Education, Winter 2026 by Cleveland Jewish Publication Company

EDUCATION A Cleveland Jewish News Advertising Special Section

Beth Israel-The West Temple teens learn about Jewish roots during NYC trip

ADRIANA GASIEWSKI agasiewski@cjn.org

Eleven teenagers from Beth Israel- e West Temple in Cleveland gathered at Bagel Up in Fairway Market in New York City, rolling, kneading and shaping dough into loops before boiling it to create their own bagels.

e workshop was not only a chance to learn how to make, bagels but also learn about their Jewish roots.

Rabbi Rachel Brown said that during the workshop, they learned how bagels served as a “loophole,” gurative and literally, for Jews to make bread without “baking it.”

Although being chefs and visiting other locations helped the students learn more about their Jewish identities, Brown emphasized that the trip was important for these Jewish teens

from the west side of Cleveland.

“Even if they’re not the only Jewish kid in their whole school, they could be the only Jewish kid in their whole class,” she told the Cleveland Jewish News. “And so, when they get to spend the weekend with Jewish peers, I think it’s powerful.”

To learn more about their Jewish heritage, which took place from Jan. 16 to Jan. 18, they visited Ellis Island, the Tenement Museum, the Statue of Liberty, B’nai Jeshurun in New York for a Kabbalat Shabbat and attended a bagel-making workshop.

From visiting places like the Statue of Liberty and tenement apartments, students were able to read the names of their family members who came through Ellis Island and have a better perspective of their living conditions.

“In tenements, families used to have seven or more people,” Brown said. “Two adults and a whole bunch of kids living in two or three really small rooms.”

She also noticed that various stops on the trip spoke to the teens di erently.

“I think other kids might have been very

taken with the Statue of Liberty and how majestic she is, the symbolism, the history of the Statue of Liberty,” she said. “I think there are some kids who were probably very moved by seeing the Tenement Museum, getting to go into these tenements, stand in the courtyards where the latrines were.”

For one of the teens, Gabe Brown, an eighth grader at the Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School in Beachwood, his favorite part of the trip was visiting Ellis Island and seeing his grandmother’s name, Illy Brown. Gabe is the son of Rabbi Brown.

“It was cool being that close to the Statue of Liberty and seeing the New York skyline in the snow,” he told the CJN. “I got some really cool pictures. at was really cool – that might have been a highlight.”

Both Rachel and Gabe Brown described how the bagel-making workshop was not only a fun activity but also an educational

one, explaining the chemistry of bagel making and how it came to Eastern Europe.

Bagel Up provided them with pre-made dough they kneaded and shaped on their own. ey also customized their bagels, choosing their own toppings.

After the bagels were ready, six of the bagels each person made were contributed to a shared bagel tray for everyone to sample from. ey were then able to bring the other six bagels from their batch with them to enjoy.

“We got to eat bagels with cream cheese, lox, onions, and capers, and cucumbers,” Rabbi Brown said. “Stand around and talk and enjoy the bagels we had made.”

From the NYC trip, Rabbi Brown hopes students take away a “deepened awareness of the Jewish experience historically in the United States with the joy and the ease and the comfort of being with other Jewish kids in an immersive experience.”

Brown

Charlotte Watts and Charlie Goldberg from Beth Israel-The West Temple are supervised in boiling their bagels during the bagel-making workshop at Bagel Up in Fairway Market in York City. Charlotte’s mother, Becky Watts, is a member of the Cleveland Jewish Publication Company Board of Directors. | Submitted photo

Athletics can provide solid background for the future

SHANNON MORTLAND

School sports are a large part of the middle school and high school experience for many students. In addition to being active, students are unknowingly learning valuable lessons and lifelong skills.

Among them is to try. ere are plenty of old adages around the notion of trying, such as “if at rst you don’t succeed, try try again” and “you will never know unless you try.”

Jim McQuaide, athletic director of Solon City Schools and the former head football coach, has encouraged many students over the years to keep trying.

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He recalled when his daughter did not make Show Choir the rst year she tried out. He told her to work hard and try again the following year, and she made Show Choir on the second try.

