Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy

Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, 110 S Orange Ave Livingston, NJ 07039 USA

(862) 437-8000

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Inspiring Academic Excellence

JKHA Early Childhood is designed to inspire students to learn and explore new experiences in an environment that is accepting and secure.

JKHA Early Childhood is designed to engage students in different modalities of learning and strengthen their understanding of concrete and abstract concepts.

JKHA Early Childhood is designed to empower students to communicate collaboratively with their classmates and advocate for themselves.

JKHA understands that our young learners thrive in environments that provide them with an environment that builds a sense of security, joy in learning and an immersive experience into daily Jewish life, Torah learning and a love of Israel. Early Childhood classrooms are designed to have structure while still presenting opportunities for choice and problem solving. There is an emphasis on children developing their fine and gross motor skills, expressive language and a sense of community.

A hallmark of the JKHA school environment is understanding the strengths and areas of growth in each child. Classroom experiences are designed to grow and develop educational, spiritual, social and emotional skills and to partner with families to best support a child’s journey through Early Childhood.

Curriculum Overview

JKHA/RKYHS has crafted a one-of-a-kind, comprehensive curriculum guide to reflect learning goals for each grade from Early Childhood through High School as well as standards that reflect the skills for different levels of excellence. Driven by developmentally-appropriate academic expectations and differentiated assignments, materials and lessons evolve with the ever-maturing and developing student population.

EC3 Overview

JKHA's youngest learners are enriched through a stimulating environment where children have the opportunities to explore, discover and cultivate new experiences.
Students will develop a love of Torah and Jewish values, be introduced to the Hebrew and English alphabets, numbers, colors and shapes, develop their language, vocabulary and life skills and evolve socially and emotionally over the course of the year.
These critical academic and developmental milestones will be nurtured through songs, listening and re-enacting stories, painting, shared group and individual projects, as well as the use of specifically designed hands-on centers in the classroom. These centers foster opportunities for imagination, experimentation,
while also enhancing receptive and expressive language development and give our young learners the opportunity to practice and develop crucial social skills.
EC4 Overview

Our EC4 students are encouraged to explore their world as we guide them and provide them a strong foundation for future learning. Academic readiness focuses on teaching the skills necessary to learn in a classroom setting. The students begin developing phonemic awareness and familiarity with the Hebrew and English alphabets. Through stories, songs, class discussions and a print-rich environment, students learn how to use language in order to share ideas and experiences. In addition to developing language skills and fine and gross motor skills, EC4 students begin to develop number sense and early math concepts. The EC4 program focuses on the emotional, social and spiritual development of each child. Through guided play and age-appropriate lessons, the students develop a love of learning and enjoy positive experiences in school.
Our classroom model allows for and encourages integration between the Judaic and General Studies, with an emphasis on pride in Jewish identity and familiarity with ritual and tradition. Torah values are incorporated into daily instruction and activities.
Gan (Kindergarten) Overview

Our Kindergarten creates a warm, friendly atmosphere fostering learning and self-discovery. In Gan, our students have the opportunity to work both in guided play and self-selected centers as well as differentiated diverse learning groups. Students learn to work collaboratively as well as independently and take greater responsibility for their learning journey. Although guided play and center work continue to be a source of learning, students transition into more structured lessons, via both whole-class and small, developmentally-appropriate learning groups. In their Language Arts studies, Gan students hone their ability to identify sounds, blend words, develop their repertoire of high frequency words and reading comprehension. In Mathematics, students develop number sense, appropriate math vocabulary and emerging addition and subtraction skills. Science and Social Studies curricula center around hands-on experiences, making observations and self-to-world connections. All Gan students learn the skills needed to work autonomously and collaboratively in a safe classroom environment which encourages good midot and acceptance of others.
Our Gan students learn foundational content in a dynamic Jewish environment focusing on Hebrew literacy and the Jewish environment through Torah stories, Parashat haShavua, Chagim and Shabbat observance. The Hebrew program emphasizes letter recognition and sounds. As new Hebrew letters or Jewish concepts are introduced, teachers simultaneously introduce new books with related content. Students learn Torah stories through experiential learning, while holiday projects partner home and school celebrations.

