The pilot phase of The Lookstein Center Remote Teacher Program has just been successfully launched.
In partnership with the Avi Chai Foundation which is funding this pilot project, The Lookstein Center locates outstanding faculty for schools lacking appropriate teachers, hiring appropriate, high quality, first-rate teachers from Israel who will fulfill the needs of the school and teach the class.
The teacher, located in Israel, sets up videoconferencing software on his or her home or work computer, and gives the lesson from there. The class, thousands of miles away, sets up a screen, projector and a videoconferencing camera – and participates fully, in real time. All that is needed in the class is an adult or teacher’s assistant to supervise decorum and take care of technical issues if necessary. The online teachers, who are American trained, are fully responsible for all aspects of teaching the class, including homework and tests when appropriate.
Three schools in Vancouver, British Columbia; Phoenix, Arizona; and Birmingham, Alabama are taking full advantage of this revolutionary service twice a week – with six more schools scheduled to join next year. So far, the fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth grades are learning Prophets, Writings and Prayer from their Israeli teachers. Due to the quick and growing success, the Center is looking into the possibility of developing a similar program in schools in the former Soviet Union.
