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The WOW! Project

Exciting & Impactful Community-Based Jewish Education for Toronto

PresentedFebruary 15, 2012

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The time is now! Toronto is the place!

This is an exciting moment for community-based Jewish education, and an opportunity for the Toronto community to serve as a beacon for innovation in our world.

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JESNA’s Starting Point

A vibrant Jewish future depends on impactful, engaging and inspiring Jewish education

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The World is Changing

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The Environment of Jewish Education

• Participation in Jewish education today is a matter of choice

• There is greater diversity among families and learners

• Some families are “settling” for programs they find less than optimal

• Increasing numbers of families are opting for alternative programs or arrangements

• Substantial numbers of children receive no Jewish education

• There is a relative paucity of real alternatives

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A Tale of Two Metaphors

“Vaccination” vs. “Wellness”

• Prophylactic• Professionally administered• Passive• Disconnected• Limited effect• Batch approach• Not intrinsically rewarding

• Life-enhancing• Individual works with

guides• Active• Encompassing & embedded• Affects the whole person• Individualized, but social• Intrinsically rewarding

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What is ?

is a transformative project that seeks to create a wonderful new world of community-based Jewish education in Toronto –

rather than incremental improvement in individual institutions

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is based on a vision you create and that we at JESNA help turn into reality with our expertise and experience in the field.

TORONTO will be built on the solid base you have already created through your programs and innovations.

is an important component of Toronto’s plan to address the six priorities proposed by the Community Capacity Building team for optimizing the functioning of “the affiliation highway”:

– Building “On-ramps”– Creating “Connectors”– Leveraging the power of agencies– Supporting Innovation– Ensuring programmatic excellence– Developing leadership

We will work together to create a future in which learners and their families are more positive & knowledgeable about Judaism and engaged with Jewish life & the Jewish community.

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Design Principles for a Jewish Education System to ensure a vibrant Jewish future

Learner-focu

sed

Relationship-based

Life-centered

Community-centric

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What will it take to create powerful life-centered Jewish education?

• Expanding the venues and settings for Jewish education

• Broadening the modes of Jewish learning

• Expanding the scope of Jewish education along with strengthening the connections among & pathways through its multiple settings and modes

• Recruiting and retaining the “right” people

• Respecting & supporting educators’ professionalism

• Fostering opportunities for collaboration among educators

• Creating a culture of innovation

• Incorporating best practices from the broader fields of education and Jewish education in particular

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What will it take to create the Jewish education eco-system for a vibrant Jewish future?

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The Ecology of Education: Lawrence Cremin

School-Centered Approach to Education

Community Approach to Education

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What sort of Jewish education eco-system will produce powerful life-centered Jewish education?

• Meets learners & families’ real needs -- educational, spiritual & practical

• Contains experiential & enjoyable experiences -- blending formal & informal

• Builds connections and community, often across generations, organizations & institutions

• Is guided by professionals and shaped by the interests of the learners

• Takes place in a variety of venues – schools & congregations, public libraries, retreat centers, museums, farms/gardens, community institutions, homes

• Takes full advantage of the power & potential of technology

• Comprises a continuous educational system in which professionals anticipate what the educational needs of learners & families will be in the next stage of their lives, and provide the knowledge & connections they need to fulfill them seamlessly.

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What might Toronto’s eco-system look like?

• Education programs specially designed to effectively engage hard to reach populations such as children of inter-married families and geographically dispersed families

• A cluster of “magnet schools” created by a group of congregations to allow members to select from options that emphasize Hebrew literacy, music and drama, social action, Israel, or family learning

• Retreats and other special programs held during school vacation periods to provide concentrated experiential learning for students from a wide range of settings, including those outside traditional venues

• Four-day-a-week after-school program developed by the congregations, JCC and day schools that combines recreational, Jewish, and general learning activities

• An array of Jewish family education programs that integrate environmental education, social justice, the arts, technology and other modes of learning

• A constellation of formal and informal educational experiences for post B’nai Mitzvah for Jewish learning and living and community-building

• A “concierge” system to help families and learners identify appropriate learning opportunities and paths

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Road Map to get to

Goal: Enabling the Toronto Jewish community

to double the enrollment of children ages 4 -17 in exciting, satisfying and

impactful community-based Jewish educational experiences by enhancing what exists and expanding the range of program

options to meet the needs of 21st century Jewish learners 1. Discover

2. Dream

3. Design 4. Destiny

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Toronto : Project Stages

1. Agreement to proceed

2. Community Organization (February 2012) Conversations with local educational leadership to:

• Introduce WOW• Develop common language about innovation and change• Assemble the “Coalition of the Willing”

3. Discovery: Information Gathering (February – March 2012) Community assets Key stakeholders interviews/surveys Best practices and innovations in the field

4. Dream: Visioning and Planning Summit (April-May 2012) Summit: May 14-15,2012 Share data and affirm learnings Begin to dream as a community

5. Design and Destiny: Implementation, Engagement & Continuity Planning (Beginning June – December, 2012)

Action step implementation Communications/engagement Continuity planning

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Community Organization

Creating infrastructure for the process:

Relationship building» Trust» Investment» Getting to know JESNA

Developing & launching communications plan

» Steering Committee» Organizational leaders» Community at-large

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Discovery

Appreciating what is – gathering empirical information to create a clear shared vision of community assets and opportunities:

Gathering and reviewing written materials

Focus group interviews• Students - current, alumni, “drop outs,” never enrolled, and

“in the pipeline”• Parents of those same cohorts of students• Professionals – educators, education directors, rabbis• Lay Leaders

Possible implementation of web survey

Additional research about existing and promising programs and models

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Dream

• Community Summit – May 14-15, 2012 – Review of learnings from Discovery

– Discuss recommendations that flow from the learnings related to future Jewish engagement and education opportunities in Toronto

– Begin developing consensus around the structure and content of Jewish engagement and education opportunities

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The Coalition of the Willing: Criteria & Expectations

• Target population: Jewish children ages 4-17 in GTA• Preparedness to participate in an innovation & change process at this

time• Designated Team Leader• Meeting attendance & virtual interaction• Provision of data• Recruitment of participants for Discovery & Dream phases• Participation in change/innovation projects to double engagement and

increase participant satisfaction (target)• Dissemination of learnings & experience• Shared values of UJA Federation mission• Acceptance of UJA Federation as primary community fundraising

initiative• Acknowledgement of participation in written materials• Identification with the State of Israel and tolerance for diversity• Compliance with relevant public regulations

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FAQs About

• How long does the process take?

• What is required from the community?

• What are some of the challenges we can anticipate?

• What are the outcomes to date in communities that are farther along?

• What’s in it for me?

• What are the next steps?

• Your questions…