Growing Jewish Education in Challenging Times

For the past few years, the cost of Jewish education in the U.S. has been at the fore-front of many communal discussions. Op-eds have appeared in numerous publications; the Jewish Federations of North America hosted a session on the subject during last fall’s GA and various conference dialogues have ensued. Discussions, and studies continue, but solutions still seem to be elusive. And, while panic has been replaced with a level of calm in the philanthropic world, the combined issues of attractiveness, accessibility, and/or affordability in Jewish education, continue to be a major topic of concern. With the aim of propelling the discussion forward, eJewish Philanthropy and JESNA’s Lippman Kanfer Institute, invited a cross-section of communal educators and thought leaders to address the subject. We... Continue Reading

Hebrew Language Academy: The First Year

from The New York Times: Success and Scrutiny at Hebrew Charter School … But as the school’s first year draws to a close, its classrooms are filled with a broad range of students, all seeming confident enough to jabber away as if they were elbowing their way down Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem. Perhaps surprisingly, the school has become one of the most racially mixed charter schools in the city. About a third of the 150 students are black, and several are Hispanic. The school’s organizers say it has been so successful that they plan to help create dozens like it, pledging to spend as much as $4.8 million next year to seed schools in Phoenix, Minneapolis and Manhattan Beach, Calif., in addition to one set to open next fall in East Brunswick, N.J. [Translate] Bookmark:  Read More →

Three Ways to Get Involved in the Global Day

Participating in the Global Day is as easy as 1, 2, 3… In Your Community Community centers, federations, synagogues, and individuals will host events on November 7th. Search for an event in your community. Don’t see an event in your neighborhood? Pledge to participate, and we’ll keep you in the know as new community events are added. Even better: host a Global Day event! Get together in your home or at the local coffee shop, anywhere people can gather to think, talk, and learn together. Click here to volunteer to host a get-together. With Friends and Family Maybe big community events aren’t your thing, and you’d like to keep things closer to home. No problem! Click here to volunteer to host a Global Day get-together. Get together in your home or at the local coffee... Continue Reading

New Online Effort Launched to Reignite Global Jewish Learning

To celebrate the culmination of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz’s audacious 45-year quest to translate the Talmud and unlock its wisdom for modern Jews, today the Aleph Society launched a new online campaign to spark a love for Jewish learning. The effort is part of the Global Day of Jewish Learning project supported by more than two dozen national and international groups representing every movement within Judaism. The website TheGlobalDay.com will engage everyone from the most secular “cultural” Jews to the most religiously observant Jews in a provocative global dialogue about Judaism’s take on “big questions” like good and evil, heaven and hell, sex and relationships, and more. In addition to uniting Jews over the coming months to wrestle with important moral questions online,... Continue Reading

Covenant Foundation Award Honors Educators

Three exceptional educators from across the spectrum of Jewish life are 2010 recipients of The Covenant Foundation’s prestigious Covenant Award for their commitment to excellence and for designing innovative approaches making lasting impact on students, community and Jewish education. Jan Darsa, Director of Jewish Education at Facing History and Ourselves in Brookline, MA; Beth Huppin, a Judaic Studies teacher at the Seattle Jewish Community School; and Dr. Bernard Steinberg, President and Director of Harvard Hillel are the 2010 awardees. The three awardees join 57 other Jewish educators honored with a Covenant Award since the Foundation established the citation in 1991. Each will receive $36,000, and each of their institutions will receive $5,000. Here’s more from The Covenant Foundation. [Translate] Bookmark:  Read More →

Limmud in the Context of Informal Jewish Education

Development of the “Limmud” project in the context of the informal Jewish education system by Dr. Dmitry Maryasis Over the last twenty years, the Jewish community of Russia, which plays a significant role in the socio-political life of the country, has come a long way from underground existence to the most dynamically developing Jewish communities of the world. For this kind of success not to be short-lived, the community had to create and develop a modern educational system and it did. What is interesting is that two systems of Jewish education have been and still are developing in parallel – the formal and informal ones – both developing rapidly, in like manner, at that. The system of formal Jewish education embraces kindergartens, schools, universities and programs of post-graduate... Continue Reading

Technology and Jewish Education: A Revolution in the Making

JESNA’s Lippman Kanfer Institute would like to invite you to the launch of JE3, a new website devoted to the growing impact of technology on Jewish learning and teaching. The JE3 (Jewish Education 3.0) website grows out of a year-long process in which thought leaders, visionaries, and activists in the burgeoning world of Jewish educational technology met together both face-to-face and virtually to share ideas about the future of Jewish education in the age of Google, Facebook, Twitter, Web 2.0, and beyond. Contributors to the site include individuals like My Jewish Learning.com’s Daniel Septimus; Rabbi and author of thelordismyshepard.com: Seeking God in Cyberspace Joshua Hammerman; Jewish Television Network founder and Los Angeles Jewish Federation CEO Jay Sanderson, and Darim Online founder... Continue Reading

National Jewish Day School Foundation Announces Scholarship Match

The National Jewish Day School Foundation is gifting the 10 elementary day schools in Phoenix and St. Louis a total of $150,000 in “dollar for dollar” matching funds as tuition scholarships for families in financial need. The Foundation was formed by Michael and Carol Dean of Sedona, AZ, to build Jewish identity, values, literacy and community through supporting Jewish day school education. Distributions will be made through the Foundation’s EXCEL (EXcellence in Classroom Education and Learning) Scholarship Fund. Each of the area elementary day schools will have six months to fulfill the match. The schools then will determine the families which will receive scholarships applied to tuition for the 2010-11 academic year. [Translate] Bookmark:  Read More →

First North American Jewish Day School Leadership Conference Underway

In a groundbreaking gathering representing collaboration and common purpose among Jewish religious streams, nearly 600 leaders and educators at Jewish day schools across the U.S. and Canada opened the first-ever North American Jewish Day School Leadership Conference yesterday. The three-day conference offers delegates sessions, workshops and networking opportunities underscoring and addressing common concerns and issues as Jewish day schools enter a new decade committed to transmitting Jewish knowledge, enhancing Jewish practice, ensuring a vibrant Jewish future and solidifying the foundation of Jewish day school education. “This is a watershed moment in North American Jewish life,” said Dr. Marc Kramer, executive director of RAVSAK: The Jewish Community Day School Network. “A collaboration among... Continue Reading

Israel Studies on U.S. Campuses Grow

The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation announces the release of Searching for the Study of Israel: A Report on the Teaching of Israel on U.S. College Campuses 2008-09, prepared by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. An update of a 2006 report, Searching for the Study of Israel examines the scope of academic courses being taught about Israel on more than 300 leading American college and university campuses and finds that the state of education about Israel has improved since the original study. A comparison of the 246 institutions included in both studies shows a 69% growth in courses that focus specifically on Israel over the three-year period. “Our Foundation has been deeply invested in expanding opportunities to learn about Israel in academic environments... Continue Reading

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