Board Of Jewish Education Of Metropolitan Chicago

Programs: Early child center (ecc) - learning that leads to meaningful jewish living starts in early childhood. The bje's four early childhood centers (eccs)-located in synagogues in the areas of buffalo grove, long grove, vernon hills, deerfield, wilmette, and northbrook, provide a rich, warm and supportive jewish environment to help foster a positive jewish identity and an appreciation of jewish values and traditions. Recognized nationally as a superb educational model, the professional staff of almost 50 teachers promotes all aspects of a child's growth: social, emotional, cognitive, and physical in a continually evolving curriculum. The eccs unique approach integrates secular components of education into a basic jewish framework for 210 children. Bje-ecc has been revolutionary in its approach to early childhood education since its inception in 1972. A prime example is the eccs pioneering integration of the reggio emilia approach into the jewish preschool curriculum in the chicago area. The reggio emilia philosophy is based on recognizing that the young child has many ways of expressing himself. Our teachers tap into these ways to actively engage the child in learning. Project work where the teacher and children are involved in extensive interactive, thought provoking discussions, stimulate the children to learn and problem solve in a group setting. This method of learning respects each child's ideas and is key to involving each child in the larger group experience. We have found that this in depth approach to projects results in a stronger sense of jewish identity and positive self-esteem in children. The eccs combine this approach with judaic curricula and deepen its impact with their longstanding practice of parental involvement. What makes our eccs a national model, besides our groundbreaking reggio emilia approach? Ratio of 6 children to 1 teacher, an optimal level for each individual child's physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and judaic growth and development. Highly qualified, caring teachers who work effectively with young children and their families, and who are required to participate in intensive, ongoing in-service education. Fully integrated curriculum that consistently includes jewish values and experiences. Ongoing parental involvement in their young child's educational experience. Bje's early childhood centers directly impact the future of jewish continuity. They reach children at a developmental age where lessons learned last a lifetime. They provide a rich, warm, supportive jewish learning environment that promotes individual growth while integrating judaica.

frank g. Marshall jewish learning center - the frank g. Marshall jewish learning center (mjlc) is the only community-based resource center serving rabbis, educators, and families. The center continues to be a leader in providing models of best practice, educational planning and development of new curiculum and creative materials to enhance jewish education. As a cutting-edge, multi-media jewish resource center, our goal is to impact both the young and old alike. To further service the jewish community, the mjlc has created jteach, an online resource wesbite. It has been accessed internationally by educators from 97 different countries/territories who have downloaded over 195,000 lessons and resources. Nearly 200 hundred educators a year from reform, conservative, reconstructionist, humanistic, orthodox and lubavitch religious schools and day schools receive support throughout the academic year. Up to 350 teachers daily request/receive curriculum ideas by phone, website (jteach), e-mail or fax, and approximately 30 synagogue schools are members of mjlc in addition to 68 upgraded members of jteach. Hundreds of teachers attend our many workshops and open houses throughout the year. Principals from 35 schools have attended our lunch/brunch bytes for principals that introduce new, innovative jewish school resources. The frank g. Marshall jewish learning center directly impacts the future of jewish continuity. It equips educators and families with powerful information, creative approaches and technical and inspirational assistance that further jewish identity.

center for jewish teacher education (cjte) - learning that leads to meaningful jewish living, has been challenged in recent years by a shortage of qualified jewish educators. Today this has reached crisis proportions: less than 20% of teachers are prepared in both judaic content and instructional skills. Acutely aware of this crisis and our responsibility as stewards of jewish education, bje founded the center for jewish teacher education. By introducing a new model of teacher education - one that combines subject matter knowledge with pedagogy, to foster jewish learning, we are revolutionizing how we prepare educators to teach. The center's innovative model already has indicated that our effective education of teachers results in their effective education of students. Our flagship program on jewish life, ethics, thought, and history is morasha the florence melton adult mini-school for jewish educators & professionals. This internationally renowned program is the only one of its kind offered only for educators. B'yachad: the teacher development institute addressed the question of "what does good teaching look like? " in all its many forms for new teachers. Combined with mentoring, b'yachad provides support in the critical first year of teaching, helping to build a cadre of teachers prepared for the jewish classroom. The rachel wasserman melton scholar series and bje graduate classes provide an opportunity for further study for graduates of the melton program and other community members who are serious jewish learners. A new opportunity for the cjte is the foundations of jewish family living, a new curriculum for parents that provides a thought-provoking encounter with the core values of judaism. Developed by the renowned florence melton adult mini-school, a project of the hebrew university of jerusalem, the curriculum brings to life the master stories from our tradition and the profound messages they convey.