TGD Consulting places huge value on strong relationships and sees the value they bring to day school transformation
Testimonials
“This year, Dr. Tal David supported our integration of our school theme, “A Community of Respect,” into our Israel curriculum. She continued to support and guide the newly revised scope and sequence of the Israel curriculum in grades K-6. Dr. David also supported our Generations Day musical production, helping us integrate instruction into each grade level.”
— Director of Jewish Life and Learning, VBS Day School, Los Angeles, CA
“Through information sessions with Tal, this program allowed faculty to strengthen their knowledge and appreciation of Israel. Tal contextualized Israel’s culture in a way that met each of us at our background knowledge levels. This program also strengthened our pedagogical practices, especially those closely aligned with B’nai Shalom’s Mission and Teaching Philosophy. For example, it brought back the importance and protocol for Project Based Learning, our specific initiative/ goal before the Pandemic. Teachers could intentionally bring that work back by designing our CIE units to incorporate PBL and including space in our unit templates. The Kindergarten teacher, whose unit focused on Israeli symbols, married her Eagle Project perfectly with the Israeli Hoopoe. The 1st-grade teacher, whose unit focused on pollination and honey production, was excited to return to her classroom theme of botany and sustainable gardening with a new Israeli focus. In 4th grade, students studied the causes and effects of different types of major storms and then researched about specific storms that hit Israel. Using the PBL model, the 4th-grade teacher could engage students in a meaningful, real-world project that covered both CIE and Science Standards…Tal David was a great resource for Israel content at all age levels.”
— Curriculum Coordinator and Head of School, B’nai Shalom Day School, Greensboro, NC
“Tal supported us with drafting an Operation Vision for Israel Education, Strategic Planning based on this new vision, and the development of a new 8th grade curriculum on the Israeli Supreme Court, including Moot Court presentation of students about two actual cases. We could not have done it without her! The teachers on our committee were deeply affected by the work with Tal and it is our hope that they will continue to “carry the gauntlet. For me personally, it was invaluable to have weekly meetings with Tal and be able to process what was going on in Israel.”
—Israel Education Project Leader, Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School, Palo Alto, CA
“My colleagues and I all feel that, without Tal, who is a human Israel education encyclopedia, we could not find the materials available to us [online].”
— Dean of Jewish Learning, The Rashi School, Dedham, MA
“Dr. Tal Grinfas-David has been an integral part of our planning. Dr. Tal David provided ideas, materials and sources for the faculty to teach about Israel in the classroom. Dr. Tal David met with us every other week. As the situation changed she provided immediate resources and ideas for lesson plans. The focus was to develop within the students the importance of understanding the news and how to seek the correct and accurate information; how to be a smart consumer of information by checking for the facts and the primary sources. For our Yom Haatzmaut and Yom Hazikaron - Dr. Grinfas-David provided ample opportunities to create a school-wide project that enhanced the celebration and the ceremony. The entire school focused on the city project that Dr. Grinfas-David provided and turned it into a successful learning experience.”
— Director of Judaic Studies, Sinai Akiba Academy, Los Angeles, CA
“Tal David’s teaching, leadership, and vision impact our staff and faculty in profound ways. Throughout the fall, she worked with us weekly via Zoom. She worked with key staff to shape the agenda for the year. She guided the CIE committee as they drafted the philosophy statement. Tal took the to get to know our school and staff so that the initiative would be grounded in our school’s culture. In February, Tal visited our school in person. Her itinerary included workshops with the full staff as well as team meetings by division and specialty. She met with the school leadership team to plan the next steps in our process. Her workshops for the full faculty included: Belonging and Identity, Fostering Creativity, Climate Change and Israel, and Teaching Israel through STEM. The faculty also experienced the kind of education we hope to offer students through the integration of Israel into our curriculum in a variety of disciplines. We were treated to a lesson in which we learned about water and Israel from 12 different perspectives. Her visit generated a lot of positive energy and gave teachers from all backgrounds confidence that integrating Israel into their classrooms was possible. It helped teachers to move beyond abstract ideas about Israel education and begin to plan in more concrete ways. Following her visit, individual teachers began communicating directly with Tal, asking for materials and ideas. A teacher who served on the philosophy drafting committee reflected, “As a new member of our school who does not belong to the Jewish faith, this program really jumpstarted my understanding of what it means to identify as Jewish and as an Israeli. I enjoyed learning about what Israel means to the Jewish community and our students, and how I can immerse Israel into our curriculum.” Tal also met with parents for morning coffee to introduce the program and to lead a discussion. In the evening, we hosted a Wine and Wisdom event. Tal gave a presentation about wine and Israel – that modeled her methodology of exploring a subject using multiple lenses. We learned about wine and the nature of the land, regions of Israel that produce wine, wine in religion, as well as wine’s relationship to technological innovation, politics, economics, and culture. We also tasted wines and learned about the regions that produced them.”
—Head of School and Rabbi-in-Residence, Bnai Shalom Day School, Greensboro, NC
“Tal has been invaluable. She has quickly developed a relationship with many of our staff and will soon begin to advise them during one-on-one mentoring sessions and in group training throughout the coming year. We had a taste of this in a session with Tal about the present political situation in Israel. Through the process of working with Tal, our eyes are being opened up to the various perspectives of our staff members and we are learning more about how to ensure that what we do takes those viewpoints into account. Below are some of the testimonials from some of our Israel Committee team members who have been directly impacted since February 2023 when CDS started working with Dr. Tal David.
I deeply appreciate the thoroughness and level-headed approach taken to this complex and often controversial topic. I look forward to learning how to integrate more of these methodologies and materials into my classes.
I really enjoy discussing and hearing other colleagues’ views and opinions. The material presented is very detailed and I look forward to helping integrate this into our school after presenting it to our faculty.