“We’re not all going to get what we want in life, which is losing in athletics,” McQuaide told the Cleveland Jewish News. “How do you deal with that?”

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Being involved in sports or any extracurricular activity teaches students how to handle failure and build resilience, according to Tim Porter, athletic director for Orange City Schools.

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“All sports make people much stronger mentally and physically,” Ryan Peters, district director of athletics of Beachwood City Schools, told the CJN. “ ey become better teammates, workers, spouses and community leaders.”

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Sports build work ethic and help students learn how to manage their time, said Porter, who also coached girls’ basketball for 12 years.

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the CJN. “When we have issues in my o ce, it usually comes down to a breakdown in communications.”

Sports and activities reinforce what students are learning in the classroom.

“We don’t prioritize ourselves above academics, but we see ourselves as an ally,” Babinec said.

While the lifelong skills learned through sports has remained consistent, people have changed in some respects.

Club sports outside of the schools have grown and taken on a bigger role, Porter said. Such sports used to be geared toward elite athletes who were striving for the next level, such as playing in college. Now, many students play club sports, he said.

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Activities also teach discipline, McQuaide said. When involved in a sport, students often have to get up very early and they have to be committed enough to show up for practice so they can be a good teammate.

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By the time the student gets to college or enters the working world, they will have to follow more stringent rules or face consequences, he said. Sports will prepare them to understand and adhere to those dynamics, he said.

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Matthew Eisenberg, Rabbi Mark Friedman, President Ann Chaia Teomi, Marcie Oelbracht, Education Director Administrator

“Kids are starting to focus on one particular sport,” Porter told the CJN. “I don’t think that’s a good thing. Students should be participating in multiple sports. You could experience burnout when you focus on one sport.”

Peters added that it’s important for students to try di erent things.

“Even the kid who is an athlete, it’s important for them to get involved in something outside of athletics,” he said.

Regardless of the activity, students should not give up when the going gets tough.

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Mark Friedman, President

Ann Chaia Teomi, Marcie Oelbracht, Education Director Administrator

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Communication skills are key, said Mike Babinec, athletic director of Shaker Heights High School. Students learn the value of communicating properly with others because important details such as where to be and when, what time the bus leaves for a game and what plays are being called are key to success, he said.

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“Communication is the nucleus of everything we do in athletics,” Babinec told

“Students tend to quit when it’s not working out how they wanted right now,” McQuaide said. “ at becomes a pattern. When things get hard, they walk away. ings are going to get hard for the rest of their lives.”

Shannon Mortland is a freelance journalist.

Babinec McQuaide

Peters Porter

Religious education can help foster Jewish identity

ADRIANA GASIEWSKI agasiewski@cjn.org

As head of school at Gross Schechter Day School in Pepper Pike, Ginny Galili said religious schools like Gross Schechter help children foster protective factors to become resilient.

These factors include a sense of safety, security, community and “cultural beliefs that provide a sense of meaning to life,” she said.

“Part of being part of a day school community is the community wraps its arms around the child and the entire family and is there for both the best of times and the hardest of times,” Galili said.

Parents who choose to enroll their children in Jewish education often do so because they practice a certain lifestyle and want their children to further practice while away at school, according to Rabbi Sender Stoll, executive director of Yeshiva Derech Hatorah in Cleveland Heights.

“If their entire educational experience is in a secular setting, then their Jewish identity gets watered down,” he said. “Then, even if they maintain or retain some type of Jewish of identity, the next generation will be a highly dilated version of the parents’ watered-down identity of being Jewish.”

Although the days are longer at Yeshiva Derech Hatorah, Stoll said it offers the school a chance to offer secular and non-secular education.

Hebrew Academy of Cleveland in Cleveland Heights takes a similar approach, weaving Jewish customs, traditions and culture into its school days, according to Rabbi Simcha Dessler, menahel/education director.

Galili, Stoll and Dessler agreed that the younger the children are, the better it is to enroll them at a Jewish day school.

