I am so thrilled to receive this highest honor in the name of the drama therapy field and the wonderful institutions in which I work - Yeshivah of Flatbush Elementary and Joel Braverman High School, Camp Morasha, Congregation Bnei Yitzhak and Selfhelp Community Services Inc.
I extend my greatest congratulations to my fellow awardees, Dr. Gregory Beiles and Risa Strauss.
Please see the official Covenant Foundation press release here, and the excerpt below:
New York – June 5, 2019 – The Covenant Foundation has announced the names of three Jewish educators who are the 2019 recipients of the Covenant Award.
Dr. Gregory Beiles, Head of School, The Toronto Heschel School and Director, The Lola Stein Institute, Toronto, Canada; Sally Grazi-Shatzkes, Registered Drama Therapist, Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, and Theater Director, Yeshivah of Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York; and Risa Strauss, Education Director, Beth Shalom Synagogue and Founding Director, Camp Gesher, The Katie and Irwin Kahn Jewish Community Center, Columbia, South Carolina, are the recipients of the Award, which is among the highest honors in the field of Jewish education.
“Each of this year’s Award recipients is deeply embedded in the work of their respective institutions, each wears multiple hats, and each learns and teaches alongside colleagues and faculty members for the betterment of their individual school communities,” said Cheryl Finkel, Chair of the Board of Directors of The Covenant Foundation and a 1999 Covenant Award recipient.
“It is so heartening to know that across the map of North America, there are Jewish educators modeling this kind of teamwork, partnership, and dedication. We are thrilled to amplify each of their accomplishments and hope they serve as role models to other aspiring Jewish educators.”
Along with the recognition that accompanies this award, recipients will each receive $36,000 and each of their institutions will receive $5,000.
SALLY GRAZI-SHATZKES is a Registered Drama Therapist, Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, and Theater Director at Yeshivah of Flatbush.
At the Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School, Grazi-Shatzkes is the lead drama therapist in the Witness Theater program, an innovative intergenerational program run by Selfhelp Community Services, Inc., that brings together Holocaust survivors and high school students to elicit, expose, and memorialize the moving stories of survival. By utilizing a guided drama therapy process through which group members explore issues of war, loss, and trauma, Witness Theater allows participants to also form deep and meaningful relationships that dissolve the barriers between generations. Grazi-Shatzkes also trains drama therapists to facilitate the program at multiple other locations.
Grazi-Shatzkes is also the designer and facilitator of two original curricula for younger students (grades 1-3) at the Yeshivah of Flatbush Elementary School, which both focus on social and emotional awareness and character development. Friends and Feelings combines creative arts and counseling within a playful and educational environment and offers students an opportunity to find common ground with their classmates and celebrate each other’s differences. Kids Speak is an original, creative arts-based program for children whose parents are separated or divorced. The curriculum includes storytelling, role-play, clay work, puppets, theater games, and other creative arts-based techniques.
In 2015, Shatzkes introduced the “Tommy & Amy Series” to her students, a collection of original and vibrant puppet skits that complements the Flatbush Five program, an original Yeshivah of Flatbush curriculum that integrates the values of respect, honesty, kindness, responsibility, and humility as a way to promote a hand-in-hand approach to values and academics.
Beyond Flatbush, Grazi-Shatzkes teaches weekly Shabbat classes about Torah, Mussar, and other Jewish topics to girls ages 5-13 at Congregation Bnei Yitzhak, using the tools of bibliodrama and theater games, as well as an interactive reading of texts and role playing. During the summer, she serves as the Head of the Drama Department at Camp Morasha, a modern Orthodox residential summer camp in Lakewood, Pennsylvania, where she has worked since 2015. There, Grazi-Shatzkes teaches daily drama classes and works with the educational staff to integrate drama into camp-wide programming. She also writes, directs, and produces original dramatic productions based on pivotal events in Jewish history.
“Sally is an educator unlike anyone I have ever known,” said Jill W. Sanders, Administrative Consultant and retired Associate Principal at Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School, who nominated Grazi-Shatzkes for the Award. “Sally dedicates herself to Jewish education and actively engages Jewish hearts and souls, transforming their understanding of what it means to be part of the Jewish community. As a drama therapist, she changes the lives of young and old alike, strengthening Jewish values and commitments while providing the context in which her students learn to express their feelings, solve problems, and achieve therapeutic goals.”
“The Covenant Award is a humbling reminder of how blessed I am to have the opportunity to teach Jewish character values through drama therapy and theater,” Grazi-Shatzkes said, upon learning that she had been selected for a 2019 Covenant Award.
“This high honor matches the love and pride I feel for my students. I accept it on their behalf and thank them for making me want to be a better teacher, artist, and person every single day.”