JESNA culminated this year with a number of notable achievements, including:

• The Berman Center for Research and Evaluation provided valuable consulting services to nearly 40 clients in a wide variety of settings and locations, helping to improve Jewish education across the spectrum.
• The updated and fully-searchable Sosland Online Resource Center continues to be expanded to include an ever-growing database of resources and publications, in more than thirty topical categories, on "what works" in Jewish education
• The dissemination of JESNA's groundbreaking "Educators in Jewish Schools Study" (EJSS) created the opportunity for decision-makers in schools and communities to base policy and programming decisions regarding teachers on empirical data for the first time in many years.
• The Lippman Kanfer Institute worked with dozens of communities and education leaders to put into action the design principles and strategies for change laid out in its working paper, "Redesigning Jewish Education of the 21st Century" and more than 1,800 synagogues were directly impacted by change initiatives led by our partners in this work.
• More than 1,500 educators and professional development specialists subscribed to PD Notes, a component of the Professional Development Center funded this past year by a supplemental allocation from the Alliance, for up-to-date, user-friendly information on PD opportunities and developments.
• NAACHHS, the North American Association of Community Hebrew High Schools, operating under JESNA's auspices, continued to nurture and support 54 member schools with resources, best practices, professional networks, and new solutions.
• Continuing support for communities and community-based educators through our work with the Association of Directors of Central Agencies, other professional networks, collaboration with organizations such as PEJE and UJC, and consultations and presentations for communities including New York, Baltimore, Detroit, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, MetroWest, San Francisco and Denver.

Now Hiring: Webmaster 

General Summary of Position

The webmaster will be responsible for overall web development along with management of the technical end of the JESNA website (www.jesna.org) and its current and future allied sites (e.g. www.jesnapdc.org and www.allianceforcre.org). In addition to regular maintenance, security and troubleshooting, he/she will report on website analytics and recommend solutions to business questions, work with the JesWeb committee to develop internet/intranet solutions for JESNA projects and organization-wide web policies, and train onsite and remote staff to use web applications. Webmaster reports to the Chief Marketing Officer. To apply, send resume & cover letter to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  with the subject line "Webmaster."

Primary Responsibilities

• Responsible for web development and some work in analytics and intranet development.

• Provide overall management of the technical end of JesWeb committee projects and other allied JESNA websites.

• Perform site maintenance and troubleshooting for the website and allied sites, including updating and repairing links, rearranging pages as needed, updating website components, and removing or updating outdated content, and addressing security issues.

• Develop internet/intranet solutions for employees and departments, including evaluation and implementation of web solutions.

• Conduct regular collection, analysis, and reporting of website statistics. Work with the committee to develop specific business questions and propose solutions based on analytics.

• Create proposal(s) for a re-envisioned sitemap at appropriate intervals.

• Develop organization-wide web policies, including naming conventions, web protocol and process documents, website user management, SEO, and security issues.

• Train and consult with JESNA staff regarding use of web applications and contribution to the website/intranet.

• Keep abreast of new technology and competitive landscape.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities Needed to Perform the Job

• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.

• Strong professional communication skills including excellent oral and written skills.

• Project management and organizational skills, including demonstrated ability to deliver a project/assignment within the designated time frame.

• Self-motivation and initiative.

• Ability to multi-task.

• Must be fluent in Joomla with a working knowledge LAMP hosting, Drupal Content Management Systems, HTML, XML, CSS, flash, and PHP.

• Familiarity with Photoshop preferred.

• Demonstrated resourcefulness, optimism, flexibility, and good humor in approach to project assignments and in working with colleagues and constituents, on site and remotely.

• Commitment to JESNA's values, mission and goals.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelors degree and 3 years experience in web design and development, or 5 years experience.

Working Conditions (Travel, Physical Requirements of Job)

• This job does not require travel.

Internships

We are currently accepting applications for Summer 2012.

Each Summer, JESNA hires qualified individuals to fill full-time paid internship positions.Interns will be assigned to one of the areas within JESNA including: professional development and advancement, institutional advancement, congregational and day school education, and research and evaluation.Assignments are made according to individual skills and interests, as well as the needs of the agency.Interns will work on all aspects of agency business including research, event planning, and organizational advancement.Specific duties will vary per project, but may include data maintenance and analysis, problem solving, critical thinking, information gathering, communications with different constituencies and report writing.

Each Intern will be assigned to work primarily in one specific area of JESNA.In addition, an equally important component of this internship is the opportunity for Interns to get a full understanding of 1) what JESNA does, 2) what it means to work in a national Jewish non-profit agency, and 3) the critical issues currently being addressed in the field of Jewish education.In order to facilitate this knowledge gathering, Interns will be expected to attend a series of Staff Sessions in which they will be introduced to the JESNA staff members and the issues they address.The schedule for the Staff Sessions will be announced once the Summer Interns have been determined and their schedules set.

Time Commitment: Summer Internships are full-time (40 hours per week), for 10 weeks, beginning on or around May 25^th.

Qualifications: Graduate students preferred; undergraduates and other appropriate candidates will be considered.

Location: All JESNA Internships are located in the New York office.

How to Apply: If you are interested in an internship at JESNA, please send a resume and writing sample to Kris Marin-Pilgrim at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

This week we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot - a time of revelation, a time of renewal, and a time of recommitment to Jewish covenant and Jewish learning. If I were to pick a holiday, which best exemplifies our mission at JESNA, it would surely be Shavuot. Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, in his book The Jewish Way, talks about the challenge of teaching Judaism, in the context of this holiday:

"As with any transmission of tradition, there is a danger that the freshness and depth of covenantal commitment will be lost .... The work of all previous generations would be forfeit, if one entire generation of relay runners dropped the torch .... The holiday of Shavuot is a response to these concerns. It celebrates and renews the covenant of the Jewish People."

The challenge that we face today in Jewish education is finding those "relay runners"—finding them, engaging them and empowering them to learn. In this week's parsha Beha'alotcha, there is an incident that speaks to this very issue:

In response to Moshe's frustration with Bnei Yisrael's ongoing complaints, Gd instructs him to select 70 elders (the precursors of the Sanhedrin) to help him govern the people. We then learn that two of these chosen elders, Eldad and Medad, are prophesizing in the camp. Joshua advises Moshe to put a stop to this, but Moshe responds differently:

"U'mi yitain kol am Hashem nevi'im." (If only all of Gd's people were prophets.)

Moshe understands that if Bnei Yisrael are to progress in their journey from slavery to freedom, if they are to learn what it means to build a Jewish community, they need to feel empowered and to be fully engaged in the enterprise.

And so it is today, that the new e-words in Jewish education are engagement and empowerment. However, I worry sometimes that too many of our communities are diverting their limited resources for Jewish education to engagement, and may be losing sight of that other e-word which we've been striving towards these past years—excellence.

Don't get me wrong. Engagement and empowerment are critical to moving Jewish education forward to new levels of access and reach. If we can't engage those "relay runners," we won't be able to transmit our tradition, no matter how brightly the torch burns. On the other hand, if the torch is barely burning, what exactly do we expect these "relay runners" to transmit?!

These questions and the metaphor of the torch bring me back to the parsha. Beha'alotcha opens with instructions to Aaron regarding the daily lighting of the Menorah in the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, which was dedicated in the previous parsha Naso. The commentators ask why this passage is inserted right after the list of dedication offerings presented by each of the tribal leaders. Rashi responds that Aaron was upset that the tribe of Levi had no role in the dedication ceremony; so Gd comforted him with the news that he would be responsible for lighting the Menorah every day.

The Or HaChaim takes this one step further and teaches that, in order to clean and prepare the lamps of the Menorah, they had to be removed; so that, in effect, Aaron was rebuilding the Menorah and rededicating the Mishkan on a daily basis. This image of the Menorah being rebuilt and rekindled every day can serve as a model for us, as we struggle with the issues of quantity and quality in Jewish education.

The Menorah is our heritage, our values, our language, our texts. We may take it apart, analyze it, and put it back together again; but it remains the immutable essence of who we are as a Jewish people. Its role, however, is to support and contain the flames which, unlike the Menorah, are in a constant state of change.

The lit Menorah, then, represents the balance between tradition, and its relevance in an ever-changing world; the balance between teaching what is essential to understanding Judaism, and what is meaningful to today's learners in their highly-connected universe; the balance between engaging a multitude of Jewish learners, and ensuring the quality of what they learn.

If JESNA and its partners are to succeed at achieving meaningful change in Jewish education—change that incorporates innovative thinking and practices, and moves Jewish life forward to new levels of access and excellence—then we need to ensure that the initiatives, which we identify, develop and promote, are characterized by the balance of the lit Menorah.

Chair

Honorary Chair

Vice Chairs

Secretary

Assistant Secretary

Treasurer

Assistant Treasurer

Board Members

JESNA’s Expertise: Learnings, Dissemination, Application

JESNA works with communities and educational leaders to generate, disseminate, and apply the knowledge and know-how needed in order to improve and transform Jewish education.

JESNA catalyzes and supports change through a “spiral” process of learnings, dissemination, and application.

Learnings
Using the unmatched empirical base of evaluations conducted by the Berman Center and drawing on the broad knowledge and experience of its professional staff, JESNA identifies what works in Jewish education under what circumstances. It organizes and synthesizes learnings from multiple sources within and beyond the field in order to create a solid framework of knowledge to undergird and inspire ongoing efforts to expand Jewish education’s reach, scope, effectiveness, and impact.

Dissemination
JESNA actively disseminates these learnings to educational and communal leadership through a wide range of media and methods, spearheaded by the work of its Learnings and Consultation Center. On the JESNA web site's Sosland Online Resource Center, a wealth of information is available about Jewish education and the ways to improve it. JESNA publications (print and online), communities of practice, and consultations are vehicles not only to disseminate learnings, but to promote the sharing of knowledge that enriches the discourse about educational policy, programming, and practices.

Application
JESNA helps our partners apply learnings to strengthen Jewish education locally and to generate new knowledge that can support cycles of “continuous improvement.” Through lay and professional development, hands-on support for local strategic planning and problem solving, communities of practice, and demonstration projects, JESNA enhances the capacity of agencies and their leaders to apply better approaches and tests out new solutions. These, in turn, help build a new generation of learnings that can accelerate the pace of positive educational change.

JESNA’s spiral of learnings, dissemination, and application is a powerful strategy for educational improvement and transformation. It is made more so by the added element of an explicit focus on innovation provided by JESNA’s Lippman Kanfer Institute. Through the Institute, JESNA seeks to identify, disseminate, and encourage the implementation of new ideas drawn from cutting-edge thinking and work in Jewish education and beyond. JESNA promotes creative and path-breaking approaches not only to specific educational challenges, but to the design of the educational system itself, driven by the goal that unifies the entirety of our work: helping more individuals to have more rewarding, impactful, and enduring experiences of Jewish learning and living.