Nominations Sought for 2010 Covenant Awards

The Covenant Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Covenant Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education, given each year to three exceptional educators who exemplify innovation, inspiration and impact in the field of Jewish education and in their communities.

The Covenant Awards are one of the most acclaimed and recognized honors within the organized Jewish community. Recipients, named each spring, receive the considerable 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 website page describes the Covenant Awards and outlines procedures, guidelines and deadlines to be followed by those nominating an educator for this honorable citation. The first deadline is Nov. 19.

Fifty-seven 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 2009 Covenant Awardees, named in May, include Dr. Erica Brown, Scholar-in-Residence at the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and Director of Adult Education at the Partnership for Jewish Life and Learning; Rabbi Stuart Seltzer, Dean of Judaic Studies at the Shoshana S. Cardin School in Baltimore; and Nili Simhai, Director of the Teva Learning Center in New York.

The Covenant Foundation is a program of the Crown Family Foundation and the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA).