Yiddish VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education, the matriculation) was planned and developed by an advisory Yiddish teachers’ group, comprising Danielle Charak, Alex Dafner, Freydi Mrocki, Charles Slucki, Bobbi Zylberman and occasional other contributors, together with the VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) in the years 2003-2004. Alex Dafner was appointed writer of the VCE Yiddish Study Guide and Curriculum in 2005. The Yiddish curriculum is modeled on the framework of all other ‘languages other than English’ and includes a strong focus on culture, tradition and immigration.
The first Yiddish VCE Units 1 and 2 were taught by Alex Dafner at Mount Scopus Memorial College and The King David School in 2005 and this continued on to Units 3 and 4 in both schools in 2006. In 2006 a total of eleven students studied VCE Yiddish and there were eight students in 2009. In 2010 five adults study Units 3 and 4 VCE Yiddish and there are no school age students. Three students study Units 1 and 2 VCE Yiddish at The King David School. In 2010 only Sholem Aleichem College and The King David School offer pre-VCE Yiddish.
Sources: VCAA; Independent Schools Victoria; conversation with Alex Dafner, May/June 2010.