Partnership for Excellence in Jewish Education - Supporting Jewish Day Schools: Knowledge: Additional Resources: Resources Specifically for Jewish Day Schools

Day School Leadership Training Institute
This 15-month leadership institute, funded by Avi Chai and the Jewish Theological Seminary, is designed to develop educational leaders for the Jewish day schools across North America. Bringing together exemplary practitioners, scholars, and emerging leaders, DSLTI combines formal and informal learning, study and practice in the areas most critical to leadership success in the Jewish day school environment. Held during two consecutive summer sessions, this program is facilitated by a team of highly skilled mentors. Typical participants have teaching and administrative experience, Jewish literacy, and a masters degree or equivalent. For further information call Fran Urman at 212-678-8041 or email Frurman@jtsa.edu.

HaSha'ar
HaSha'ar is a fellowship program co-sponsored by Drisha Institute for Jewish Education and Beit Rabban Center for Research in Jewish Education. Fellows receive an $18,000 stipend to support their participation in a year-long program of Jewish studies and professional development. Fellows commit to teaching in a day school for the following two years, during which they receive ongoing support and professional development from the HaSha'ar faculty. Call 212-595-8153 or email hashaar@beitrabban-drisha.org.

Jewish Day Schools for the 21st Century
JDS21 is designed to help Reform and community day schools become "Jewish learning organizations" and "Jewish learning communities." Each JDS21 school creates a Task Force, led by a small Leadership Team, that meets monthly for three years to study the school's guiding Jewish values, deliberate on ways the school might enact these values, and plan initiatives to translate the values into action. Schools receive guidance from JDS21 in the form of detailed protocols for every step, a consultant assigned to the school, and annual Kallot with the project staff and other JDS21 schools. JDS21 is a project of the Rhea Hirsch School of Education of HUC-JIR, Los Angeles. For more information contact Dr. Michael Zeldin, Project Director, at mzeldin@huc.edu.

Jewish Education Leadership Institute
This new Chicago-based institute will offer professional training programs for future day school leaders. The Institute has partnered with Loyola University to offer a joint Masters of Education in Administration and Supervision (from Loyola) and Day School Principal Certification (from the Institute). The Institute will also offer a three-week seminar leading to Director of Development Certification.

JSkyway
Created by Jewish Family & Life!, JESNA, and the Nash Family Foundation, JSkyway offers distance learning and other resources to day school educators. Piloted in 2000-2001 with 24 schools in the northeast United States, JSkyway will be open to more schools in the fall of 2001. The JSkyway web site features a resource center and discussion boards available to the public.

Kivunim: Israel Summer Institute for Teachers in Jewish Day Schools
Kivunim seeks to create a new direction in teacher training for the Jewish day school of the 21st century. Kivunim's program allows teachers to view Israel and Judaism through a critical lens, helping them to develop a more open approach to the education of the children in their schools. The program itself is an example of "integrated" education, providing teachers with first-hand experience of the power of weaving together the worlds of Jewish and general studies. Program participants receive a full fellowship and are eligible for up to six graduate credits through the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies. Contact Peter Geffen, Director, at 212-595-7087 x201 or PG1946@aol.com.

Pardes Educators Program
This new two-year program leads to a Certificate of Advanced Jewish Studies from the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, and a Masters Degree in Jewish Education from the Rothberg International School and the Melton Centre for Jewish Education of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Participants receive a generous stipend and commit to service as a full time educator at a Jewish day or high school in North America for a minimum of three years.

Project 2001: Flexible Scheduling & Staff Development Models for Jewish Day Schools
Project 2001 was a four-year initiative directed by Dr. Robert Vogel and funded by the Jim Joseph Foundation. The project involved research of flexible scheduling models, implementation in eight Jewish day middle and high schools, and data collection from the participating schools. A recently published manual includes school reports, models of staff development, a research overview, a guide to resources, actual lesson plans from participating schools, and a comprehensive evaluation report on the project. To inquire about the project or the manual, contact Dr. Vogel at vogel@lasalle.edu.

Areyvut
Areyvut reaches out to Jewish day schools and congregational schools, regardless of affiliation. Cognizant that few schools maximize their resources to effectively promote the values of chesed, tzedakah and tikkun olam, Areyvut offers a unique opportunity for schools to create innovative and meaningful programs to make these values a reality for students and educators alike.

ipray
How can educators better engage students in the shacharit service? The Kim & Gary Heiman Family Foundation has developed a unique and engaging musical service called ipray. You can request the ipray CD set and Teacher's Guide free of charge at the ipray website or by emailing the foundation.

