The following is the next post in the series on HUC’s Rabbinic Externship program. Rabbi Samuel K. Joseph, PhD., is Professor of Jewish Education and Leadership Development at HUC-JIR in Cincinnati. He is the director of the Day School Externship program and spends every waking moment (and probably sleeping moments) fully engaged in the program. He attends the externship with the HUC-JIR students as their mentor.

Exhausted does not begin to describe how we all felt at the end of the week.  An exhilarated exhaustion to say the least!

Six rabbinical students, pairs from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion campuses in Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and New York, recently completed an intensive externship week at the Jacobson-Sinai Academy in North Miami Beach, FL. From a 7:00 am breakfast until well after 11:00 pm each night, we observed, taught, reflected, questioned, conversed, answered questions and threw ourselves into the culture of this Reform day school.

Our purpose was to become passionate advocates for Reform day schools.

Through the work of Dr. Jane West Walsh and the Progressive Association of Reform Day Schools (PARDeS) we were able to secure the funding and support necessary to have this program. Students compete on each HUC-JIR campus for a slot in the Externship.

As part of the Externship, the rabbinical students also participate in video seminars about Reform Movement and day schools. In the fall, each pair will create and mount a Day School Advocacy program on each HUC-JIR campus.

The Day School Externship program is so powerful because of how immersed the students become in the culture of the school. The day begins in the carpool drop off line. Students get to see not only the “technical” part of the drop-off process, but also the interactions of students, parents, teachers, and administrators at the very start of the school day. Then it is off to home room to see the transition from home to school and the morning routines.  HUC-JIR students then attend secular and Jewish/Hebrew studies classes for every grade level. There are meetings with every cohort of teacher and administrator from music and art to PE to math, history, science and Hebrew.  There are meetings and dialogues about tefilah, about holidays, about b’nai mitzvah. Conversations about the connections of Jewish studies to secular studies are threaded throughout the day.  The carpool pick-up line ends the school day.

But the HUC-JIR rabbinical students’ day is not over. After a brief rest, it is off to evening gatherings. Each evening the students have dinner with various stakeholders of the school. These groups include members of the Governing Board, leaders of the Parent’s Association, and members of the Temple Board of Trustees. In this way, the rabbinical students get a very full picture of all facets of running and maintaining a day school.

Of course this Externship could not succeed without the tremendous support of the director of the school, in this instance David Prashker. No one could have created a better experience than David. Along with him, the rabbi of Temple Sinai (the school’s host synagogue), Rabbi Alan Litwak, gave huge amounts of time to the students talking with them about having the day school as part of his congregation.

The HUC-JIR PARDeS Reform Day School Externship is a fabulous program. We now have 12 alumni of the Externship. I am fully convinced we now have 12 wonderful advocates for Day Schools.

The following guest-post is the first in a series about a program that brings rabbinical students at Hebrew Union College to one of the Reform day schools, building their connection to day school education. This one is by David Prashker, Director of Education at Temple Sinai of North Dade and the President of PARDeS, the Progressive Association of Reform Day Schools.

Funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation and now in its second year, Hebrew Union College’s “Rabbinic Externship” came to Miami this May to discover why Jewish day schools have become one of the cornerstones of Jewish continuity in North America. Six third- and fourth-year students spent a week at Jacobson Sinai Academy at Temple Sinai of North Dade. The students, two from each of HUC’s campuses in Cincinnati, New York, and Los Angeles, were accompanied by Rabbi Sam Joseph and Dr. Michael Zeldin. Their intensive week included classroom observations, opportunities to teach and to witness tefilah; the externs met with administrators, teachers, current and alumni parents, clergy, school and Temple board members, Parents Association leaders, founders, and donors. They even had an opportunity to watch as the founders of PARDeS reminisced in front of cameras for a video to mark the 18th anniversary of the Reform Day School movement.

What makes Jacobson Sinai Academy unusual is that it’s a day school which is part of a synagogue community, one where the religious school shares the same facilities under the same leadership. It’s also a Reform school with a large Hispanic community, very few of whom are actually Reform in their family lives. It’s also the primary source of income for the Temple, and the primary bringer-in of new members.

Twenty years ago, pulpit rabbis advocated actively for Jewish summer camp, and of course for their own religious schools, but very few for day schools. Why? In the Reform movement it came from a commitment to integration in the wider community and a balance of Jewish and secular spheres; public school on weekdays, religious school on Sundays, and camp in the summer was considered the best route to that end. Gradually, as day schools have become more and more successful, not only academically but also in producing fully integrated Jews who may even have a stronger Jewish identity and commitment than their public school peers, our Rabbis have come to recognize the importance of advocating for all forms of Jewish education, and from this has come HUC’s Rabbinic Externship program, designed to ensure that future Rabbis can speak from personal knowledge and experience.