“At the youngest of ages, children can gain more knowledge than most of us imagine, and early experiences create lasting impressions,” Dessler said.

As Galili said, these early experiences can lead to children as well as their families feeling a sense of community within their schools and faith.

“We, as a family, are connected to a community that is there for us to celebrate in the happy times, in the simple times like a bris for a newborn baby, like a bar or bat mitzvah for an adolescent,” she said. “And also, the community is there in times of illness and in times of loss like a death in the family.”

All three agreed Jewish education is one worth investing in, but Stoll added it’s important to choose a school that’s message aligns with one’s values.

“Sending a child to a school that is either more religious or less religious than the home is, than the environment the child is accustomed to at home, just confuses the child,” he said. “And makes the schooling experience difficult, both for the child, the parents and the staff in the school.

for them to observe their religion.”

While Galili advised parents to make time to visit schools to ensure they will be the right choice.

“Jewish education’s goal is to assist students to identity their unique gifts and strengths to both excel academically,” she said. “And to learn to live and lead as human beings informed by the wisdom of Jewish teachings, Jewish milestones, Jewish rituals and the value of justice imbued in Jewish life.”

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The amount of religious observance a family practices in their home also determines what religious school would be a good fit for their child. If our expectations for the child’s religious observance is very low, then a religious education of that aspect is not too imperative. But if we’re going to expect that the child is going to be of Jewish observance on any level, then definitely religious is going to be important

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Sharing is caring in preparing toddlers for the future

ADRIANA GASIEWSKI agasiewski@cjn.org

Something as simple as sharing a crayon with another toddler at daycare or preschool can help a child learn empathy and con ict resolution.

While in daycare and preschool, children can receive guided social exposure, plans for helping children face social situations instead of avoiding them and helping them learn what to do in certain settings, according to Ali Trotter, associate director of Bellefaire JCB in University Heights.

“Kids that are in these early years’ programs with intentional curriculums and group activities helps them adapt better when they’re entering kindergarten,” Trotter said. “ ere’s something to say about social emotional development of kids and having social interactions in the years before grade school enhances that.”

Because daycare and preschools are often children’s rst times away from their families, they also became the child’s rst interactions with others, explained Jackie Gordon, director of curriculum and educator development at Ivybrook Academy in Solon.

“Children practice being with other humans – sharing space, negotiating wants, managing big feelings, repairing

after con ict and building trust with adults who aren’t their parents,” Gordon said. “ ose are the true foundations for school readiness.”

While in daycare and preschool, toddlers learn how to set boundaries from saying phrases like “stop” or “I don’t like that,” Liza Adams, director of enrollment and operations at Ivybrook Academy, said.

“While also learning to respect others’ limits. ... they gain stamina for waiting, transitions and group problem-solving,” Adams said.

Children also have the opportunity to learn how to trust adults who are not their parents.

However, children’s daycare and preschool experiences don’t entirely shape a child’s social preparedness as Trotter also said their preparedness is reliant on the toddler’s temper, personality and home.

“ e age of kids entering grade school, their developmental milestones, their temperament – all of that is going to play into how well they adapt,” she said. e transition to grade school can be a bit di cult for children who don’t attend daycare and preschool.

“If a child has had fewer chances to practice group life, the transition can feel more demanding at rst,” Adams said. “Busy environments may be overwhelming, separation may be harder and peer entry or con ict may bring bigger feelings.”

It is also vital to expose children to social situations at a young age to ensure they learn cooperation and how to follow group rules, preparing them for the future.

Trotter also added that research points to children have improved early literacy and math skills from these experiences.

“ e kids will likely have better social skills, advanced language development and better academic readiness,” she said.

Adams Gordon Trotter

College applications can offer insight into prospective student

SHANNON MORTLAND

In Northeast Ohio and across the nation, students are applying for colleges or starting to think ahead to next fall when they will begin the application process. With thousands of students competing for limited spots, it can be nerve racking trying to figure out how to stand out.

Many public and private high schools offer the same sports, clubs and classes, which are important to list, but there are other attributes that build a student profile, according to Thomas Abeyta, admissions director at Oberlin College.

