Dear friends of the JEEF (Jewish Early Engagement Forum),
Hag Aviv Sameach, Happy Festival of Spring! חג אביב שמח
What’s different about this JEEF newsletter?
We are reminded during Passover that all are welcome and encouraged to sit at the table: the wise, the one who doesn't know how to ask, the young, the old, and the poor, to name a few. In this spirit, we would like to invite more participants to join our JEEF “table” and bring their perspectives, ideas and strengths to our conversation and work. Currently, “sitting” with us are over 200 representatives from federations and foundations, researchers, educators, clergy, and others who are involved in one way or another with the engagement of young children and their families. We are working on a webpage and developing a map of the Jewish community ecosystem that will help us all understand the richness of our community and the endless possibilities that it brings. We will share this map with you soon, and look forward to your feedback.
Below please find news from around the country. I would like to thank Cathy Rolland and Janet Harris for their contribution to this e-newsletter. We invite you all to submit news from your community and/or organization that we will happily share with the national JEEF community.
=============== Community News ================
From the Desk of Janet Harris:
Early Childhood and Family Engagement Initiative
Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties
We are happy to announce that we received a 1.9 million dollar grant (over three years) from the Jim Joseph Federation to support the continuation and expansion of our work in Early Childhood Jewish Education and Family Engagement. Read more
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From the Desk of Cathy Rolland:
Director of engaging families with young children at the Union for Reform Judaism
Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism (ECE-RJ) hosted their 17th national gathering in Chicago, March 1-4, 2017. Over 250 directors, teachers, and leaders involved in early education and engagement from North America and Israel attended the conference, which focused on the theme, Advancing Early Childhood Education in the 21st Century.
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In case you missed it, please read the article, “A Landmark Moment for the Field: Unveiling Standards of Excellence in Jewish ECE” written by Michael Ben-Avie and Lisa Farber Miller. Kol Hakavod to the Denver/Boulder Colorado community for their leadership, dedication and investment in this important field. Their work is a wonderful example of collaboration that I hope will encourage others to follow. By working together as an organic Jewish ecosystem we can transform the future of the Jewish community in the USA and around the world. May you go from strength to strength.
======= Please send us your community news to share ========
We want to express our sincere wishes for a Happy and meaningful Passover with your communities and loved ones.
Rachel
Rachel Raz
Director, Early Childhood Institute of the
Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education at Hebrew College
And founder of JEEF
rraz@hebrewcollege.edu
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