About

The national Jewish Early Engagement Forum (JEEF) was founded by Rachel Raz, Director of the Early Childhood Institute at the Shoolman Graduate School of Jewish Education at Hebrew College, and made possible by generous funding from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. The Forum provides a national platform for discussion and strategic planning by professionals, educators, foundations, researchers, funders and lay leaders. The Forum will serve as infrastructure for ongoing evaluation that will allow real-time adaptation of a national strategic vision as needed. The Forum is designed to develop the blue-print for the creation of a new ecosystem of national collaboration of Jewish education organizations that will work together to ensure a strong Jewish foundation for the next generation.  The national Forum will inform and recommend plans for action and direction for the Jewish community.

When asked to explain the rationale for creating JEEF, Rachel Raz said,

 “My work is a reaction to the reality that I see. During the last ten years that I have been working in the Early Childhood Institute, I have witnessed changes: the rising number of dual income families; young parents raising their children far away from immediate family; increasing numbers of intermarried families; decreasing Jewish practice, affiliation and knowledge; a decline in the status of educators; the changing role of the school from child-centered to family-centered education; and shifting values in our society. Today, more than ever, change happens quickly. We cannot wait five or ten years to act – we need to understand and address the current challenges and act now while we still have Jewishly identifying young families.” 

In the summer of 2016, The Early Childhood Institute hosted the first national JEEF symposium which included a panel discussion, “The Landscape of Early Engagement: Challenges and Opportunities,” featuring expert representatives from Jewish communities and organizations from across the country. Attendees participated in lively discussion and learned from thought leaders about the significance of early engagement.

Watch the video from the symposium here.

Read the article, "A Time for Families to be at the Center" By Linna Ettinger, Mary Lou Allen, Lorraine Arcus, Diana Ganger, and Cathy Rolland.

The JEEF Newsletter includes updates from the field of early engagement from several communities across the country and from national organizations. The JEEF Newsletter is designed to represent a map of early engagement programs in the country. The map of early engagement programs can lead to future collaboration and provide a broad window to identify what is being done in the field and what is missing or where programs can be added.