At Smith Jewish Academy, Hebrew is not only a subject but a living language, a bridge to culture, and a core part of how our students understand themselves as Jews in the world. This year, the school has taken an important step forward by placing Hebrew instruction under a more rigorous academic lens — while preserving the joy and creativity that make language come alive.
As part of a schoolwide commitment to excellence, Smith Jewish Academy is strengthening and refining its Hebrew curriculum to align more closely with national benchmarks. Teachers are working with shared goals, clearer expectations, and ongoing mentorship to support student growth at every level, ensuring consistency and continuity across grades.
This year, sixth graders participated in a standardized Hebrew language assessment through Avant, a nationally recognized provider used across many world language programs. The goal was not to grade students, but to gain clarity: to better understand where the program is strong, where it can continue to grow, and how to further enhance fluency as students progress through the school.
The results confirmed the strength of Smith’s Hebrew program, particularly in reading and listening comprehension. They also offered valuable insight into how the school can build on that foundation by expanding opportunities for students to use Hebrew more actively — especially through speaking and writing, which are essential to confident language use.
Looking ahead, the school is working to recruit Hebrew teachers from Israel for the coming school year, adding native-language exposure and more immersive opportunities for conversation. These trained educators will help students strengthen their speaking skills while deepening their connection to Israeli culture and contemporary Hebrew.
This work reflects a simple but powerful commitment: to be clear about where we are, intentional about where we’re going, and confident in the path forward. While much of this effort happens behind the scenes, its impact is already visible every day — in classrooms filled with curiosity, confidence, and joy.
100 Days, 100 Words: Where Hebrew Begins
If you want a glimpse of how Hebrew learning begins at Smith Jewish Academy, look no further than our kindergarten classrooms.
Recently, kindergarteners celebrated 100 days of school by proudly sharing 100 Hebrew words they’ve learned so far, captured in a joyful video that perfectly reflects how language learning starts at Smith: with play, confidence, and delight.
This milestone is about more than counting words. It represents the foundation of a schoolwide approach to Hebrew instruction that values both joy and intentional skill-building. From the earliest grades, students encounter Hebrew as a living language — spoken, sung, and used in daily routines — so they develop comfort and confidence alongside vocabulary.
“When kindergarteners can confidently use 100 Hebrew words, it tells us something important,” says Hebrew Language Coordinator Maayan Scholder. “They’re not just memorizing vocabulary — they’re learning to use Hebrew as a real language, with joy and confidence from the very beginning.”
That confidence matters. As students grow, it becomes the groundwork for deeper academic learning in Hebrew: reading comprehension, writing, and increasingly sophisticated communication. This year’s new focus on standardized benchmarks helps ensure that the joyful beginnings seen in kindergarten are supported by structure and clear goals in every grade that follows.
At Smith Jewish Academy, Hebrew learning is designed to grow with students — starting with excitement and ease, and steadily developing into strong, confident language use. The celebration of 100 words isn’t just adorable. It’s the first chapter in a thoughtfully designed journey.