This year, the Jewish calendar creates an oddity in that the first month or so of school is the month of Elul rather than Tishrei. What educational message can we glean from this unusual turn of the calendar?
Dr. Tal Grinfas-David, head of TGDConsulting, consultant to the Center for Israel Education (CIE), and DEEP Consortium member, shares key insights from years of coaching Jewish day schools to embrace transformative change, especially pertaining to teaching about Israel.
As we enter the Three Weeks, when we commemorate the most tragic periods in the national life of the Jewish people, JEIC Managing Director Sharon Freundel compares how the collective Jewish journey back to the Hold Land can mirror the journey of each child reaching their treasured destination.
Actively promoting faculty retention is a fundamental priority for Jewish day schools. Dr. Harry Bloom, Founder and President, Benchmarking for Good, Inc. delves into indications from the recent Prizmah/JEIC reports and recent faculty climate surveys conducted by Benchmarking for Good.
As educators prepare their yearly vision and units for the coming school year, JEIC Managing Director Sharon Freundel suggests that we use big ideas (BI) and essential questions (EQ) that focus on philosophical life statements and pertinent deep questions to frame the students’ learning.
Rabbi Shmuel Feld, founding director of the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge, discusses how the secret sauce in Jewish education is intrinsic motivation. He further examines this core concept in successful Jewish education that we delved into at this year’s Innovators Retreat.
Rafi Sloan, a new graduate from Berman Hebrew Academy, reflects on the benefits of his Jewish education and how this investment has embedded Judaism into his daily life.
Photo Credit: Copyright 2024. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
A study commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League found that, post-October 7, nearly 40% of Jewish college students feel uncomfortable with others knowing they are Jewish, due to the near-weekly college campus protests across North America. These protests have too often subjected Jewish, and especially Zionist, students to hate and vitriol, directed at their very identities.
Joshua J. Freundel, a research fellow at Harvard Law School, wants to know, How has Jewish day school prepared students to confront these tensions?
A teacher pipeline issue continues to grow, not only in the world at large, but in the yeshiva and Jewish day school field. School and field leaders are struggling with recruiting, training and retaining talented educators. As a response, Prizmah and the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge (JEIC) created the Jewish Day School Educator Pipeline Working Group to investigate current and previous initiatives, explore new ideas, and plan for the future.
Before Passover this year, many wondered how we should commemorate the ongoing imprisonment of 133 innocent Jewish lives and the unconscionable murder of 1,200+ Israelis. As the conflict continues, and day schools approach the season of “yamim”: Yom Hashoah, Yom Hazikaron, Yom Ha’atzmaut, and Yom Yerushalayim, do we expand the commemoration of Yom Hashoah to include more recent egregious examples of blatant Jew-hatred? JEIC Managing Director Sharon Freundel explores this topic and offers her insight.
How do we balance our Jewish identities in a world that most often doesn't pause for Shabbat?
Rabbi Tzvi Hametz, director of education technology at the Berman Hebrew Academy, tells the story of how his students put their Judaism first when their robotics championship meet was scheduled to take place on Shabbat.
American Jewish day school students face multiple challenges in their Hebrew reading and comprehension mastery journey. Rabbi Shmuel Feld explores these and offers several potential solutions in our latest blog post.
Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies Chief Education and Educational Training Officer Aviva Lauer offers educators meaningful ways to help their students – and themselves – keep alive the memory of those we lost on October 7th.
Many schools are questioning whether, in light of the atrocities of October 7th and the ongoing war, they should proceed with their regular Purim shenanigans this year. A variety of sources across the ages, from the Talmud to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks OBM, agree; the answer is an unequivocal yes!
Judith Talesnick, founder and director of Education at Empowering Educators, offers guidance for educators to uphold the uniqueness of each learner in their classroom – especially those who are neurodiverse – as Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) kicks off.
"I find that not infrequently these days, I’m angry at God," writes JEIC Managing Director Sharon Freundel of her feelings about the situation in Israel. "I find myself angry at the One who ultimately orchestrates what happens in this world...But I’m an adult who has spent much of my life grappling with theological issues. How might we address emotions such as anger at God with our students?" she asks.
What is the ROI of funding Jewish schools? A robust and bright future for the Jewish people.
"Inspired children will become the kind of adults who independently pick up a sefer (Jewish book) or seek out a study partner. This exchange of ideas ...is what builds community," explains Mayberg Foundation Director, Operating Programs Amian Frost Kelemer in this eJewish Philanthropy article.
Learn about how our partner organizations, like Hadar Institute's Pedagogy of Partnership program, Makor Chaim Institutions' Lifnai v'Lifnim program, Amatz and JEIC's own God Expansion initiative each offer creative techniques and pedagogies to achieve this goal.
Read “The ROI of funding Jewish schools” here
The October 7th attacks created a profound impact on Israel education -- for our students and our educators. Over the past two months, Unpacked for Educators has been fielding non-stop requests from schools seeking guidance and clarity in this moment of uncertainty.
Sarah Gordon, senior director of Israel education at Unpacked for Educators, a division of OpenDor Media, shares four suggestions for what schools can do to help their students address the challenges of the current situation.
JEIC Managing Director Sharon Freundel's article "The Spiritual Significance of Hebrew Letters” was featured on the Jewish Unpacked website. In it, she explains the spiritual significance of Hebrew letters, and uncovers the messages they have conveyed through millennia. From mystical meanings to numerical values, the Hebrew letters communicate more than just phonetic sounds; they are a gateway to understanding deeper spiritual truths.
“As part of their spiritual meanings, each Hebrew letter holds a numerical value,” Sharon explains. “These numerical values are known as Gematria. In Gematria, every letter corresponds to a number. This adds depth to words and phrases, as the sum of these values reveals hidden connections between words.”
Read more here.
The amygdala serves as a crucial bridge between a student's emotions and learning in the classroom. Rabbi Shmuel Feld, founding director of the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge, explores some ways that educators can anticipate their students' emotional responses and optimize the classroom environment for more effective learning.