Zack Sleep

5th Grade Teacher
Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator
Dreamweaver

Zack’s experience in education has taken him from working as an English language instructor in rural Vietnam to creating the Young Detectives after-school program at the OFJCC to teaching fifth grade. Zack believes that teachers open pathways for students to engage with cultures and ideas with which they are unfamiliar. Scholars who participate in hands-on learning, mutual collaboration, and volunteer service will learn to see themselves as contributors of knowledge in the classroom and to the betterment of their community.

Zack loves playing basketball, fishing, and researching the world’s most endangered animals in his free time. His passion for exploration is renewed time and time again by the inspiration he receives from his students.

 

Hometown:
Menlo Park, CA

Alma Mater:
McGill University
University of Pennsylvania

Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Masters of Education

What’s your most epic travel experience?
Vietnam

Top of your bucket list?
Traveling to the Philippines and seeing a real live whale shark.

Favorite quote:
“Don’t let school interfere with your education.” – Mark Twain

Favorite book(s):
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley

Your most epic teaching moment:
Our students reading to the kids at the local children’s hospital. Proudest day of my life.

Why you love teaching at Yavneh:
Is this a trick question? The kids. Period.

Highlight of the week:
Turn an “I can’t do it” into a “I’m starting to get it!”