Valleywide : 5 Educators Honored by Milken Foundation

Physical education. Philosophy. Hebrew. Kindergarten. Art history.

Although their fields of expertise vary widely, the recipients of the Milken Family Foundation Jewish Educator Awards share the common thread of commitment to the enrichment of youth and the preservation of Judaism.

Gathered Thursday at a Beverly Hilton Hotel luncheon, five educators--four of them from the Valley--each received an unrestricted $10,000 award and shared their experiences with friends, family and peers.

Honored were Haim Linder, a Reseda resident and a physical education teacher at Adat Ari El Day School in North Hollywood; Andrea Silagi, an Encino resident and a kindergarten teacher at Pressman Academy of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles; Rabbi Avrohom Stulberger, a North Hollywood resident and a teacher of Talmud and ethics at North Hollywood’s Valley Torah High School; Debbie Wachsman, a North Hollywood resident and a teacher of Judaica and Hebrew at North Hollywood’s Emek Hebrew Academy; and Elyse Flier, a Bel-Air resident and an art history teacher at Milken Community High School in Bel-Air.

Honoree Linder, who teaches sports as a means to developing self-esteem, described his urge to teach as “a love of children and a strong desire to help them become the best they can be.”

“Every student is a champ,” Linder said. “Everyone is a winner.”

Silagi, who strives to bring together Jews of Persian, Russian and American descent in her classroom, confessed that a simple joy of teaching is “to watch my students--who are 5 and 6 years old--come happily to school.”

Rabbi Stulberger emphatically lamented that so few Jewish families can afford to send their children to Jewish day schools.

“Our challenge is to make sure that the schools are viable, that they’re thriving and that people realize that money is not the bottom line” in Jewish education, he said.