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Perelman Continued from Page 1
Perelman job was also a
homecoming of sorts. She
started her career as a teacher
at the school, then the Solomon
Schechter Day School, in the
early 1980s.

At the same time, after
spending 10 years as a head
of school in North Carolina,
Groner was no longer just a
teacher. She knew how to run
a building — and it showed —
according to colleagues.

Several older teachers
retired in Groner’s first two
years back in Montgomery
County. Groner replaced them
with “a lot of really great staff
members,” she said, many of
whom were younger.

As the leader explained
it, the young teachers were
“digital natives who came in
with fresh ideas.”
“They brought energy and
a different type of training,”
Groner said.

Those new teachers viewed
themselves more as facilitators
to learning than as lecturers.

Projects, real-life issues
and current events became
bigger parts of Perelman
lessons. Students also got more
freedom to figure things out
for themselves.

The other day, when Groner
opened her office door, she
had to do it slowly. Otherwise,
she would have bumped into a
student who was working on
his iPad. Earlier this month, the
head of school walked down the
hall and asked a girl what she
was working on. She told Groner
that she was practicing a speech
on the genealogy of her family.

“Just laying in the hallway,
doing this,” Groner said. “The
teacher in front of the class-
room is not something one sees
often at Perelman.”
An infrastructure has
emerged around this new
method, too.

In 2015, Perelman opened
a “maker space,” as Groner
described it, in which students
could experiment on various
projects. One class involved kids
building code on their iPads to
program miniature robots.

The point, according to
Groner, was to allow kids to
tinker. She didn’t want them
to feel like they failed if they
didn’t get the project right the
first time.

“Knowing this is how far
they got and I’m going to try
again,” Groner said.

Two years later, the leader
introduced a Hebrew immer-
sion program, Ganon, for
pre-K students.

Judy Groner addresses the Perelman community during a COVID-era event.

Courtesy of the Perelman Jewish Day School
Judy Groner
Courtesy of the Perelman
Jewish Day School
Classes would have an
English-speaking teacher and
a Hebrew-speaking teacher.

During the Hebrew educa-
tor’s lead time, the teacher and
students would talk to each
other in the native language.

By the end of the program,
students could speak Hebrew
as a second language. It was the
action of speaking it, and not
just learning it, that helped the
language stick, Groner said.

“My son was in Ganon, and it
was amazing,” said Mindy Civan,
a Perelman teacher and parent.

“The Hebrew he came home
speaking, that was amazing.”
Perelman’s focus on immer-
sive learning and its use of
technology made the pandemic
shock a little easier to manage.

12 DECEMBER 23, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
Judy Groner expanded Perelman’s outdoor setup during the
pandemic. Courtesy of the Perelman Jewish Day School
In the spring of 2020, the
school was ready and able
to pivot almost overnight to
virtual, synchronous learning.

But it was what Groner did
the following fall that impressed
her staff. Unlike many schools,
she reopened — and was able to
keep her school open.

Groner has described her
approach to COVID as slightly
more conservative than the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention guidelines.

Students mask inside and
outside and eat lunch outside.

Vaccinated community
members who travel abroad
must take a test to return to
school. Unvaccinated commu-
nity members who travel
abroad must quarantine for
7-10 days upon returning.

The school’s relative success
during COVID is a result of
Groner’s willingness to make
tough, sometimes unpopular
decisions, said Leah Lande, a
former Perelman parent and
current medical adviser. At
certain points, Perelman’s
quarantine policy for close
contact students has been long.

But the school has not seen
any COVID case transmissions.

“During a crisis, you get
to see someone’s true colors,”
Lande said. “Judy has been
incredibly impressive.”
Perelman is now seeking
Groner’s successor. l
jsaffren@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM