HCSC | Page 4

from the chair Momentum A lot has happened since we launched the Hebrew Charter School Center in 2009. Our first school, the Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, opened that year and today serves nearly 500 students from a variety of economic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. Since then we’ve opened five similar schools – in Harlem, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and two in California. HCSC schools weave the study of Hebrew language and of Israel into a robust educational program. Our newest school will open in Minneapolis in 2015, and we are actively exploring the creation of additional schools in New York City, as well as in cities such as Boulder, Detroit, and Atlanta. In addition to serving as chair of the Board of Directors for the Hebrew Charter School Center, Sara Berman also chairs the boards of Hebrew Language Academy Charter School and Harlem Hebrew Language Academy Charter School. From 2004 to 2008, she was a weekly columnist for The New York Sun, focusing on the experience of raising children in New York City. Before that, she was the features editor and then the news editor at The Forward, America’s national Jewish newspaper. From 2002 to 2005, Sara chaired the board of the Makor/Steinhardt Center, one of eight centers at the 92nd Street Y. Currently she serves on the Board of Directors of The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life and the Board of Trustees of the Areivim Philanthropic Group. She graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University, where she studied history. Sara Berman This momentum is no accident. We are building a movement of academically rigorous dual-language charter schools across America that teach children of all backgrounds to become fluent and literate in Modern Hebrew and prepare them to be productive global citizens. Right now, more than 1,200 children are being educated in our schools across the country, but our vision is to someday serve tens of thousands of students each year. As you look through this report, we invite you to renew your commitment to be a vital part of this exciting venture, or, if you have not yet joined us, to strongly consider doing so – we’d love to have you at our side! Sara Berman, Chair of the Board 2 hebrew charter school center