Have we demoralized supplemental school education directors? Lisa Harris Glass and Stephanie Hausner seem to think so.
In the recent article, "Synagogue-based Religious Schools: A Community Responsibility," Glass and Hausner touched on the idea that we have consigned our number one opportunity - to inspire a lifelong love of Judaism and positive Jewish identity - to a "less than" status.
"As in many communities, our northern New Jersey synagogues were experiencing membership drop-off post Bar/Bat Mitzvah as well as a low percentage of enrollment in Hebrew High School." Glass and Hausner explain.
If our goal is for our children to build a strong Jewish identity, what can we do to move us forward towards that goal?
"Enter ATID (Addressing Transformative Innovative Design in Jewish Education), a school improvement, system change/ capacity building venture through which Federation provides best practice, resource research, education and facilitation services to change-ready synagogue schools." Glass and Hausner present.
ATID was designed in collaboration with Debra Brosan, CEO of Gestaltworks, to work with synagogues and their teams on their vision and develop measurements for success.
In order for a team to team up with ATID they must have a synagogue team consisting of their rabbi, lead education director, president, a synagogue executive committee member, a teacher, and a parent.
Could your synagogue use assistance from ATID? You can read the full article and find out how to sign up here.
Could your synagogue use assistance from ATID, but doesn't have the funding? You may find inspiration from Sherri W. Morr and her "Campaign in a Box: A Campaign for Religious Schools."
After running a session at the recent NewCAJE conference in Los Angeles and listening to educator's stories, it became clear to Morr that most religious schools do not have the budget for activities.
"I put together a concept of paying it forward as a means to raise money for religious school activities." Morr explained.
Here is Morr's plan:
- The school connects with social justice organizations and arranges for students to do mitzvah programs through volunteering.
- Track student volunteer hours.
- Solicitation letters are sent to prospects and donors asking for contributions to honor the hours volunteered.
- Create a fund for donations that can be used for conferences, programs, and others things to help enhance your program.
"It's a completely straightforward campaign, and if desired could be a part of a school's annual fund campaign," Morr said.
You can read the full article here.
Sherri Morr is currently the Director for the West Coast Region of American Society of University of Haifa. She has spent the last several decades working and consulting in and out of the Jewish community as an expert in nonprofit management.
Lisa Harris Glass is the Managing Director of Community Planning and Impact for the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey and Stephanie Hausner is the Manager of the Synagogue Leadership Initiative.
