The following statement was sent to The Boiling Point on May 19 by Dr. Jay Smallwood, after he announced to his CIJE class that he would not be returning this year:

In my time at Shalhevet, I have had the opportunity to learn far more than I have taught. The good students, the bad students, the easy students, and the difficult students have each in their way taught me something about education and life. I am grateful to each and every student at this school for what he/she has given me. The open secret of education is that teachers are the students, and this fact engenders the passion that you, the students, see in your classrooms. Of course, this dedication leads to inevitable conflicts as every teacher here works hard to achieve an ideal learning environment. In a perfect world, I would be returning to Shalhevet next year; however, this is not the case. At this time, I do not wish to elaborate further.

This year, I have had the privilege of teaching the CIJE-Tech first-year engineering course. I have watched students who didn’t know their way around a wire in September in eight short months build sophisticated electronics projects. It is the one course in my teaching career that has been the best aligned with my technical skill-sets, interests, and pedagogical approach. As a result of this experience, I have been offered a position to work with CIJE (Centers for Initiatives in Jewish Education) as a support liaison and curriculum advisor for New York and New Jersey Jewish day schools in the same capacity as Dr. Krag has here in Southern California. I will be moving to NYC in the summer. While I will miss Shalhevet, I am excited about this new phase in my life and career. I will be back in LA periodically for work, and I will stop by to see how everyone is doing.