About

Mission, Values & Learning Principles

Our Mission

Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School is a warm, supportive, and  diverse community rooted in Torah values and Jewish traditions.  Our school provides an education marked by academic excellence, joy of learning, respect, and attention to the  individual. Our faculty fosters life-long learning and celebrates and supports students in reaching their goals as individuals and as members of the community. We prepare students to become compassionate leaders with integrity and character, who are proud, knowledgeable Jews, with a deep connection to Israel, its  land and people.

Our Values

Respect and kindness to others • DERECH ERETZ • דרך ארץ 
Joy • SIMCHA • שמחה 
Respect and dignity for the diversity of each individual • B’TZELEM ELOKIM • בצלם אלקים 
Torah and Jewish values • AHAVAT TORAH • אהבת תורה  
Community • KEHILLAH • קהילה 
Commitment to Israel • AHAVAT ERETZ YISRAEL • אהבת ארץ ישראל 
Jewish pride and identity • ANI YEHUDI • אני יהודי 

Our Learning Principles

Derech eretz in all teacher-student and student-student interactions 
Teachers display and model respect for the individual student, creating a safe environment in which students are encouraged to challenge themselves, and engage fully in the learning process 

Clear and consistent goals 
Teachers set clear goals and consistent expectations through ongoing written and oral communication, including use of assignment directions, study materials, and grading rubrics, all accessible to students and parents on school website.

Flexible approach to teaching 
Teachers use a variety of teaching approaches, including modeling, experiential learning, differentiated instruction and facilitative versus direct instruction, to maximize the learning of all students within the class.

Challenging and rigorous instruction at all levels 
Teachers create challenging and rigorous instruction for students at all levels, with high expectations aligned with the skills and developmental readiness of the students in the classroom.

Ongoing assessment with feedback 
Teachers use a variety of formative and summative assessments with timely feedback, and opportunities for reflection, to maximize the rate of skill acquisition and the depth and accuracy of conceptual understanding, as well as to guide the teachers’ own instructional planning.

Team approach to education and development of students 
Teachers communicate actively with students, parents, advisors, and administrators when concerns arise about a student’s performance. Academic Support personnel, both those on staff as well as those whom parents have privately employed, should be viewed as partners with the teaching staff in the learning process and, as such, should receive regular communications about how the students are doing and what the students should be working on. 

Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School

Learning together. For life.
Baltimore’s only Jewish independent preparatory school serving PreSchool through Grade 12.