Awards and recognition highlighted at this year’s Jewish Alliance annual meeting

Emily Dennen will be the inaugural recipient of an educator’s award at the Seventh Annual Meeting of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island on Wednesday evening, June 13th. The Rabbi Alvan and Giveret Marcia Kaunfer Day School Educator Award has been established by Dianne and Martin Newman to provide $3,000 toward a professional development learning opportunity in Israel to an outstanding day school educator. 

Emily currently teaches fifth grade at the Jewish Community Day School, having formerly taught kindergarten and fourth grade there.

After graduating from Smith College with a Bachelor of Arts in Judaic Studies (and a minor in Elementary Education), she enrolled in the Delet (day school educators) program at Brandeis University, earning a master’s degree in teaching. Andrea Katzman, JCDS Head of School, notes that “Emily intentionally creates a classroom environment that is safe, respectful, and joyful … and facilitates the establishment of a just community based on Jewish values. Emily is able to recognize ‘teachable moments’ and turn them into significant learning opportunities.” She “also takes to heart Rav Heschel’s entreaty that what we need is no more textbooks but ‘text-people’ …and therefore she must intentionally exhibit the best qualities of a Jew, a learner, and a human being.”

Emily strives to incorporate more Jewish learning into her secular teaching, and to make connections between secular content and Jewish values more explicit and more hands on. Rather than referring to connections between their courses, or learning about how secular and Jewish content intersect, she hopes her professional development program in Israel will help her develop ways for students to discover and experience connections themselves.

She also plans to increase her fluency and ability to communicate with her students and colleagues in Hebrew and learn more about how Israelis celebrate holidays and life cycle events.

This award is named for two veteran day school educators in the Rhode Island community. Rabbi Alvan Kaunfer was the founding director of the school that became the Jewish Community Day School. Marcia Kaunfer, formerly a long-time teacher in that school, is a Judaic curriculum developer on the continental stage. Both are active as consultants for Jewish schools in other communities.

In addition to Emily, two other awardees will be honored that evening. The 2018 Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award will be presented to Sharon Gaines and the Joseph W. Ress Community Service Award will be presented to Rabbi Wayne Franklin. 

The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s Seventh Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 13 at 7pm. It will be preceded by a farewell party for our outgoing shlichah (Israeli emissary), Tslil Reichman, which will begin at 5:15. Both events will take place at the Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Avenue, Providence. 

For more information, please contact Gail Putnam, at 401.421.4111 x158 or GPutnam@jewishallianceri.org.