Summary report of the Jewish Education Task Force

By JEWISH REVIEW

article created on: 2010-02-25T00:00:00

History demonstrates that a large Jewish population is not essential to create a vibrant center of Jewish culture and learning. What is required is a dedication to scholarship and learning as a community priority. The quality of education depends on the quality of the educators. Attracting and retaining high-quality educators is accomplished by communities whose lay and clergy leadership recognize these priorities and fund them.

The JETF undertook a year-long study of the educational approaches of communities across North America, to determine what new approaches or models of education delivery might best enhance the existing educational infrastructure. Several clear themes emerged:

(1) Jewish education is a gateway to community involvement. Education creates communities of learners; it empowers people to become community leaders, and enables community leaders to be guided by Jewish values. Adult education enables parents to be resources to their children, and provides children with a model for life-long Jewish learning.

(2) The education community needs ongoing foresight and coordination. Every educational entity promotes its core mission, but nobody’s top priority is fulfilling unmet needs. Jewish education requires continual collaboration and cooperation - to facilitate marketing, coordinate programs, support synagogue education, identify donor interests and generally “link the silos” of educational resources. Additional staffing must be earmarked for this purpose.

(3) Jewish Educators need professional support and recognition. It takes exceptional educators to sustain exceptional programs; our many excellent Jewish educators have inadequate resources, professional training, and support to develop such programming. Professional development attracts, retains and inspires teaching. Recognition for outstanding performance in Jewish education adds to excellence. Other communities offer much more than us.

(4) Jewish Education needs to be more visible and accessible. This requires scholarships and marketing—scholarships for day school, teen and adult education, and community educational events; marketing strategies to reach those interested in accessing Jewish education. Many active students become active participants, donors, and fundraisers; funding education pays tremendous dividends later.

(5) Jewish teens need more resources and opportunities. Post-b’nai mitzvah kids are hungry to meet a circle of friends larger than the pool they’ve grown up in. Teens need more opportunities to meet in an educational setting. Cities with community-wide teen education programs have greater success in attracting widespread teen participation in Jewish learning.

The Task Force developed the following consensus recommendations of this community’s highest priorities for new funding:

1. Create an educational ombudsperson to provide community-wide educational support, including: (a) Monthly gatherings of educators to exchange information and ideas; (b) Annual recognition event for excellence in education; (c) Coordinating libraries and other resources; (d) Matching educators in the community with programs needing part-time staffing; (e) Supporting a Web site devoted to educational resources; (f) Marketing educational opportunities throughout the community; (g) Helping others plan and coordinate community offerings, and leverage the use of visiting educators; (h) Administering scholarships for professional development; (i) Organizing professional development programs including resources for synagogues and Jewish day schools. This person would help avoid duplication, and link the educational community to a common focus for professional development.

2. Develop Community-wide Educational Teen programming. We have excellent programs, but the content is not as rich as communities that combined resources to offer unified programs; these generate enthusiasm for an age group hungry to meet new peers. Pooling of resources allows for a range of “electives” for Jewish teens, Shabbatons, leadership retreats, holiday events, and social action. This effort would require coordination among the existing Synagogue programs, and recognition that high-level programming to maintain the Jewish involvement of teens is not a competition for their allegiance, but an opportunity to expand the teen Jewish community.

3. Develop and market a community-wide integrated Web site. Many communities have a well-integrated Web site which includes all community events, including educational opportunities. Portland’s current Web site (www.jewishedpdx.org) is not well-marketed or integrated with general community events and information.

4. Develop a community educational scholarship fund. Existing funds subsidize enrollment in particular programs, but a community-wide fund may attract money from donors interested in broad support of education, and from national foundations.

Education provides the basic fuel of Jewish continuity. There is no substitute for the continuous and coordinated review, upgrade, and marketing of our Community’s educational offerings.