Oberlin College practices committee-based evaluation, in which two people read the same applications at the same time. They consider the student’s high school transcript, teacher recommendations, the rigor of the curriculum at the student’s high school and whether the student took advantage of the programs that the school offers. The committee also looks at the demographics of the student body and the student’s background, Abeyta said.

But as state funding continues to be cut, many public schools have had to reduce programming.

“I’m not going to hold it against a student if they only took one AP (Advanced Placement) class and the school only offered two, or if the school has had to cut programs or offers less,” Abeyta said.

A common misconception is that students think they should only list school clubs or sports, according to Ryan Mann, associate director of admissions at John Carroll University in University Heights. He encourages students to list their part-time job, activities outside the school and household responsibilities.

That is where the essay comes in. It is a chance for the student to show their true self outside the lists on their resume.

“We want to learn more about the student, how the student plans to impact the community and what the degree would mean to them,” according to Clinton Midkiff, director of admissions, communications and operations at Cleveland State University.

Be authentic, be yourself and follow directions.

“With the essay, they can color in the lines of their application,” Mann said. “They can write something that can’t be replicated.”

The essay doesn’t have to be complex and it is ok to be funny if that is your personality, Abeyta added.

“What makes a student stand out is what we learn about them as a person,” he said. “.You should be writing something so that the reader gets to know something about you.”

Do not overthink the essay. Abeyta recalled an essay that he received years ago in which the student attempted to stand out by writing the essay in colored pencils and by writing the text in a

circle that started in the middle of the page and fanned out.

“I never got through that essay,” he said.

Students can also use the essay section to share additional circumstances or provide an explanation for something unusual in their application, Mann said.

“This is one of the few times in your life that it’s OK to brag about yourself,” he said. “We’re taught that we should be humble. The college application is where you want to present the next version of yourself.”

Colleges are looking for the right fit so the student will succeed, Abeyta said.

Students can also stand out by showing their familiarity with the school, even if the student does not have the ability to visit the campus before applying, he said.

If a student has a specific question, they can call or email to obtain the answer. That outreach is added to their file and is part of their overall application, Abeyta said.

“If I had to choose between two equally qualified students, I want the one that knows the college better,” he said.

CSU’s goal is to provide access to students, rather than focusing on competition in admissions, but it still helps to show genuine interest in the school and programs, Midkiff said.

He encourages students to cast a wide net when applying for colleges and to consider what kind of atmosphere they prefer. For example, an urban school will have a very different feel and experience than a rural school, he said.

Shannon Mortland is a freelance journalist.

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Field trips offer educational, experiential learning benefits

ALAN KRONENBERG

At rst glance, school eld trips may seem like a day o from school to some people, but local educators said that eld trips play an important role in the curriculum due to their educational and experiential bene ts.

Darci Sanders, nature-based learning coordinator and chair of the science department at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, said that one of the bene ts of eld trips is the chance it gives students who learn better through physical activity to increase their knowledge.

“Every single student has a di erent preferred mode of learning,” Sanders said. “And a traditional classroom provides a lot for the auditory learner (and) provides a lot for the visual learner. But those kiddos who really bene t from kinesthetic learning –movement and experience and hands-on learning – really get a great opportunity to enhance their learning when we get out of the classroom and get them doing some

things hands-on and whole-body movement and experiencing things in a new and di erent way.”

For these movement-based learners, there is a “huge variety” of eld trips that can be bene cial to their learning, she said.

“Almost anytime you get out of the classroom and into a new setting where you’re walking around and moving, anytime there’s an opportunity to manipulate something or to move around it in a 3D sense, you’re going to get a bene t,” Sanders said. “So, I would say virtually anywhere you

go – whether it’s inside or outside, you’re moving around, you’re using your body and you’re also beginning to operate in the world in a more real-life sense.”

is last point on real-world experiences is “the other huge bene t” that eld trips can have “for all learners,” she said.