Jewish Civics Initiative
JCI is a program of PANIM (formerly The Washington Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values). The day school version, a year-long program for 11th or 12th grade classes, integrates the study of Torah and civics in both classroom and practical settings. Tracks for both Orthodox and pluralistic day high schools are available. Each participating class uses a curriculum developed by the Institute, attends a four-day leadership retreat in Washington, and creates a tikkun olam project to meet the needs of its community.

Jewish Fund for Justice: Tzedek Partnership Curriculum
The Jewish Fund for Justice (JFJ) is a national, publicly-funded foundation designed to engage Jews in combating the causes and consequences of poverty in America. The Tzedek Partnership Curriculum was developed especially for Jewish day schools. Through classroom lessons, a hands-on project, and a tzedakah component, this interdisciplinary curriculum teaches students about the causes and consequences of poverty, the history of the Jewish response to poverty, and the Jewish mandate to fight poverty expressed in Jewish text. It is geared toward middle school students in grades 5 through 8.

Lomed LA: A MANUAL TO CREATE A VOLUNTEER TUTOR/MENTORING PROGRAM WITHIN JEWISH SCHOOLS
This manual has been designed for Jewish schools interested in creating a volunteer tutoring program for students in day and supplementary schools. It contains general explanations of how to establish a volunteer tutor/mentoring program within the schools, problems that might arise at the outset, and possible solutions. It also contains pertinent forms that are useful for starting up such a program. The manual includes background information on how the program was established by the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles.

Solomon Schechter Day School Teacher's Manual: Tefillah Curriculum for Gan and Alef Classes
Authored by noted tefillah expert Saul Wachs, this guide "combines elements of a teacher's manual and curriculum. It is devoted to the overall goal of introducing the young child to tefillah (Jewish prayer) and nurturing spirituality in preschool, gan (kindergarten) and first grade" (from the Introduction). It is available from the United Synagogue Book Service.

Tal Am and Tal Sela Hebrew Curricula
These comprehensive curricula for grades 1-6 are used in numerous day schools, spanning the denominational spectrum.

Creative Learning Pavilion
Launched in 1986, the Torah U'Mesorah Creative Learning Pavilion lists resources available for Torah teachers online. The collection, which began at 250 entries, has now expanded to more than 11,000 systems, materials, methods, games and resources. An easy search interface allows you to sort through these entries, as well as hundreds of photographs, posters, and 3-D projects, all aimed at giving you additional tools for the classroom. For more information, visit the Creative Learning Pavilion.

"Engaging Disengagement"
"Engaging Disengagement" is a fast-moving, fact-filled, interactive program which addresses the Israeli government's policy to evacuate all Jewish settlements in the Gaza strip and four Jewish settlements in Northern Samaria. The program allows all participants, including those with little or no prior knowledge, insight into the hearts and minds of Israelis concerning this most controversial policy. The program is presented by experienced facilitators from Melitz, a non-profit, pluralistic, non-political educational organization based in Jerusalem. Further details are available at www.melitz.org.il.

Blue and White Kids
Blue and White Kids is an Israeli manufacturer of high-quality, competitively-priced clothing Made in Israel for schools and camps in the U.S. Their merchandise ranges from polo shirts and sweatshirts to skirts and ribbed tops. Potential customers are welcome to view a partial sampling of available goods at the link above or contact Gary at gary@blueandwhitekids.com to discuss potential business together.

Operation Jewish Education/The 5% Mandate
Operation Jewish Education/The 5% Mandate calls upon the Jewish community to adopt a "standard of normative behavior" that every Jew set aside and donate 5% of his or her assets upon death or during his or her lifetime to a Jewish educational endowment fund of their choice. Day schools are encouraged to implement the concept by establishing endowment funds, educating the community about the program, and obtaining pledges to participate from community members.

iFund
A program of the Jewish Funders Network, iFund is open to all institutions and organizations seeking funding for projects that promote Jewish Education in both formal and informal settings. Proposals for projects up to $1000 are posted on this website for potential funders to select.

Sample Judaic Benchmarks

Exemplary Jewish Middle School

Areyvut's Kindness a Day 2006 Calendar
Areyvut's 2006 "A Kindness a Day: 365 Ways to Make a Difference" calendar will be available in the fall. Day schools can use the calendar as an educational tool, to help raise funds, or as a gift for teachers, families, or potential students. The full color calendar demonstrates a school's commitment to tikkun olam (social justice) and helps engage students, staff, and the school community to make a difference in responding to the needs around them. The calendar offers 365 suggested activities that exemplify Jewish values and is designed to apply to all Jews, regardless of affiliation and knowledge of Jewish text. For more information, please contact Areyvut at 212-813-2950, daniel@areyvut.org or www.areyvut.org.