New and Exciting News!!!!
Dear Parents,
I hope this letter finds you and your family well, having enjoyed a pleasant and relaxing Shavuot. Since the current school week has been "overtaken" by the holiday, I thought I would use this opportunity to share some details about one of the exciting programs that MDYHS is innovating in the fall - The High School Academic Majors Program.
One of the consistent refrains that I hear at almost every meeting with college deans of admissions is that today's high school students in general often do not have a focus as to where they are going or what they want to study. The university faculty and administration report that many high school students from across the country spend up to a year and a half "trying to find themselves and to figure out what they would like to pursue." As a means of addressing this issue, and as a way to make the high school experience even more stimulating and relevant - preparing our students for success in their their future education and career pathways - we have developed the High School Academic Majors Program, after careful and extensive consultation with numerous university deans and faculty members. This program will start, b'ezrat HaShem, in September 2013 for the entering 9th grade, and will build over the next 4 years - but it will also have an immediate impact on all the grades this coming year, as I shall explain below.
The program starts with a one-period-per-week elective course for 9th graders, entitled Introduction to the Majors. Students will choose 3 elective courses - one for each of the year's trimesters - from among the following 13 different academic major fields:
Arts (including Graphic Design, Fashion, Interior Design, Film, Music, Photography, Jewelry, Cosmetology)
Business (including Management, Production, Sales, Marketing)
Communal / Non-Profit
Computers / Technology (including Coding, Apps Development, Software Engineering, Website Development)
Culinary Arts / Hospitality
Education / Rabbinics
Engineering / Architecture (including Electrical, Biomedical, Civil, Chemical, and Mechanical Engineering)
Finance (including Accounting, Investment, Actuarial Sciences, Statistical Analysis, Stocks & Bonds Markets)
Health Sciences (including Medicine, Nursing, Veterinary Science, Nutrition, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy)
Law / Politics
Psychology / Social Work
Real Estate
Writing / Journalism / Media Communications
In the Introduction to the Majors electives, students will learn what the field is all about; what advancement is available in this career choice; and what is necessary in terms of college courses and internship training - in order to successfully prepare for this career pathway. The elective course will include guest lectures by people in the actual fields, who will share their own insight and experiences with our students.
In the 10th grade, students will register for 3 elective courses - again, one for each of the trimesters - entitled Fundamentals of the Majors. These courses will meet twice per week, and will delve further into the various career pathways and preparation necessary for these fields, by presenting an overview of the different courses students would be taking in college and beyond within these areas. So, for example, a Fundamentals of the Majors course in the area of Law will present to the students the elementary basics of Constitutional Law versus Business Law versus Tax Law, etc. The 10th grader can choose the same three areas that he or she chose in 9th grade, or three completely different areas altogether.
By the end of 10th grade, each student will have been exposed to at least 3 - and up to 6 - different areas of Academic Majors, in a sophisticated way. At that point - at the end of the sophomore year - the student will be asked to declare his or her high school major. In the junior and senior years, the student's five-period elective courses will be in the area of his or her declared Major. But more than that - there will be units of classes in Limudei Kodesh which will tie in with the major. Thus, for example, a Health Science Major will have units in Halakhah class about Refuah BeShabbat, End-of-Life Issues, etc. This exciting tie-in, all in an area that the student himself or herself has chosen, will make the entire curriculum come alive to the student! And still more - the area of the Senior Internship will be tied in with the student's Academic Major. By the time the student graduates from MDYHS, he or she will have a certified Major listed on the transcript, will have letters of recommendation by people in that field, will have had work experience and networking opportunities, along with exposure to college level courses in that field, and will understand well what the Torah has to say about areas relevant to that career pathway. This is an incredible way to prepare our students for their golden future!
As we begin this wonderful program in the fall, we will have the Academic Majors faculty and guest lecturers meet with students in the entering 10th through 12th grades as well, as part of their College Guidance and Career Counseling that we provide to all students, so that the entire MDYHS student body can begin to benefit from this unique program from the outset.
The MDYHS administration, department chairs, and faculty - along with every single college dean that I have spoken to about this - are extremely enthusiastic about this very special program. I invite you to please be in touch with any comments and questions. I firmly believe that this program will prepare our students in an unparalleled way - affording them every advantage and opportunity - as they face their challenging and exciting future in college and beyond.
As always, please accept my warmest wishes for a Shabbat Shalom and for a great week ahead!
Sincerely yours,
Rabbi Saul Zucker
