Innovation in Teaching Award 

The Innovation in Teaching award recognizes creative pedagogy that makes a mark on students and has the potential for wider application and teacher growth. The Mishkan Project culminates 7th graders’ study of Sefer Shemot (Book of Exodus) and the building of the mishkan (temple). Bringing history, math, engineering, art, and design thinking to Torah study, this collaborative, hands-on project challenges students to articulate their own conception of the mishkan. Receiving the award for the Middle School Judaics Team are Devora Hornstein, Ora Cohen Rosenfeld, and Mat Tonti. Special thanks to Elana Cohen, STEM and Design Thinking Coordinator, and to Shifra Chelst, Judaic Studies Teacher and Curriculum Coordinator, for their support of the project. 

Alumni Achievement Award 

The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes academic accomplishment, leadership, and community service by a MILTON/JPDS graduate. Rachel Brandenburg ‘92 has distinguished herself in all three areas. She began in the very first class of what was then the Jewish Primary Day School. She went on to attend CESJDS, Tufts, and Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Following a Fulbright Scholarship in Israel, Rachel worked on Middle East policy and national security at the U.S. State Department, Department of Defense, U.S. Institute of Peace, and on Capitol Hill. She currently is a Vice President with The Cohen Group. Rachel and her husband Michael live in Washington, DC with their two young children. 

Outstanding Service Award 

The Outstanding Service Award recognizes a parent or community member for distinguished service to the school. This year we recognize Edna Friedberg and Maia Magder. 

Edna Friedberg has served on the MILTON Board of Trustees since 2016 and as President during the Covid pandemic, deftly supporting the school’s leaders in navigating one of the most complex challenges in the history of education. Prior to that, as Co-Chair of the Search Committee, Edna hired Dr. Deborah Skolnick-Einhorn and successfully led the school’s second Head of School transition in 30 years. Edna has partnered with the school in its work to build an endowment, launch the Moses Family Middle School, and bring thoughtful Holocaust education to MILTON students. 

Maia Magder was Co-President of the Primary Parent Association (now MPA) from 2015-17 and has served on the Board of Trustees since that time. She chairs the Trustee Committee and has served on the Executive Committee as Vice President. Throughout her service, Maia has strengthened volunteerism, cultivated a generation of lay leaders, and helped the school sustain its strong sense of community through a period of rapid growth.