Have you ever thought about the world in which your child will live and work?

Children who enter kindergarten in 2021 will graduate high school as the Class of 2033. They will be building successful careers as they reach their mid 30s in 2055. There will be technology, jobs, industries and challenges that don't exist today. How will your child’s education prepare them for their future?

That is the heart of our mission at Pardes Jewish Day School — to provide a dynamic secular and Judaic education that is relevant for today’s learners in anticipation of tomorrow’s realities. To prepare us for this challenge, we're implementing the Pardes Innovation Initiative.

We’re reimagining the education experience.

Perspective

We’re developing curious, forward-thinking learners who are confident, engaged, and equipped for the future. While learning outcomes are important it is the process that is the focus—developing academic skills, character qualities, and moral and ethical reasoning skills. Students are encouraged and supported as they try new things, take risks, and embrace a growth mindset.

Pedagogy

We’re infusing technology, Judaics and the arts into our teaching methods and practices, with a focus on concepts such as STEAM, Project-Based Learning, and Responsive Classroom. This positively impacts how your child learns and includes student-centered lessons in an inclusive and structured environment that promotes autonomy and responsibility.

Programming

We’re providing comprehensive opportunities through dynamic experiences, enrichment electives, activities, and more. Our Digital Badge program encourages students to set goals, motivates learning, supports community, and recognizes success as students develop 21st century skills. Annual events like the Pardes Student Expo celebrate our students’ technical and academic achievements, as well as their creativity and innovation.

Professionals

We’re fostering a spirit of risk taking in our faculty and staff as we equip and empower them to be creative teachers and lifelong learners. Our Professional Learning Communities encourage teachers to reflect on their teaching while collaborating on curriculum and assessments that will positively impact student learning. In addition, our faculty participates in nationally recognized programs provided by Columbia University, Stanford Graduate School of Education and prestigious programs at Brandeis University, MIT, and Harvard.

Places

We’re reimagining our current facilities and envisioning new ones as we consider how the learning environment impacts students and teachers. Our campus provides your child with a future-ready space that supports project-based learning, maximizes student collaboration, promotes creativity and authentic research while integrating existing and emerging technology in a connected and seamless way.

How will the Pardes Innovation Initiative benefit your child?

Through it, your child will learn and grow because:

They will be a valued member of a Jewish learning community that nurtures and encourages them.

They will establish foundational literacies that will serve as a basis for developing complex skills and personal characteristics.

They will be invested in their learning through active engagement that promotes student choice and voice.

They will approach real world challenges using critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication.

Project Based Learning In Action

Musical Instrument Design Challenge

Driving Question: How do musical instruments make different sounds?

Kindergarten students explored this driving question through the unique opportunity to meet with several different professional musicians to learn about their instruments. The kindergartners then gathered materials composed mainly of recyclable items, created their blueprints and then built their creative instruments.

Testimonial

We are thrilled that Jacob is getting immersed in a Project Based Learning curriculum at Pardes. The combination of building critical thinking skills along with the freedom and creativity that this type of learning provides provides such a great opportunity for him to love learning and to really absorb the material. He loves Makerspace and the unique activities that he gets to experience alongside his peers. Knowing he is gaining communication and problem solving skills that will last him a lifetime is always exciting and so much fun to witness as a parent.
- Becca and David Solomon, Pardes Parents

What's the Timeline for This Initiative?

Phase
One

Planning

We knew from the beginning, we needed to engage teachers and administrators from different disciplines to help guide this initiative. Our Innovation Team members regularly meet to collaborate and champion ideas, practices, and policies that support the goal of making Pardes a leader in education innovation. At the end of Phase 1, we:

Launched professional development, focused on the Pardes Innovation Initiative
Applied for grants
Piloted projects
Surveyed and evaluated facilities
Engaged in communication about the PII

Phase
Two

Educate and Implement

As a school, we stay curious about what’s possible and fuel a proactive approach ahead of tomorrow’s needs and learning trends. But in order to know where we’re headed, it’s important to understand why we’re going down this path. The Pardes mission is a charge to provide a dynamic secular and Judaic education that is relevant for today’s learners in anticipation of tomorrow’s realities. To continue offering an ideal learning experience for your child, our model for education must adapt and adopt proven, relevant innovation.

In Phase 2 of the Pardes Innovation Initiative, we’re working to communicate what those changes look like, all the way down to what is happening in the classroom. You won’t just hear words like Project-Based Learning, Responsive Classroom, or scaffolding — you’ll see how they impact your child’s learning when put in action.

To support our vision and where we are headed, we have to do more than just change our thinking — we have to change our environments. We have redesigned existing classroom space with new furniture to reflect spaces that can support a variety of learning activities, student groups, and technologies. We are looking to the future for new opportunities to expand and enhance our focus on innovation in teaching and learning as we deliver a world-class, 21st-century learning experience. These spaces will enable us to incorporate the arts and innovation in creative ways.

Phase
Three

Sustain

What will happen to the Pardes Innovation Initiative in the future? Eventually, it will no longer be an initiative — it simply becomes part of our identity. In Phase 3 of the Pardes Innovation Initiative, Pardes will become synonymous with ‘innovation’ because that is who we are and how we educate.