Employee Directory

Elijah Sivin

• Director of Service Learning, History Faculty
• 718-836-9800 x6340
• Email
• Dyker Heights
• Upper School

“In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” —Baba Dioum

Elijah Sivin is a lifelong Brooklynite. He has been teaching since 1994, and at Poly since 1996. While an undergraduate at Brown University, he worked at Summerbridge in San Francisco and got hooked on the magic of the classroom. He returned to Brown for a master’s in teaching for social studies. Since then, he has worked to infuse his educational work with the values of diversity, sustainability, and community engagement. He has taught Grades 9 and 10 world history courses and a wide range of electives, including American Politics, History of the 1960s, and History of New York City. From 2006 to 2011, he served as the Upper School Dean of Student Life, organizing the advisory program, advising Student Government, and supporting the assembly schedule. He began working with Poly’s community service program in 2011 and has worked since then to incorporate service learning into the experience of Poly students. In recent years, he has been part of the team putting Audrius Barzdukas’ vision into practice through Poly’s Institute for Ethics and Leadership (IfEL) and has worked closely with the Directors of Sustainability and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) in that regard. He loves working with Poly’s diverse Brooklyn student body and is thrilled to be launching Poly’s new Service Learning Team program in 2020.”