The Crown Family has awarded a grant to the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education (JTS) and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion to launch a Chicago based cohort of the Jewish Early Childhood Education Leadership Institute (JECELI).

This is the first regionally focused offering of the JECELI program, which has successfully engaged new and aspiring leaders in intensive Jewish study and early childhood education leadership development on a national level. Participants learn how to help children and families find meaning in texts and ritual, create strong professional relationships using concepts from Judaism, and gain tools to build community in their programs and institutions.

The two-year program will launch this fall and will work closely with the Chicago Early Engagement Leadership Initiative.