speak English. They are the program's
true torchbearers.
That's a wonderful trans-Atlantic pros-
pect as we welcome the High Holidays of
5775. L'shanah tovah tikateivu. May you
and yours be inscribed in the book of life
this new year.

i))

❑

Detroiter Molly Goldsmith with fourth-graders at Natofa School in Nazareth Illit

B

y teaching English in the
Central Galilee this past sum-
mer, Molly Goldsmith, 21, said
she developed a strong, more-grounded
connection to Israel and its people.
"There was a palpable anxiety sur-
rounding the Israel-Hamas war," the
Michigan State University senior said.
"People worried for their friends and
family who were called up for reserve
duty. We swapped rumors about Hamas'
military capability. Nobody knew how
long the operation was going to last or
what it would cost:'
Despite all of that, life continued.
Said Goldsmith: "We went to work. We
drank endless cups of coffee. We joked
with our coworkers and took weekend
trips to Jerusalem, Haifa and Tiberias.
Conflict didn't define our trip just as it

doesn't define Israel life:'
Goldsmith, a Berkley High School
graduate, is from Huntington Woods. She
has visited Israel five times now, includ-
ing spending a spring semester in 2010
at Ramah Jerusalem High School. She'd
like to become a professor of writing and
rhetoric.
The inaugural TALMA summer will
be remembered for the dedication of the
leadership and the courage of the U.S.
and Israeli teachers to try something new.
"I now have a deeper understanding
of the Israeli education system,"
Goldsmith said, "and how both students
and educators can empower themselves
from just three weeks of dedicated
teaching:' ❑

— Robert Sklar

TALMA's Lo cal Lineup

L

fisted below are Jewish Detroit's
2014 participants in TALMA/The
Israel Program for Excellence in
English. TALMA operates in schools
in Israel's Central Galilee, Michigan
Jewry's partner region.
• Erica Broder, West Bloomfield,
University of Michigan, junior.
• Danielle Gittleman, Bloomfield
Hills, Michigan State University,
spring 2014 graduate.
• Molly Goldsmith, Huntington
Woods, Michigan State University,
senior.
• Allison Kramer, West Bloomfield,
Michigan State University, senior.
• Sean Martin, Oakland Township,
Oakland University; junior status but
not currently enrolled.

• Amanda Segal, West Bloomfield,
Oakland University, 2009 graduate
working toward a Master of Arts
degree.
• Julia Simon, West Bloomfield,
Michigan State University, junior.
• Abigail Soble, Farmington Hills,
Michigan State University, spring
2014 graduate.
• Noah Zucker, West Bloomfield,
Grand Valley State University-
Allendale, spring 2014 graduate.
For information about the 2015
application process, contact Lori
Davidson-Mertz, senior associate,
Israel & Overseas Department,
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit: mertz@jfmd.org , 248-203-
1493.

❑

