Professional Development for Improved Pedagogy and Personal Development
Educational Staff are the Heart of the SAE
Our educational staff – principals, teachers, counselors and all partners in the educational endeavor – they are the heart of the SAE. They are the ones who have daily contact with students, who respond to their needs and help them cope with their difficulties. Their work is important, complex and at times exhausting. Therefore, investment in their professional development is substantial and significant.
We aim for constant improvement for our professional teams in the areas of education, teaching and guidance, through high-quality, effective, internal organizational professional development.
A Learning and Teaching Organization
As an organization that deals with youth education and growth, we believe that all partners in educational achievement, in all fields at all levels, must themselves be involved in constant ongoing learning and practical educational research, as part of the regular work system. Belonging to diverse learning frameworks contributes both to ongoing improvement of education, to feelings of well-being, to the sense of belonging and personal development of each educator.
The schools, residences, educational projects and the headquarters of SAE function as “learning organizations”; staff learning is part of every institution and takes place in joint learning frameworks for educational staff of the various learning institutions and projects.

Presentation of educational initiatives within the framework of the opening year conference
From Theory to Practice and Back Again
The approach to professional development is based on movement between theory and practice, between enriching theoretical knowledge and making use of knowledge gained in the field. Conceptualizing work processes and practices helps enrich practice, and studying practice makes theory relevant and applicable.
Practical learning takes place in the framework of forums that meet regularly and is aided by the analysis of case studies, reflection on work processes, and on organizational dynamics and structures. In addition, theoretical learning takes place in workshops, lectures by experts, tours and other in-service trainings.
The contents of professional development are built in dialogue with the learners and are adapted to their needs and to the needs of the schools and residential facilities.
Seminar on Educational Equality




Regular and Varied Learning Frameworks for All Staff Members
Professional development frameworks at the SAE include dedicated forums for principals, administrators, social workers and guidance counselors, coordinators of different educational program, residence advisors and teacher communities that meet regularly with professional facilitation around particular issues or topics including:
• Internal Institutional track (at each school or residential campus separately), with professional facilitation: the forum deals with subjects such as teamwork, task division, reporting responsibilities, boundaries, developing management language, innovation and creativity. Learning takes place mainly through case studies.
• Association-wide track (intended for groups with similar roles and middle management from the different institutions): several workshops and meetings are held each year that deal with innovation and educational projects and spiritual enrichment.
Touched by the Soul – Management Development (2016-2017)




Professional Staff Advances Professional Development
Michal Shavit, Director of Pedagogical Development at the SAE, leads the professional development staff. Each learning framework is facilitated and directed by first class professionals, among them experts in fields of education, organizational development and consulting, group facilitation, counseling, learning disabilities, psychology and more. Over the years SAE has accumulated knowledge and experience in operating these professional development frameworks.
Among the facilitators we work with are the staff of Zofnat Institute: Dr. Yisrael Katz, Tamar Belitz, Yuval Piurko, Naama Goldberg, Eden Israeli, Roxana Neiman and many others.