Student Enrichment and Support

Marni Weinberg
Director of Student Services

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Student Enrichment

JKHA is committed to meeting the needs of each student academically to enable all learners to achieve their individual academic potential. This philosophy allows for students to work on individualized assignments during small group instruction. This model allows students to be uniquely challenged.

For our students who benefit from more challenging work, enriched activities take many forms. At times, students may develop a deeper, more sophisticated understanding of the topic of instruction. At other times, students can work on applying learned skills in real-life situations.

For students who demonstrate a uniquely high academic aptitude, JKHA offers a series of enrichment lessons in mathematics and language arts. Enrichment groups change year to year depending on the academic needs of the students.
Student Support

The JKHA Learning Center is an essential part of the Early Childhood and Lower School educational experience. Our Learning Specialists are experts in Special Education and are fully integrated within the JKHA team. We conduct regular reading assessments in both English and Hebrew for every JKHA student throughout the school year. We partner with classroom teachers, school administrators, and the guidance department to identify students who benefit from unique learning modalities. In addition, the Learning Center team meets regularly to discuss current best practices in education and to engage in professional development.

The JKHA Learning Center empowers students to achieve personal excellence by offering individualized, student-centered support. Our Learning Specialists provide supplemental and replacement academic instruction to enable students to achieve their individual academic potential. We collaborate with faculty, administrators, and families to address the learning needs and academic performance of each JKHA student. The Learning Center provides small group academic support in Kindergarten through fourth grades in the areas of English and Hebrew literacy and mathematics. Learning Center support is curriculum-based and student-centered. In the JKHA Learning Center, every student is valued for his or her unique gifts and talents.
Learning Center Communication

When your child works with the JKHA Learning Center, families can expect monthly communication from the Learning Specialist. In addition to Parent-Teacher Conferences two times a year, you will receive a monthly email detailing information specific to your child about skills being addressed, areas of growth, areas still in need of support, and what you can do at home to further support your child. Additional communication with the Learning Specialist is encouraged should any questions or concerns arise. In the JKHA Learning Center, we are here to partner with you to best support your child.
Partnership with Essex County Commission

JKHA students may receive additional academic services through the Essex Regional Educational Services Commission (ERESC). The Learning Center partners with parents, faculty, and administration to help identify students who would benefit from a free evaluation through the ERESC. Following the evaluation, students may qualify for school-based services such as supplemental academic instruction, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language therapy. We collaborate with the ERESC providers to ensure our students are receiving curriculum-based support in a collaborative environment.
Partnership with Outside Private Practices

At JKHA, students are able to receive private academic-based therapy during school hours. Outside private providers partner with the Learning Center, classroom teachers, and administrators to allow for a collaborative approach to each student’s intervention.

Social and Emotional Support

The Lower School Guidance Department is dedicated to providing individualized support to help all students reach their full potential socially, emotionally and academically. Our goal is to empower students to make positive social choices and foster developmental growth within all of our students.

The Guidance Department:

Cultivates a relationship and gets to know each and every child as an individual. Different therapeutic methods are utilized to help all children feel comfortable expressing themselves in a supportive and non - judgmental environment.
Facilitates and develops regular social skills lessons in each classroom. These programs focus on a wide range of topics that are valuable to our students as they grow; such as social skills, building friendships, managing emotions and internet safety.
Offers individual and group counseling services to provide support to students who are dealing with challenges, and to provide them with the skills and tools needed to succeed within school.
Works closely with the Lower School administration, teachers, parents and individual therapists to ensure that the needs of each student are being met and that there is a consistent plan implemented to support each child.
Provides outside referrals and other resources if necessary.