Employee Directory

Elijah Sivin

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

Elijah Sivin, a lifelong Brooklynite, has been teaching professionally 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, organized the advisory program, advised Student Government, and supported the assembly schedule. In 2011, he began leading Poly’s community service program and has since led efforts to incorporate service learning into the experience of students. Elijah enjoys working with Poly’s diverse, local Brooklyn community and launched its current Service Learning Team (SLT) program in 2020. The SLT program promotes social responsibility, learning through experience, care for the community, and volunteerism—all essential elements in the development of good character. He believes learning works best when it is experiential and he tries to bring that kind of education to his students whenever he can.