Submitted by editor on July 24, 2012 - 4:49am
Published in
Early Childhood & Young Families
The Jewish Education Project works to ensure the continual improvement of the over 250 early childhood centers in the New York area including their ability to engage today’s diverse Jewish families. Through peer networks, expert consulting, sharing of resources and professional development, we help educators integrate innovative Jewish developmentally appropriate practices into their classrooms, involving children and families in meaningful Jewish learning experiences. The Jewish Education Project also supports early childhood centers and their host institutions (synagogues, JCCs and Day Schools) to become family-focused gateways to further Jewish engagement, and collaborates with communal entrepreneurs to create and catalyze new models that connect families with young children to one another and Jewish practice.
SPARKING AND SPREADING NEW MODELS OF FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
- Gateways to Engagement (G2E)
- Jump In
- J-LINC
- Engaging Today's Families: Parent Focus Group Findings
- Coalition of Family Engagement Innovators
IMPROVING EARLY CHILDHOOD PRACTICE
- Director's Network
- In-site-ful Journeys
- Communities of Practice (CoPs)
- Professional Days of Learning
- Whole School Learning
- Consultations
- Project SEED
- Press
SPARKING AND SPREADING NEW MODELS OF FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
Gateways to Engagement (G2E)
During the formal 2-year initiative, Gateways to Engagement (G2E) supported 9 institutions in a process of strengthening their capacity to involve and excite families with young children in Jewish life before, during and after the Early Childhood Center experience. The process included:
- An institutional taskforce made up of professional and lay leaders from the early childhood center and institution who received consultation support in leading a process of strategic planning for deepening Jewish family engagement for families with young children.
- Family engagement specialists who provided consultation support in the development and implementation of one innovative family engagement strategy.
- Professional learning opportunities for Early Childhood Center directors and educators to strengthen their work with children and families as Jewish Early Childhood Educators.
G2E continues to engage educators, lay leaders, and professional leaders seeking to collaboratively transform their early childhood centers and their host institutions (i.e., synagogues and Jewish community centers) into more welcoming and engaging entryways to Jewish life for families with young children.
Click here to view pictures and documents from G2E.
Jump In Family Programs
Jump In family programs are designed to increase outreach to families with young children through innovative models of engagement. An initiative of The Jewish Education Project with support from the Steinhardt Foundation.
Jump In with Shira StoryTime is a fun and creative approach to Jewish story time for families aimed at strengthening Jewish literacy, building relationships with and between families, and providing a nurturing environment for parents to reinforce important values for their children. Click to learn more about this model program, including video highlights from past events, upcoming story times, and available resources.
Jump In for Justice events engage families in developmentally appropriate hands-on social action experiences that emphasize each individual's ability to make a difference in the world. Click to learn more about this model program including highlights from an event held on LI and suggestions for organizing an event in your community.
Jewish Linking Innovation, Networks and Community (J-LINC)
J-LINC is an initiative to create inter-generational and developmentally appropriate Jewish education programming for families with children ages five years and younger by partnering with four Educational Resource Providers (ERPs): Storahtelling, Avoda Arts, Areyvut, and the Teva Learning Alliance.
J-LINC provides an opportunity for the ERPs, institutions and families to benefit from a new, innovative, and collaborative model of inter-generational engagement. The four ERPs committed to this initiative have the capacity and desire to craft quality experiences for this new target population. The synagogues and JCC's participating in J-LINC will be exposed to new models of family engagement, and most importantly, families will have rich opportunities for deepening their connection to Judaism and to Jewish friends.
J-LINC is an initiative of The Jewish Education Project with generous funding from The Covenant Foundation.
Engaging Today's Families: Parent Research Findings
The Jewish Education Project set out to understand what Jewish engagement looks like for first-time Jewish moms during this new life stage. This research provided insight into the needs and interests of Jewish moms with children aged 0-2. The findings reveal a need in the Jewish community to shift the focus from program to relationship based connections.
Coalition of Family Engagement Innovators
Networking opportunities for entrepreneurial program professionals and educational leaders who are bringing new and creative enrichment programs to families in and out of traditional settings are taking place through phone conversations and small gatherings. This network will investigate current resources, share ideas, collaborate and support each other in reaching new audiences.
IMPROVING EARLY CHILDHOOD PRACTICE
Director’s Networks
Regional networks of early childhood directors explore topics to create more welcoming and inclusive communities for families, professional development, Jewish Developmentally Appropriate Practice, early childhood philosophy and methodology, and innovation and change in structure of institutions. Directors are provided with materials, tools, and techniques for ongoing study with faculty during in-service training.
In-site-ful Journeys: Visits to Innovative Early Childhood Sites
In-site-ful Journeys is a series of site visits to area schools, connecting colleagues in an ongoing learning and spreading successful innovative practices. Educators observe schools in session and see adaptations of change in early childhood practice first hand. Participants interact with each director and learn how each made their vision a reality. Through learning new ideas and connecting people to each other across the networks attendees are supported towards taking the next steps in their own innovation journey. Site visits began October 2012 and continue through January 2013. Conversations, webinars and additional site visits continue through June 2013.
Communities of Practice (CoPs)
Communities of Practice (CoPs) meet regionally throughout New York area and are designed for directors and educators who are interested in more intense exploration of core educational concepts, innovation in early childhood education, and in taking leadership roles in their community.
Professional Days of Learning
Professional days of learning are held throughout the year for various regions and constituencies. these days of learning are part of a year-round education strategy with early childhood center directors and their facilities.
Whole School Learning
School faculties are provided with resource materials to strengthen key concepts of professional development. At monthly network meetings directors share and learn about new tools and strategies in areas of learning that they bring back to their schools and share in faculty learning meetings. Site visits, online communication, and consultations support school faculty learning during the year.
Consultations
The Jewish Education Project provides schools with resources, site visits, and consultations for professional development.
Project SEED
The Jewish Education Project, in collaboration with Westchester Jewish Community Services, offers a collaborative multi-disciplinary program that supports several Westchester early childhood center staff and parents to work more effectively with children who exhibit challenging behaviors.
Press:
