With a just-announced distribution of $1,496,206, the Jewish Day School Guaranty Trust Fund, established seven years ago in Chicago, has passed the $10 million mark in distribution. This year's distribution, up slightly from last year, will be shared by 17 schools, serving students of all denominations that participate in the program. Distributions are based on enrollment. These dollars are in addition to a range of other support the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago provides including $3 million allocated directly to the schools each year and more than $23 million in loan guarantees for capital improvements at individual schools. … [Read more...]
Chicago Day School Fund Passes $10m. Mark in Distribution
Posted on May 21, 2013 Written by Leave a Comment
How is My Learning? Proposing an Annual Checkup
Posted on May 14, 2013 Written by
by Rabbi Mishael Zion “The crown of Torah is ready and waiting for all... all who want are invited to come and take a share” (Maimonides’ Code, Talmud Torah 3:1) Here is a proposal for Shavuot beyond the cheesecake. If the High Holidays are the time we inspect our behavior towards others, and Passover the time we take stock of our freedom, then Shavuot, being a celebration of our becoming the “People of the Book,” should be about how we are doing at learning. Granted, the number of people who maintain a practice of Jewish learning might be slim, but judging by the joy I get from reading articles on exercise and yoga without being much of a practitioner of either, I hope this project can garner some readership. Thus I offer a “Jewish Learning Checkup” for maintaining a healthy and … [Read more...]
Making the “Jewish” Choice Their Choice
Posted on April 11, 2013 Written by
[eJP note: The Jim Joseph Foundation's recently released report, Effective Strategies for Educating and Engaging Jewish Teens, examines and compares the work of twenty-one respected programs serving young people both inside and outside the Jewish world. The study was developed to help inform the Jewish community's collective thinking about community-based Jewish learning experiences offered to teens. In a series for eJewishPhilanthropy, a variety of stakeholders - including funders, practitioners, teen education experts and teens - will offer their perspectives on the findings in this research report, advancing a conversation about ways to dramatically expand and strengthen community-based Jewish teen education and engagement.] by Asher Kinyon I am a firm believer that the influence of … [Read more...]
Rethinking Our Communal Approach to Jewish Teen Education
Posted on April 9, 2013 Written by
[eJP note: The Jim Joseph Foundation's recently released report, Effective Strategies for Educating and Engaging Jewish Teens, examines and compares the work of twenty-one respected programs serving young people both inside and outside the Jewish world. The study was developed to help inform the Jewish community's collective thinking about community-based Jewish learning experiences offered to teens. In a series for eJewishPhilanthropy, a variety of stakeholders - including funders, practitioners, teen education experts and teens - will offer their perspectives on the findings in this research report, advancing a conversation about ways to dramatically expand and strengthen community-based Jewish teen education and engagement.] … [Read more...]
Day School Secret
Posted on March 11, 2013 Written by
by Meredith Polsky In her article, “Jewish Day Schools’ Dirty Little Secret” (February 8, 2013), Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi is spot on in almost every regard. Among the many unfortunate truths she describes, in fact, the only faulty one is that this is some kind of well-protected secret. In fact, there is no secret in the fact that Jewish Day Schools, by and large, are not an option for children with special needs. Just recently, at my daughter’s Jewish mainstream (non-special education) nursery school, I was talking to a mom about nothing in particular, when our local Jewish Day School came up in conversation. “Oh,” she said. “I love that school. I always thought my kids would go there. But I know they can’t because of their issues.” Very matter of fact. These are her first … [Read more...]
Pardes Achieves Success in Training and Retaining Judaic Studies Teachers
Posted on February 14, 2013 Written by
A just-released evaluation by the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies in Israel shows the achievements of its teacher training and retention programs, and demonstrates the importance of an active support system for new Judaic Studies teachers. The study, conducted by Research Success Technologies, details findings from two separate research engagements. One, commissioned by the Jim Joseph Foundation, evaluated the Pardes Educators Alumni Support Program (PEASP), while the other, commissioned by The AVI CHAI Foundation, studied the field’s impression of graduates of the Pardes Educators Program (PEP). The two-year PEP, which opened in 2000 and is funded by The Avi Chai Foundation, recruits and trains Judaic studies teachers and helps place them in North American day schools. In 2008, the Jim … [Read more...]
