The Covenant Grants

Engaging Texts: A Cross-Communal Network Developing the Educational Practice of Philosophical Inquiry with Tanach

Organization: Jewish Education Center of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, OH

Grant Year: 2014

Project Director: Dr. Jen Glaser

Type of Grant: Signature

Grant Amount: $95,850 (2 years)

Website: http://www.jecc.org/

Networks
Professional Development

To create and develop a cross-communal network that will facilitate and provide support for the scaling up of the educational practice of philosophical inquiry in Jewish Education for Jewish educators who integrate Jewish sources as they engage students in diverse areas of Jewish learning and life. The project will allow for the expertise and resources that have been developed by The Jewish Education Center of Cleveland (JECC) to be leveraged by other institutions and communities to facilitate the development of programs of training through which to introduce these practices to their own communities.

Through this program, JECC is developing strategic partnerships with organizations and communities in different regions to establish and carry out local projects for training teacher-educators. It is also providing professional training for individual educators or schools seeking to become expert in this area from across the country. The JECC has built, and continues to expand, an online library of curriculum materials and professional development resources as well as online communities of practice.

The JECC has also worked towards expanding its reach by presenting its pedagogic approach at forums and conferences, conducting demonstration classes, and establishing a presence in electronic media. It a is also developing two additional hubs (sites offering training and support to local educators), one through the Shoolman School of Education at Hebrew College in Boston and the other through Studio 70 in Berkeley, CA.