Applications Open: Covenant Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education

The Covenant Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2014 Covenant Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education, given each year to three educators who exemplify innovation, inspiration and impact in the field of Jewish education and in their communities.

Recipients, named each spring, receive the esteem and respect attached to the award, as well as $36,000 and $5,000 for their home organization or institution.

A dedicated Covenant Foundation web page – www.covenantfn.org/awards – describes the Covenant Awards and outlines procedures, guidelines and deadlines to be followed by those nominating an educator. The deadline for 2014 nominations is Nov. 21st.

According to selection criteria of the Foundation, Covenant Awardees are exceptional Jewish educators who have made a significant impact, have contributed creatively to advancing the transmission of Jewish knowledge, values and identity, and are positive role models.

Sixty-nine Jewish educators from throughout the country and across the breadth of Jewish life have been honored with a Covenant Award since it was established in 1991. Recipients have distinguished themselves in the field of Jewish education in a variety of ways, including classroom teaching, family education, the arts, adult education, tzedakah, curriculum design, leadership and professional development.

Educators working in any setting in North America are eligible to receive a Covenant Award. These include those working in day schools, congregational schools, camps, informal education venues, Hillel programs, family and adult programs and other educational endeavors.

The 2013 Covenant Award recipients, named in June, include Howard Blas, Director of the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England; Judy Finkelstein-Taff, Head of School at the Chicago Jewish Day School; and Zion Ozeri, Founder and Creative Director of The Jewish Lens in New York.

For more information about nominating an educator for a 2014 Covenant Award, visit www.covenantfn.org/awards, email awards@covenantfn.org, or call 212.245.3500.

The Covenant Foundation is a program of the Crown Family Foundation.