I appreciate the opportunity to participate in crafting a school-wide policy that will provide guidance for a complex issue. My colleagues have been open and thoughtful throughout the process.
We are finding that the strategies we are learning in our work with Tal will generalize to other curricular and visioning work we are doing. We are very grateful to Tal for all her support and assistance since we became part of the Day School initiative. The resources, ideas and interaction are very much appreciated by us.”
— Head of School, Community Day School, Pittsburgh, PA
“Tal’s support has affected our entire community. As a non-Jewish member of our Israel Education Committee and as an administrator committed to supporting all of our teachers embrace Israel education, the in-person Professional Development session was especially eye-opening and engaging for all our faculty and staff. CIE’s commitment to including all subject teachers is critical to the success of development and roll out of our program.
- Assistant Head of School
We recently hired a new science teacher who said the following: “I can’t believe how lucky I am to be part of a community that supports my personal and professional goals so wholeheartedly!”
By shifting our thinking from teaching and learning about Israel as only occurring in the Hebrew and Judaics classrooms, to thinking about Israel education across all disciplines at Ezra, the Day School Initiative’s approach is more inclusive of our teachers and spreads the excitement and commitment to Israel education across our entire faculty. This seems like a small shift, but it is actually a great idea at a school like Ezra– where we encourage our teachers to teach across disciplines. In fact, including our math, science, Language Arts, and even art, music, and P.E. teachers to be part of the planning and implementation of education about Israel at Ezra, we will be able to build a better curriculum and more sustainable and enduring program.
This has been such an incredible experience so far and we are so grateful to Tal, to CIE and to the generous donors for supporting us. We are so excited to work on the next steps together!”
— Head of School, Ezra Academy, Woodbridge, CT
“What a successful year of learning and growth the VBS Day School faculty and students enjoyed under the mentorship and guidance of Dr. Tal David! It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire school culture was transformed and benefitted from her mentorship…In the early fall workshops, Dr. Tal David presented several hours of professional development and successfully inspired the entire faculty to view themselves as Israel educators. This was a dramatic change for the day school community as one goal we identified was to provide a more integrated approach to Israel education for our students. In addition to the obvious Hebrew and Judaic studies teachers, the math, art, innovation, music, dance and science teachers really stepped into new roles. Thank you to Dr. Tal David who has transformed VBS Day School into a more sophisticated, energized Israel education environment.”
—Director of Judaic Studies, Valley Beth Shalom Harold M. Schulweis Day School, Encino, CA
“Tal’s exceptional knowledge and passion for Israel, its culture, and politics were evident in her presentations, allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of the country and its rich heritage. Her ability to connect with the audience and deliver information in an engaging manner made the learning experience enjoyable and memorable. Tal captivated our attention throughout their presentations, leaving a lasting impact on our understanding of Israel and its significance. Tal’s expertise extended beyond just Israel's culture and politics; she also provided valuable insights into Jewish holidays, such as Yom Haatzmaut, enabling us to appreciate the historical and cultural importance of these celebrations. Tal’s contributions were invaluable in broadening our knowledge about Israel, instilling a greater appreciation for its culture, politics, and the significance of Jewish holidays. Tal’s impactful presentations left us inspired and motivated to explore more about Israel. Tal is a true inspiration. She has been able to provide us support in minutes, responding to emails very promptly and with so many valuable resources and guidance. I wish Tal was here in Vancouver and a part of VTT staff! We are so fortunate to have her never-ending support.”
— Director of Learning and Innovation, Vancouver Talmud Torah, Vancouver BC, Canada
“Our school has been blessed to be able to work with CIE and especially with Dr. Tal Grinfas-David. Dr. Grinfas-David is a very professional, dedicated, resourceful and committed scholar who works with all our teachers and find always a way to support and provide needed materials and ideas to formulate meaningful and challenging curriculum for our students. Whenever we reach out to Dr. Grinfas-David she always responds and is ready to work with us. Our faculty, GS and JS, love to work with Dr. Grinfas-David and always look forward to learning with her.”
— JS Director at Sinai Akiba Academy, Los Angeles
“Tal’s support, strategic advice, educational planning, and resource sharing have been immensely valuable to the development and creation of our Israel curriculum. Without her support and resources, we would not have been able to bring Israel education alive as creatively and effectively as we have this year. After a one-on-one consultation with Tal, one of our lower school Judaics teachers who was struggling, shared with me the following statement: “ I was initially really intimidated and didn’t understand how I was going to teach Israel topics with my 3rd and 4th grade students– thankfully Tal zeroed in on my needs, broke down the topics into specific categories, and even suggested an age-appropriate book that came in the mail during her visit to our school. Her advice and support allowed me to bring Israel education into our classes in a way that was truly meaningful and fun. I couldn't have done it without her help.” A science teacher was so inspired by her conversations with Tal that she redesigned a bland science lesson about climate to focus on specific climate changes over time in Israel and how innovations in irrigation changed the country's ability to cultivate crops and create green spaces. We couldn't have done any of this without the mentoring of Tal David who was a valuable and critical part of our journey. She spent endless hours with our head of school, our assistant principal and Judaic and general faculty sharing resources, teaching lessons, helping us problem-solve and explore our excitement about cross-disciplinary projects and expansion of our secular and Judaic courses to include Israeli content. Tal supported us through some very difficult conversations after October 7th. She was confident, honest, clear, and emboldened each and every one of us to address and engage with challenging questions and issues about the attack on Israel and the subsequent war. She was truly the catalyst we needed as a faculty to embrace the creation, development and continuing evolution of our Israel curriculum. Thanks to her, we are on our way to having a comprehensive curriculum that addresses Israel as a nation. Her direction has been invaluable.”
