Featured Writing
Publications
Thoughts on education, leadership, inclusion, and what it means to truly see and support every learner.
Over the past decade, Eliana has written about the intersection of curriculum, community, and care in Jewish and general education. Her work has been featured in journals such as HaYidion and Jewish Educational Leadership, where she's explored topics including student voice, pluralism, civil discourse, and inclusive school culture. Below are published pieces that reflect Eliana's values and the work she supports through EL Innovations.
Featured Articles
Israel education, Jewish identity and Global Citizenship
HaYidion, Fall 2025.
A reflection on a year of worldschooling and how a Jewish day school education provides the essential foundation for students to navigate global citizenship with a deep, enduring sense of identity and connection to Israel.
The Power of a Parent/Guardian Advisory Committee
HaYidion, Spring 2023
A practical look at how schools can deepen family partnerships by creating space for authentic parent voice — and the structures that make it work.
➡ Read Article
Jewish Day School as an Innovation Incubator
Explores how schools can become hubs of creativity and problem-solving—sharing real-world examples like middle school “innovation zones” that empower students to design, test, and iterate impactful projects
When the Student's Parent is a Colleague (Co-authored with Orna Siegel)
Jewish Educational Leadership, Fall 2019
A consideration of the dual-role dynamics when faculty teach their colleagues’ children, uncovering the benefits of enhanced trust and community alongside the challenges of boundary ambiguity and emotional strain.
Am I Wearing the Right Hat? Navigating Professional Relationships Between Parent– Teachers and Their Colleagues (Co-authored with Ilana Dvorin Friedman, and Rebecca Harkema)
Small Community Journal, Spring/Summer 2017
This examines how educators who are also parents—and their non-parent colleagues—manage complex role conflicts, boundary-setting, and communication in small school communities.
Teaching the Whole Child by Valuing Students’ Voices
Jewish Educational Leadership, Winter 2016
An exploration of how empowering students to share their perspectives enhances both learning and community.
Balancing Textual Authority with Student Voice: A Collaborative Action Research Study in One Modern Orthodox Ḥumash Class
Doctoral dissertation, Loyola University Chicago, 2016
This study bridges classic Judaic text study and contemporary literacy practices to explore the role of student voice in navigating authority, tradition, and interpretation.
The Pluralistic Mission in Everyday Practice
HaYidion, Autumn 2014
A reflection on how pluralism can live in the daily culture of a school — not just in policy, but in tone, trust, and learning design.
Critical Literacy and 21st-Century Jewish Day Schools (co-authored with J.K. Shah)
Jewish Educational Leadership, Spring 2014
This piece invites educators to think critically about how we teach reading, interpretation, and meaning-making in a Jewish context — and what 21st-century skills really look like in practice.
Beyond Denominations: Expanding Pluralism in Day Schools
HaYidion, Summer 2013
An argument for going beyond surface-level diversity to create truly inclusive environments in Jewish day schools.
Research
Lipsky, Eliana, Ilana Dvorin Friedman, and Rebecca Harkema. "Am I Wearing the Right Hat? Navigating Professional Relationships between Parent-Teachers and Their Colleagues." School Community Journal 27.1 (2017): 257-282.
Lipsky, Eliana T. Loyola University Chicago ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2016. 10118413.
Let’s Collaborate
Have a writing or speaking opportunity in mind? I love working with organizations, schools, and publications to bring ideas to life. Get in touch →