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Welcome to this issue of "News & Views",
JESNA's newsletter for decision-makers in
Jewish education. It gives us special
pleasure to introduce you in this issue to
some extraordinary people who are working to
change the face of Jewish education with
imagination, insight, generosity, and
unwavering dedication. Whether they are
working within established organizations or
creating new paradigms, these are individuals
we think you should know, doing work we hope
will inform and complement your own efforts.
We're proud of our association with these
change agents, and delighted to call them, in
many cases, our partners and colleagues.
We are also delighted to share with you our
groundbreaking Educators in Jewish Schools
Study (EJSS), which was unveiled at a special
VIP event on February 20 in New York City.
We've included highlights here of some of the
study's most salient points and have added a
link to the study itself for you to review
and use.
Ellen Goldstein
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
egoldstein@jesna.org
| EJSS Publication and Launch |
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If you are reading this, you probably know
something about Jewish educators. Maybe you
are a Jewish educator, or you've learned with
a Jewish educator, or possibly both. In any
case, chances are good that you have formed
your own ideas and opinions about educators
in Jewish schools. Now, you can test those
assumptions, because on February 20, 2008,
JESNA published the Educators in Jewish
Schools Study (EJSS), a large-scale empirical
study of Jewish educators in Jewish day and
complementary schools.
According to JESNA President Donald Sylvan,
"Thorough studies of North American Jewish
educators are very rare. We at JESNA are
proud to provide those who want data and
analysis of behavior and attitudes of such
educators with this information, in order to
provide an empirical base for policy choice."
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| Institutional Relationships: JESNA and the Covenant Foundation |
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Harlene Winnick Appelman started work as the
Executive Director of the Covenant Foundation
the same week in the late spring of 2005 that
Don Sylvan began as JESNA's President. They
had been in the same place at the same time
years before, when their studies at
Northwestern University overlapped, and now
they were two Midwesterners beginning
exciting and challenging new positions in New
York at agencies with a strong historical
connection and a shared commitment to
excellence in Jewish education. It was a set
of coincidences that served to forge a bond
between the individuals that has added depth
and luster to the bond between their
respective agencies.
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| Focus on Philanthropy: Mamie Kanfer Stewart and Marcella Kanfer Rolnick |
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At a time when there is a renewed focus on
"family philanthropy" in the Jewish community
- and significant concern about how
successful the community has been in bringing
new generations into their family traditions
of tzedakah - Marcella Kanfer Rolnick and
Mamie Kanfer Stewart are a welcome antidote.
The sisters are inheritors of a wonderful
family tradition, to be sure, and they're
also actively shaping the future of their
family's foundation with their passion for
innovation and their commitment to a wide
range of very modern solutions to the ongoing
challenges of Jewish life.
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The "Next Big Thing" in Jewish Education |
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Where would you go for engaging, high caliber
Jewish learning? Well, to schools and
synagogues to be sure. But, how about a bike
trip? Or perhaps a hotel in the Catskills?
Maybe a flood-ravaged neighborhood in New
Orleans, a downtown law office, a friend's
living room, or a movie theater?
Jewish education today is most decidedly not
for classrooms alone any more...
Read more....
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