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