Curriculum Overview

Hillel Torah is starting its 2nd year of association and participation in the Neta comprehensive Hebrew Language Arts program.  NETA is an innovative new curriculum initiative in Hebrew language and culture designed specifically for day school students in Grades 7-12.  Created by Hebrew language curriculum specialists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, administered by Boston's Hebrew College, and supported by the AVI CHAI Foundation, NETA is reaching students in over 40 schools in the United States and Canada.

The NETA project is driven by the belief that mastery of Hebrew will promote students' understanding of their history, culture and tradition, excite them about lifelong Jewish learning, foster a sense of belonging to the Jewish people, and cultivate strong ties with Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel) and Am Yisrael (the Jewish people).

The multi-dimensional NETA program focuses on the four major language-acquisition skills - listening, speaking, reading and writing - by immersing students in everything from classical Hebrew texts to Israeli music, and from historical documents to poetry and drama.  The curriculum is sequential and based on a structured linguistic progression.  lessons are centered on themes of interest to teenagers, ranging form computers and sports to friendship and freedom.  Each theme is presented from three perspectives: Jewish tradition, modern Israeli culture and general world knowledge, including art, science, mathematics, literature and philosophy.

NETA seeks to create a community of Hebrew speakers who can enjoy a lecture in Hebrew read a Hebrew book, participate in a serious discussion or casual conversation in Hebrew, read an article in an Israeli newspaper, and write a letter to the editor in Hebrew.  Comprising original texts of all genres and a wide variety of learning activities, the curriculum is always intellectually challenging, engaging the student's thought processes.

Each Hillel Torah student has taken a Hebrew placement exam designed to permit proper class placement.  In this way, each student will be studying materials that are challenging for him or her.  NETA is a demanding program, requiring commitment and effort from the student.  We are working hard to ensure that every resource is in place to maximize the students' success.

NETA provides intensive on-going professional development and program assessment (including student and teacher questionnaires), teacher mentoring, and resources and materials for students and teachers.  Every NETA teacher has participated in an intensive 10-day introductory course during the summer.  We count on you, the parents, to reinforce the children's effort as they gain access to the rich and textured world of the Hebrew language.

A unique and important feature of the NETA curriculum is its adherence to a steady pace that allows students to experience tangible progress in their Hebrew proficiency.  The curriculum specifies clear goals and measures of achievement, and is accompanied by standardized tests written by the curriculum development team and educational evaluation experts.