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

Covenant Foundation Announces New Grants

From a technology-based curriculum to teach students about Jewish moral and social issues, to a mentorship program for young girls to encourage Jewish community engagement, 13 innovative and trailblazing initiatives are recipients of new Covenant Foundation grants. As part of approximately $2 million to be distributed this year, the Foundation announced today $798,100 in new grants as part of its mission to support, advance and recognize excellence and impact in Jewish educational settings. The 2009 round of grants highlights a commitment to initiatives across the landscape of Jewish educational experiences, settings and audiences. Grants include organizations and projects dedicated to Jewish learning through technology, empowerment of students and teachers in environmental and other pressing social... Continue Reading

JESNA’S Pick for the Best in Jewish Education of the Decade

by Jonathan Woocher The dawn of a new decade has brought with it a flurry of retrospectives assessing the first ten years of the 21st century. Clearly, there’s been much to cause discouragement, anxiety, and concern. But, as we at JESNA look back on the past decade in Jewish education, we also find much to celebrate. In fact, it’s been a pretty good decade for Jewish learning, not without its challenges and disappointments, but one marked by many exciting developments, new ideas, and promising directions. So, in the spirit of the new decade, with perhaps a touch of the Oscars thrown in, here is our JESNA “Top Ten” list of achievements, developments, ideas, and trends in Jewish education worthy of note and gratification (in no special order). And, since we’re Jewish, we... Continue Reading

Limmud UK: The Mother of All Conferences

by Adam Rattner Some 2,000 people checked into the halls of residence at Warwick University, West Midlands, yesterday morning, joining the 500 participants who had already spent the Christmas weekend away from festivities and in a Shabbat atmosphere instead. Long unsure about what to do with themselves as the rest the country celebrates Christmas, Britain’s Jews have found an unlikely answer – go to university for a week. The Limmud conference, the world’s biggest Jewish educational get-together, offers the chance to sleep in university dorms and spend the day in lecture theaters listening to academics, rabbis and lay people presenting on just about every Jewish topic conceivable. Participants were still arriving on Sunday, weather conditions permitting, from all over the world. Since... Continue Reading

Current Day School Enrollment: The Glass is Half Full

Yesterday Avi Chai Foundation hosted a discussion on day school enrollment – the data, trends and implications. Drawing on information collected by several organizations, including AVI CHAI, PEJE, RAVSAK, SSDSA and PARDeS, a group of educators, journalists, funders, and communal leaders met, in person and virtually, for deeper reflection. For background: earlier this year, AVI CHAI published a census of Jewish day schools for the 2008-2009 school that was conducted by Dr. Marvin Schick. Dr. Schick found a total of over 228,000 students in day schools. This represented an enrollment growth of 23,000 students compared with five years ago, and 43,000 from a decade ago. The majority of these students are in Chassidic and yeshiva world schools, which account for the majority of the growth in the... Continue Reading

More on NewCAJE

Leora Koller-Fox writing in/on JewSchool: Mazal Tov! It’s an Organization! At its core, CAJE was a place where educators could meet with their colleagues to experiment with innovative, cutting edge ideas about the most essential piece of Judaism – its transmission to the next generation. … This week, an eblast went out to the membership list to announce the birth of the new grass roots movement. So now I can officially introduce to you to NewCAJE. While its purpose and mission haven’t been defined yet, it has a solid foundation of the most experienced and talented educators waiting to mentor the next generation into the field. Their mission is to build up a solid framework for NewCAJE and give it to us to do with as we please. Ira J.Wise, RJE, writing in/on Welcome to the Next Level: And... Continue Reading

The Day Schools Pressing Need

by Rabbi Irving (Yitz) Greenberg The day school movement is embattled. After significant growth over the past two decades, overall enrollment at non-Orthodox day schools has taken a slight downward turn in the past several years. Complaints that day-school education is just too expensive have surged. Leading philanthropists insist they get more bang for their buck from Birthright Israel, or from funding Jewish camping, than from offering more costly day school tuition assistance. Highly visible Hebrew charter schools have been started to provide a publicly funded alternative to day schools. And new programs have been launched to rehabilitate supplemental religious or Hebrew schools/Talmud Torahs, so they can serve as better educational options for parents. I, too, wish there were a cheap, effective... Continue Reading

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