Student Services Department - Faculty List

Mrs. Elise Vitow is the Director of Student Special Services and teaches Biology. Prior to joining the Ma’ayanot faculty, she served on the faculties of both HAFTR and HALB, where she taught various science and math courses for thirteen years. At HAFTR, she also served as the Chairperson of the Science Department of the Middle School, as well as a learning specialist, staff mentor, and in-service instructor of new faculty. Before returning to teaching full time, Mrs. Vitow was the Educational Administrator of the Stanley H. Kaplan Educational Center in Staten Island for eight years. Mrs. Vitow received both her B.A. in Languages and Literature and her M.S. in Special Education from CUNY, as well as sixty credits towards an R.N. degree. She is a member of the team of founding educators of the National Association of Yeshiva Day Schools Serving Exceptional Children (NADSEC), as well as a member of the N.J. Association of Jewish Day Schools.

Mrs. Nava Orlian works in Student Special Services at Ma’ayanot. She received her B.A. in Education at Michlalah, the Jerusalem College for Women, where she completed a double major in Special Education and Judaic Studies. She taught at Michlalah, and served as an adviser to the overseas students. In addition, Mrs. Orlian instructed students with various learning disabilities in Israeli high schools. Subsequently, she received her M. S. in Special Education from Hunter College, and was also certified as a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, simultaneously attending the Master’s Program in Jewish History at Touro College. She was involved in founding the ELIYA School for the Blind in Jerusalem. In her capacity as a learning specialist and mehanekhet at Ma’ayanot, Mrs. Orlian draws on her experience in Judaic Studies and Special Education.