Milken Family Foundation Executive Vice President Richard Sandler presented Chana Zauderer, a principal at Yeshiva Rav Isacsohn/Toras Emes Academy, with the Jewish Educator Award. (photo by Brynn Mechem)

When Chana Zauderer was a child, the greatest punishment she could imagine was being told she couldn’t attend school.

“When I would misbehave, which was very rare because I was a very good child, my mother would always say to me, ‘If you don’t behave, you can’t go to school tomorrow,’ and that would shut it down immediately,” she said. “I loved being in school. I loved learning.”

But as Zauderer looked around, she discovered her classmates didn’t love learning as much as she did.

“I vowed to myself that one day I would go into education to make learning fun and exciting and meaningful,” Zauderer said.

And that’s what she did, her students said. Now a principal at Yeshiva Rav Isacsohn/Toras Emes Academy, located at 555 N. La Brea Ave., Zauderer was one of four educators to receive this year’s Jewish Educator Awards for her work.

Each year, the Milken Family Foundation honors four educators during a surprise assembly with the award, which also comes with a $15,000 check, which the honorees may use as they please.

This year’s awards also honored Natalie Williams, a Judaic studies teacher and principal of YULA High School’s girls division, located at 1619 S. Robertson Blvd.; and Cherie Friedman, associate director of elementary school general studies at Kadima Day School, located at 7011 Shoup Ave. A fourth teacher will be announced later this year. All honorees will be celebrated at an awards luncheon in the spring.

Educators cannot apply for the award. They are selected through a three-step process by the Builders of Jewish Education, an organization that partnered with the Milken Foundation to establish the awards in 1990.

The heads of each of the 36 BJE-affiliated Jewish day schools throughout Los Angeles submit a nomination letter for a teacher or educator they feel should be considered for the award. The letter highlights how the teacher has impacted the school, students and community.

Educators must have taught a minimum of six years and teach no less than 15 hours a week. The recommended teachers are then observed by BJE staff, though the staff members observe several teachers within each school to keep the nominated teacher a secret.

BJE staff then writes a report and submits it to a committee that reviews the candidates and selects four winners.

BJE Executive Director Gil Graf said though the process is extensive, the organization looks forward to it each year.

“The backbone of education is the educator,” he said. “Education is fundamental and essential to living a life of meaning, so the opportunity of publicly honoring, recognizing and applauding educators is the highlight of the year.”

Zauderer is the sixth honoree from Yeshiva Rav Isacsohn/Toras Emes Academy, but she is the first woman from the school to receive the award.

In addition to her duties as principal, Zauderer also took on two class periods this year because she said she missed being in class with students.

“The lifeblood of the school is to be in the classroom,” she said. “I feel like I can better contribute, and I feel like it’s very healthy for a principal to be in the classroom. To see the day-to-day dynamic, you just become a better principal and you can help teachers even more so by giving them those tips on how to handle different situations.”

Richard Sandler, executive vice president of the Milken Family Foundation, presented the award to Zauderer in front of her students on Oct. 7.

“By surprising educators with their awards before their entire school communities, we say in a very public way that excellence in education should be rewarded,” Sandler said. “And by capturing the imagination of students, we hope to encourage our next generation to consider careers in teaching – in particular, to strengthen the vital role of Jewish day schools to develop academic potential and cultivate lifelong respect for the values imparted by their Jewish heritage.”

Zauderer said she was shocked to be selected for the honor, but it was validating. She hopes to continue instilling a passion for education in her students.

“I hope to give them a lifelong love of learning and teach them that learning doesn’t end just because you leave the classroom,” she said. “There’s always more learning to be done. I love to learn, and I hope to give that over to students.”