City: Boston, MA
Auspice/Sponsorship: Independent and Unaffiliated
Contact
Information:Dena Glasgow, Education Director 617-734-4997 dglasgow@bjep.com
Website:
Category: Hebrew Language Programs, Jewish Text, History, Religion & Values Programs
What are the goals of the program?
- Creating positive Jewish memories from which will evolve positive Jewish identities; to get kids "hooked on Judaism"; to have kids and parents become life long Jewish learners
Describe the curriculum.
- Grade 1 focuses on general overview of Judaism; grade 2 focuses on the Jewish values with emphasis on Shabbat; grade 3 focuses on the stories from Genesis and Passover; grade 4 focuses on prophets and writings and history; grade 5 focuses on Israel; grade 6 focuses on the Jewish American Heroes and Personal Jewish Legacies; grade 7 focuses on the Holocaust and great Jewish debates. We begin Hebrew in grade 2. The Hebrew curriculum is primarily tefillah based, with "modern Hebrew" component added by teachers. Family education is integral to the curriculum in all grades and takes many different forms. We also offer adult education on a weekly basis.
What is the methodology of the program?
- BJEP has an interactive, experientially oriented program. The teachers are taught that children will remember what they EXPERIENCE more than what they are told.
- Every class addresses multiple intelligences by being sure that each teacher, in every lesson plan, has activities that address kids who learn aurally, visually, kinesthetically.
- Our Hebrew curriculum is truly multi-sensory. This curriculum introduces and reinforces Hebrew language acquisition skills with a mnemonic for every letter, as well as a hand action, a game, visual pictures for every single letter. Family education is an integral part of the curriculum. There are curriculum related field trips in many grades. Many teachers use multiple media in their lesson plans.
Where does the program take place?
- Located on the campus of Brandeis University; we use the classroom spaces in the "Mandel Humanities Quad"
How is the program evaluated?
- (volunteer) Board evaluation and self evaluation/performance review; several different feedback tools including: feedback forms for parents and students and teachers at every family program; “end of day reports” for each teacher, each week; “end of year report” by each teacher at end of year.
Who are your teachers?
- Brandeis students and alumni
Who are your learners?
- Primarily unaffiliated families from more than 2 dozen communities; many families travel 50+ minutes in each direction to participate in the program.
What is the program focusing on moving forward?
- Keep creating more creative and engaging curriculum; more ways to engage families (not just young students), more and better ways to train teachers; more ways to engage/connect my unaffiliated community with the larger Jewish community.
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