Important Announcement:
Starting in June 2007, the national DeLeT program will continue as two independent programs, one at Brandeis University and one at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in Los Angeles. Fellows are placed at schools either in the Greater Boston area, or in the Los Angeles or San Francisco Bay areas. While each program has distinct features, both programs share common elements including a yearlong mentored internship, work in core general and Judaic subjects, and a commitment to curricular integration.

For inquiries about or to apply to DeLeT at the
Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR in LA,
click here, email rbendaniel@huc.edu, or call 213-765-2190

For inquiries about or to apply to DeLeT at Brandeis,
click here, email delet@brandeis.edu, or call 781-736-2022

In the past 20 years Jewish day schools have become one of the fastest growing institutions on the American Jewish landscape. The increase in the number of Jewish day schools has created a need for more and better-trained teachers.

Responding to this need, venture philanthropist Laura Lauder founded DeLeT (Day School Leadership Through Teaching). She invited Professor Sharon Feiman-Nemser at Brandeis University and Professor Michael Zeldin at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion to create a state-of-the-art program to prepare day school teachers, and she assembled a group of generous and creative philanthropists to support this innovative effort.

Between 2001-02, the two campuses formed partnerships with local day schools and developed a unique 13-month teacher education program to foster core knowledge, skills and commitments needed for effective day school teaching. During the first five years, DeLeT extended its mission to include recruitment, preparation, induction, retention and ongoing support of new day school teachers.

Dr. Jane West Walsh served as Executive Director, and was responsible for recruiting DeLeT fellows for the first five years of the program.

By June 2007, the two DeLeT programs will have prepared 78 day school teachers. DeLeT alumni have become accomplished teacher-leaders in Jewish day schools across the country.

In 2007, after five successful years, DeLeT will continue independently at the two sites, as a distinctive program to prepare elementary teachers for Jewish day schools.

• For more information about DeLeT at Brandeis, click here.
• For more information about DeLeT at the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR in LA, click here.