Allyson’s Birthday Campaign

I learned about Hebrew Public about four years ago, by attending the organization’s annual Broadway benefit.  After hearing the founding chair’s comments, I emailed her asking to visit the school in Harlem, and after that, I wanted to see more, so she took me to see Hebrew Language Academy in Brooklyn.

What makes this organization special is that the schools are diverse by design, they welcome all students who get rigorous public school education, learn Hebrew as second language and study all about Israel. As a school counselor and social worker by training, I have experience working in public and charter schools, and I can tell you that the vigorous, happy, and child-centered learning environment that is evident at Hebrew Public schools is so rare to find.

One thing that I found especially appealing about this school is the students’ diversity – a quality not found in many public or charter schools in our city. With everything that is happening in the world today, I know that our work to bring together students and families from different backgrounds is so important. With this, our students are able to develop genuine cross-cultural understanding and empathy, and hopefully will be able to contribute in some way to a world where things like recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut never happen.