“So, not just what happens in those four walls or on a screen, but what we can see, feel, hear, smell – all of those senses begin to come into play” when students are able to move around outside of the classroom, Sanders said.

Suzette Dyer, associate head of school at Hawken School in Chester Township, said that these experiences in the real world contribute to the most bene cial aspect of eld trips, which is that “learning becomes more personal and transferable” for students.

“ ey get to see situations or people or systems or ideas, sort of in context, and I think it allows them to engage directly with the world,” Dyer said. rough these experiences, she said that

students can take what they’re learning in the classroom and connect it to the actual thing in real life, which can sometimes help facilitate their learning better than time spent in the classroom on its own.

It’s from these educational and experiential bene ts that eld trips also play an important role in early childhood development. Dyer said eld trips provide “an easy way for children to develop critical thinking skills,” since critical thinking can be fostered through immersing children in real-world environments and allowing them to actively apply their knowledge in a widerange of scenario

“ ey learn to observe the world around them,” she said. “ ey learn to ask good questions. ey learn to sort of synthesize what’s being presented to them across contexts and in di erent settings. So it’s such a foundational sort of way for children to enter into deep critical thinking and inquiry.”

Alan Kronenberg is a freelance journalist.

Dyer Sanders

Noll Sorg named John Carroll University’s 27th president

Carolyn Noll Sorg will become the 27th president of John Carroll University in University Heights, effective June 1.

Bill Donnelly, class of 1983, and Nancy Cunningham Benacci, class of 1977, co-chairs of the board of directors, made the announcement in a December 2025 news release.

Noll Sorg, who serves as the university’s vice president for enrollment and marketing, will succeed President Alan R. Miciak, who will retire in June after serving as JCU’s president since 2021.

“I am honored to be selected as the 27th president of John Carroll University,” Noll Sorg said in the release. “I would not be here without the outstanding work of President Miciak, who put our foundation into place and ensured that John Carroll is poised to grow and thrive. As president, I see tremendous opportunity to expand John Carroll’s reach, making our university, and Cleveland, a true national destination for students. I believe that work continues by empowering and trusting our team, continuing to raise the standard of excellence, removing barriers that stand in the way of innovation and success, and leaning into our Jesuit Catholic mission.”

Noll Sorg’s appointment followed an eight-month national search that began in April 2025. A 12-person presidential search committee, including representatives from the faculty, staff, student body and members of

John Carroll’s board of directors, presided over the comprehensive search process with support from WittKieffer, a global executive firm.

“The John Carroll University Board has significant ambitions for the institution,” Donnelly ’83, chair of the presidential search committee, said in the release. “We wanted a leader capable of realizing this vision. Throughout the search process, Carolyn Noll Sorg stood out for her strategic thinking, her understanding of our community, and her commitment to our Jesuit Catholic mission. In her time at John Carroll, she has been central to the development, implementation, and execution of our Inspired Futures strategy. This strategy has transformed the institution and provided us with strong, positive momentum at a time when many other institutions are struggling. As a Board, we have no doubt that her extraordinary leadership will continue the momentum and help us reach new heights.”

Noll Sorg will be the third lay person and first woman to serve as president in JCU’s 139-year history. During her tenure at JCU, her work has touched all corners of campus, the release said. Her accomplishments include engaging with donors to secure funding for JCU’s Go National strategy, increasing John Carroll’s out-of-state enrollment while simultaneously increasing selectivity, and spearheading the upcoming Onward project in collaboration with academic leadership, which will transform the way John Carroll prepares students to connect their passion, purpose and career, according to the release. Under her leadership, the university saw its largest increase in first-year enrollment this century.

“Carolyn is a leader who inspires a shared vision, models the way, and promotes excellence,” Miciak said. “With the support of our faculty and staff, she has the talent and commitment to direct the promise of a John Carroll education onward. I have full faith and confidence in her as the next Director of the Work.”

