Karen Shiffman, Gifted and Talented Specialist

 

Karen Shiffman has been teaching at the Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School since 1990. She has a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from State University at Buffalo and an M.Ed. in Early Childhood from Kent State University. Karen is a native New Yorker who before moving to Cleveland, lived on Kibbutz Lotan in the Aravah Valley in Israel. As a kibbutz member, she taught art at the regional school and was the manager of a date plantation. Since arriving in Cleveland, she has been a faculty member at Agnon/Mandel JDS. She is a recipient of the Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education and the Steiger Family Grant for excellence in Jewish education, both of which honor outstanding teachers in Jewish Day Schools. Karen brings creativity and an in-depth understanding of how young children behave and learn in a school setting. She is also the proud mother of three Agnon/Mandel JDS school graduates. When not at school, Karen enjoys time with her family, snuggling with her dog, and creating colorful batiks in her studio.