Cape Town Torah High – a school unlike any other

TALI FEINBERG

This is Cape Town Torah High (CTTH), a niche Orthodox Jewish school that is providing observant families and others with an exciting, revolutionary and alternative education that is different from anything you’ve ever seen before.

“We aim to provide a Torah-based educational environment for Jewish families. Our school is cutting-edge in that we aspire and prescribe to a personalised, self-directed educational philosophy,” explains founder and general studies principal, Sheila Valentini.

It all started in her home, where she was teaching a small group of teens. With the freedom of independence, she was able to tap into innovative global trends and explore a child-centric approach to education.

An Observant Orthodox Jew, with a BA (Hons), her methods started to attract other families of the Orthodox community who needed a high school for their children.

A team of visionary community leaders and educators from across the community, joined forces, and the Cape Town Torah High concept became a reality. The school soon needed a senior high, and so an accomplished and highly qualified educator, Teresa Dennis, came on board in 2013 to establish and head up grades 10-12/13.

This was followed by Rabbi Avi Shlomo in 2015, who was appointed as the religious principal, and took the school to the next level of permanence and stability.

The school soon moved from the Valentini home to the historic Ponevez Shul. Two properties on the same block were leased from the City to become “school houses” and a functional campus in the heart of the city emerged.

“The move to the Ponovez Synagogue carries much historical significance,” explains  Valentini. “The Ponovez community in Lithuania was known as a centre of great Torah learning and produced some of the greatest works of law and literature.

“The entire community was massacred by the Nazis in 1941. The memory of these martyrs is now fortified by young Jewish adults learning Torah in a synagogue that is named after them, at the tip of Africa.”

What else is unusual about Cape Town Torah High? “We keep our classes small and personalise each student’s educational roadmap,” says Valentini. This means that pupils work at their own work-stations, set their own timetable and complete projects at their own pace.

They are assessed with progress reporting, which means that achievements are updated daily, as and when the pupil achieves in unit tests and modular assessments.

“The end-of-term exam mad rush and writing up of reports is not something the students or teachers experience with this method. Detailed remarks are given for results, so that the student is empowered to improve their knowledge.

“In other words, results are not marks; they are guidelines for what can be celebrated and what needs improvement. Both students and parents are given live access to these progress reports using the Google Drive platform.”

Blended and experiential learning are also used extensively. “Blended learning allows technology to teach the mundane. In maths, for example, the student watches a video of the material. If they do not understand, then they simply rewind and listen again, without feeling the embarrassment of ‘holding up the class’ or irritating the teacher. Only if the concept is still not understood, does the student approach the teacher.”

The school takes the needs of the teenager into account, so the ergonomics of the learning environment are important. “Teenagers should be in group settings when they are sharing ideas – preferably as low to the ground as possible. Bean bags and couches come to mind. Their bodies are awkward, let them sloth!” explains Valentini.

“On the other hand, they need a set-apart designated learning space that is only theirs, that expresses their identity. In our school, we identify desks just by looking at the ‘decoration’.

“Give them chairs that move with their bodies. They need to rock, they need to swivel, they need to turn. Sometimes they even need to hang upside down. And even so, even with this magnificent ‘office space’, they need to turn a chair into a table every now and again.

“Let them. As long as they are not disturbing others – does it really matter how they sit? Choose your battles. What matters is that they learn.”

These teaching methods mean that pupils experience less exam anxiety; they are empowered and feel like they are the engineers of their education; they feel valued as individuals; and they are able to get to know themselves as a person and not just a member of an institution, explains Valentini.

On top of all this, “Kodesh learning is the heartbeat of why we exist as a school. We keep the secular to what matters most.”

Pupils are taught Torah chevruta-style, in a classroom setting and can study independently. Girls and boys are separated according to Orthodox tradition, and “CTTH is unique in that it accommodates a wide spectrum of minhagim (levels and varieties of religious observance). This creates a healthy diversity and vibrancy, and a beautiful sense of camaraderie and Jewish unity,” writes Principal Rabbi Shlomo.

In addition, outreach work and extramurals are a priority. “The community provides many diverse volunteering opportunities, leadership programmes and skills development. We are very fortunate that Herzlia, a large Jewish school, allows us to join them for their extramural activities,” says Valentini.

CTTH is certified as an Independent School by the Western Cape Education Department. The Junior High General Studies follows the CAPS curriculum, but is not limited to it. The Senior High General Studies pupils matriculate with the American State Senior Certificate through an online platform hosted by the University of Nebraska High School (UNHS). Additionally, they write the SATs in accordance with the Matriculation Board requirement for a matric with exemption.

The University of Nebraska model was chosen after extensive research into various online high school programmes. “It best suited our learning ethos. With over 60 course offerings, in addition to core classes, students can choose to pursue something challenging, enjoyable, and flexible. In addition to the course content being provided by UNHS, the projects and tests are all submitted online and graded by the highly accredited teachers of UNHS.

“This allows the CTTH teacher in the classroom to teach multiple subjects, to multiple students, across multiple grades, and proves to be the key to sustainability in a small high school spanning six grades each in two divisions,” explains Valentini.

The school even established its own SAT Centre that functions on a Sunday, to allow its observant students to write these exams.

Challenges remain, including the number of pupils, and teachers who are trained or are willing to be trained in the school’s education methods. “We actually have vacancies for two teachers next year in case anyone is interested in teaching in this method!” says Valentini.

Success has been abundant, such as one boy achieving in the top one per cent of the SATS in the world in 2016. Most importantly, “we have happy students who are proud of their education and make a difference in the Cape Town Jewish and broader community”.