Noll Sorg joined JCU in 2023. By 2024, she was promoted to vice president for enrollment and marketing, undertaking the reorganization of a newly combined division. Noll Sorg’s higher education experience spans the industry. Prior to her work at JCU, she was a leader in College Board’s BigFuture division, where she consulted with a portfolio of leading national research universities and liberal arts colleges while developing tools to connect students across the country to educational opportunities at more than 1,500 colleges and universities, according to the release. She previously served as the director of admission at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, where she was promoted to assistant dean for enrollment management, and held student-facing positions at The University of Akron, Baldwin Wallace University in Berea and Barnard College in New York City.

Noll Sorg earned a Master of Arts degree in higher education from Columbia University in New York City and a Master of Fine Arts degree in experience design from Miami University in Oxford. She attended Independence High School and graduated summa cum laude from Baldwin Wallace University with a degree in English.

Noll Sorg and her husband, Brendan Sorg, who serves in a senior leadership role at The MetroHealth System, have two children, Jackson, 9, and Anneliese, 6.

Noll Sorg

Hawken School to create Medical Science Semester in 2027

Hawken School’s Medical Science Semester, an intensive academic and residential program for high school students, will launch in spring 2027, accepting students from Hawken and across the globe, according to a news release.

Designed for students curious about the medical field, each semester 24 students will live and learn together at Hawken’s University Circle Campus, allowing them to learn within Cleveland’s health care system.

The program will be led by Adam Trifiro, Medical Science Semester director.

“The Medical Sciences Semester represents the next step in Hawken’s commitment to innovative, real-world education,” Head of School Scott Looney said in the release. “I have full confidence in Adam Trifiro’s leadership of this program; his expertise ensures that students will gain a meaningful, hands-on head start as they explore careers in the healthcare field.”

During Medical Science Semester, students will take part in medical rounds, volunteer with local public health organizations and learn from practicing professionals at hospitals and biotech firms.

The curriculum was created in alignment with 2024 Association for American Medical College’s Premed Competencies.

Semester School Network also approved the Medical Science Semester program for provisional membership.

For more information on Medical Science Semester and admission requirements visit medicalsciences.hawkens.edu or contact Gina Walter, director of strategic marketing, at gwalt@hawken.edu.

LEC BS in exercise science major gains approval from two groups

Lake Erie College recently announced that its Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science major has received official approval from both the Ohio Department of Higher Education and the Higher Learning Commission.

The exercise science program will feature a strong core curriculum, along with the opportunity for students to select one or more concentrations, including exercise physiology, strength and conditioning and pre-allied health, according to a news release.

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The major is designed to prepare students for career paths and graduate degree programs in areas such as exercise physiology, strength and conditioning, personal fitness training, health education and promotion, athletic training, physical therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic medicine and more, according to the release.

CSU names Crawford as vice president of enrollment management

Crawford

Cleveland State University recently announced that Andrew Crawford will serve as vice president of enrollment management, pending ratification by the CSU board of trustees at its next scheduled meeting. In this senior leadership role, Crawford will be responsible for student recruitment and financial aid at the university, according to a news release.

In making the announcement, CSU President Laura Bloomberg highlighted Crawford’s 20 years of professional experience in enrollment and knowledge of higher education in Northeast Ohio. Bloomberg said that Crawford first gained CSU’s attention as “an impressive enrollment management leader” during a national search for the position in 2024.

“Dr. Crawford has gained extensive experience in advocating for student success, growing community partnerships and crafting university policies in a collaborative environment,” Bloomberg said in the release. “I am delighted to welcome him to CSU as we advance our strategic mission as Cleveland’s University.”

Crawford serves as associate vice president in the division of enrollment management at Kent State University, and he has held positions at Cuyahoga Community College, The Ohio State University in Columbus and Ohio University in Athens.

“I have closely followed CSU over the past several years, watching as the University focuses in on its mission to serve as an educational and community resource for the city of Cleveland, Northeast Ohio and beyond,” Crawford said in the release. “I am excited to join the enrollment management team and work together to ensure that more students have the opportunity to experience the transformative impact of a CSU education.”

Crawford will begin his new role at CSU in March. In the interim, Nigamanth Sridhar, executive vice president and provost, is providing leadership and oversight for the division of enrollment management.