DaniEL Kahalani was born and raised in Israel. At age 11 he moved to America with his parents and siblings. In 2004, DaniEL opened his first retail shop, and has successfully expanded into a network of stores in the Brooklyn area. DaniEL sees God as his partner in all of his work! DaniEL lives in Staten Island, and loves his family dearly. DaniEL is very warm and enthusiastic person who is committed to Judaism and is a tremendous supporter of Jewish causes. DaniEL lives a spiritual lifestyle, and enjoys reading and meditating upon Tehillim.

In 2009, DaniEL undertook a new initiative together with the Menachem Education Foundation. The DaniEL Student Teaching Initiative was born. Through this program, trainees in the Menachem Teacher Training Program will have the opportunity to teach in live classrooms and be mentored and guided by an experienced teacher. This initiative is crucial to the quality of Jewish educators and Menachem is proud to partner with DaniEL in this initiative.

Menachem Eduaction Foundation believes that it is not enough to simply train teachers. The true test of chinuch is within the daily routines and issues of the classroom, and the leap from theory to practice is not always an easy one. The Menachem Education Foundation recognizes that it is our responsibility to ensure the success of our trainees.

DaniEL Student Teaching Initiative fills this need. Ably led by Rabbi Mechel Rotenberg, the DaniEL Student Teaching Initiative helps our trainees adjust to the realities of the classroom, guiding them how best to put their principles into practice.

As part of this program, master teachers help guide our graduates, giving them direction and guiding them to achieve the optimum level of guiding students during their teaching careers.

It is no secret that new teachers are commonly faced by a myriad of challenges and obstacles that stand in the way of success for students, teachers and schools. The many challenges are compounded by a sense of isolation and loneliness that many new teachers experience during the toughest years of their job cycle.

The Menachem Education Foundation has recently taken a giant step to rectify this problem by partnering with the Jewish New Teachers Project to provide coaching to graduates of its Teacher Training Program who go on to become new teachers. The program pairs up new teachers with an experienced teacher/mentor who observes and mentors the new teacher for at least 1.5 hours weekly. The mentoring is data-driven and uses the framework that the Jewish New Teachers Project adopted from the New Teacher Center at Santa Cruz University.

The Jewish New Teachers Project is a branch of the New Teacher Center at Santa Cruz University and is funded by Jim Joseph Foundation, Avichai Foundation and the UJA Federation of New York.

“This is something very close to my heart,” says Rabbi Zalman Shneur, Executive Director of the Menachem Foundation. “We were sending guys out to become new teachers and many complained that they felt isolated when on the job. I am extremely impressed with the Jewish New Teachers Project and I am confident that they will support our graduates properly.”

This partnership is currently underway as a pilot project at the Cheder Chabad of Monsey, one of the fastest growing Chabad schools. So far the program has been successful in helping new teachers face their day-to-day struggles.

“This project is bringing a new energy into our school! It provides new teachers the ability of reflecting honestly in a non threatening environment,” remarks Rabbi Avrohom Wolowik, principal of the Cheder Chabad of Monsey. “The focus on supporting new teachers is crucial for the future of the Cheder and the success of the children in our classrooms.”

This project was made possible through the generous support of the U’Foratzto Foundation.

The Menachem Foundation hopes to expand the program into other Jewish schools in the next year.