So this is what the Rabbinic Students came to see, and now they have gone back to HUC–and on into their pulpits—they have that knowledge and experience. And for us, as the host school – we received eight keen, astute, and engaged pairs of eyes to engage us in a week of deep reflection and a chance to show off the virtues and qualities of a great institution.

Jennifer's son a few years ago when he graduated from pre-school

June.  In the day school calendar, you can almost hear each school exhale a sigh of relief.  “We did it, another year under our belts.”  Classrooms are filled with smiling teachers and students.  The conversation around my breakfast table this year was about Color War, our school’s end-of-year tradition.

Whatever special tradition your school observes to mark the end of year, there is one all of ours share:  Graduation.  Whether your school is graduating 6th graders, 8th graders, or high school seniors, this is a pivotal moment for each Jewish day school graduate.  Because the day after graduation they will become (drum roll please) read more…

• The Pinellas County Jewish Day School is closing its doors at the end of this school year, but a group of concerned supports are looking at opening a new school in its wake [Jewish Press of Pinellas County]
• In a column in the JPPC, an area rabbi writes, “This school was our communal responsibility, and its closure is our collective failure.” [Jewish Press of Pinellas County]
• If you haven’t read some of the articles in the JESNA/eJewishPhilanthropy series, “Growing Jewish Education in Challenging Times,” (including a submission by PEJE Executive Director Josh Elkin), be sure to check it out. [eJewishPhilanthropy.com]

What was the experience of Sinai like for those assembled there–which, according to tradition, includes all of us, our ancestors, and our descendants?
 
In Exodus Rabbah, the classic collection of Midrashim on the second book of Torah, we find a debate between Rabbi Yohanan and Rabbi Tanhuna. Rabbi Yohanan’s view is that at the revelation at Mount Sinai, the voice of God divided itself into 70 languages so all peoples were able to understand it. Rabbi Tanhuna takes a different approach. He posits that the voice of God was understood by each person according to his or her ability. The commentary says that even Moses understood the voice of God in accordance with his own ability.
 
The overarching message from R. Tanhuna is that the Jewish people were all together and united as they experienced this ultimately transcendent event, and yet they each experienced it uniquely. read more…

Yesterday we had our first Virtual Assembly Session “The Jewish Communal Responsibility for Education.” For those who were unable to make it, after the jump are the webinar’s description and a few of the many things that struck me (all are paraphrased unless otherwise noted). I encourage you to listen to the entire recording and leave your thoughts in the comments.

–Matt Brown read more…

(cc photo from Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau)

Last week the Commonwealth of Massachusetts celebrated Patriots’ Day.  Wikipedia says that Patriots’ Day is a “civic holiday commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles of the American Revolutionary War.”

All I know about Patriots’ Day is that it is also the day of the Boston Marathon.   I am lucky enough to live about 50 yards from mile 23, a downward slope driving the marathoners to the final few miles.  I myself am not a runner of any sort, but standing on the sidelines and cheering for thousands of runners is somewhat of a religion in Massachusetts. 

The Marathon starts at 10am and by 3pm it is rough going on those who are still on the course.  While I watched the stragglers finish up, some of whom had been running for more than six hours, I started thinking of all of the day schools who are in mile 23 of their Annual Campaign. 

With just about two months of school left, most of you are in the final stretches of meeting your annual goal.  How have you done this year?  Are you past what you expected… will your school have a deficit or a surplus? I know all these questions are riding on your shoulders.

So, now it’s time to call in the big guns.  While watching the marathon I kept hearing folks in the crowd cheer “finish strong.”   So here are a few tips for how you can “finish strong” and maximize your annual fund this year: read more…

The following originally appeared on eJewishPhilanthropy.com, as part of the series “Growing Jewish Education in Challenging Times.”

What will it take to make sure that Jewish day school education continues to thrive for future generations, even in challenging times? The incredible momentum of recent decades, as day school enrollment increased exponentially, requires renewed energy now. The current economic environment only underscores the need for schools to adapt the most professional management and leadership practices in order to thrive in the 21st century. Our field’s growth so far has been amazing and awe-inspiring; the challenges ahead must be met with new solutions.

Thirteen years ago PEJE began as a grant maker, seeding new schools financially and through expertise. As our mission expanded to lead the entire day school field as a capacity-builder, we created programs and initiatives to help schools in critical areas, such as fundraising, admission, and financial management. Now, we recognize our need to focus our activities in order to lead the field toward long-term sustainability and renewed growth.

We have learned that there are three key levers for day school growth and stability:

• The professional leadership of our Heads of Schools and their capacity to inspire.
• The volunteer leadership and strategic governance of our Boards.
• The financial sustainability of our institutions. read more…