18 | MAY 28 • 2020
HILLEL DAY SCHOOL
The teachers in grades K-4
at Hillel Day School of
Farmington Hills use an
asynchronized model, which
means they record lessons
of themselves and post them
online for students to watch
on their own time using a
platform called Seesaw. They
also hold class meetings on
Monday mornings through
Zoom.
Elizabeth Emmer, K-4
math curriculum coordinator
and 1-2 grades general studies
teacher, records her lessons
two or three times a week and
then follows the lesson with
an activity that her students
can do then post to Seesaw.
“My students have tried
their best to accomplish
their work. On our Monday
morning meetings, we always
encourage our students to try
their best and keep their same
goals as they would normally
have in school,” Emmer said.
“We also do weekly Facetimes
with our students to check in
on them, listen to them read
to us and practice something
they might need help on.”
Emmer and the rest of the
teachers at Hillel understand
if something doesn’
t get done
on time because they know
that every family has differ-
ent schedules, and they don’
t
want to add more stress to
families during this time.
“We are trying to push out
the best teaching and learn-
ing that we can get at this
time because, obviously, it is
a lot different than being in
the classroom, but we don’
t
want that to get in our way,”
Emmer said. “We miss our
students, but we are so proud
of them and all the work they
are doing at home. We know
it is challenging, but we con-
tinue to encourage them and
give them praise so they can
feel successful in their work
from home and keep their
motivation going.”
“We miss our students, but we
are so proud of them and all the
work they are doing at home.”
— ELIZABETH EMMER
Elizabeth Emmer
continued from page 16
Jews in the D
Book Drive
Groves student is collecting books
for kids in Detroit.
C
ooper Schoenberg, 15,
has been a volunteer
with Detroit’
s Northwest
Activity Center for three years.
“I’
d go there once a week to help
kids with their homework, with
reading and other extra learn-
ing activities,
” said the rising
junior at Groves High School in
Birmingham. While there, he
learned how important it was
for kids to have access to books.
He was inspired to take action.
Schoenberg, also a member
of the Jewish Fund Teen Board,
is spearheading a book drive
to benefit Brilliant Detroit,
which offers a new approach
to kindergarten readiness and
a unique delivery model for
early childhood development in
Detroit. Brilliant Detroit creates
early child and family centers in
neighborhoods homes, provid-
ing year-round programming
and services for children up to
age 8.
“With schools and libraries
currently closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, many
people have been cut off from
access to books,
” Schoenberg
said. “My goal is to get books
into the homes of as many fam-
ilies served by Brilliant Detroit
as possible so children can keep
up their reading skills during
the summer months.
”
Schoenberg is accepting
donations of new and gently
used books for infants on up to
8-year-olds. “Everything from
picture books to easy chapter
books,
” he said.
This isn’
t his first book drive.
For his Temple Israel bar mitz-
vah project, he hosted a book
drive to benefit Beyond Basics,
another literacy-focused non-
profit.
To prevent the spread of
coronavirus, he lets donated
books sit for five days before he
prepares them for delivery and
another five days before ship-
ping them to Brilliant Detroit.
This is his first partnership
with the group. “We are grateful
to Cooper for his invaluable
assistance with our organi-
zation, especially during this
time,
” said Cindy Eggleton,
co-founder and CEO of
Brilliant Detroit.
Eggleton hopes that his book
drive will offer a new, wide
array of books and stories for
the children of the Brilliant
Detroit families.
Schoenberg lives in
Birmingham with his parents,
Karen and Jeff, and two young-
er twin sisters. He likes reading
and just finished the classic
Catcher in the Rye. He said he’
s
looking forward to collecting
books and the end of the stay-
at-home order so he can once
again hang out with his
friends.
Schoenberg is accepting drop-offs and
offering to do pick-ups of books. Email
him at cschoenberg123@gmail.com or
direct message the Instagram page set
up for the book drive
@detroit_book_drive to make arrange-
ments.
JACKIE HEADAPOHL ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Cooper Schoenberg
with some of
the books he’
s
collected.
COURTESY OF CATALYST MEDIA FACTORY