As Sharon Freundel, Managing Director for JEIC, explains in the introduction to each episode of this new podcast series, “The ‘keystone’ is the central stone at the summit of an arch, locking the whole together. We believe that a strong Jewish Day School education is what holds the Jewish people together as we look towards the next generation.”

JEIC’s mission aims to catalyze radical improvement in Jewish Day schools, and this series highlights some of the educators and leaders who are doing that, one bold idea at a time. 

Over the course of this series, we’ll cover topics ranging from connecting students to tefillah through virtual reality, encouraging students to truly experience the Jewish laws and customs they are learning, cultivating respectful disagreement, fostering mental well-being, cultivating enthusiastic educators for our field, and so much more. We’ll touch on themes of Israel education and connection, Hebrew language instruction, Tanakh and Rabbinics pedagogy, Jewish identity, professional development, and others. We’ll hear from teachers, program directors, heads of schools, and additional Jewish day school stakeholders from around the world. 

Originally recorded during the February 2023 Prizmah conference in Denver in an interview format, we’ve intentionally edited each episode to be roughly 10 minutes in length so that you can listen to them on a morning walk, during your commute, or for an afternoon dose of inspiration. We’ll be releasing the episodes monthly, giving listeners enough time to listen (and maybe listen again) and consider how the idea might inspire something new and reflect with others about your thoughts and ideas. 

The series officially launched during JEIC’s annual Innovators Retreat in mid-May. This year’s retreat centered around a theme of cultivating intrinsic motivation, and this series speaks straight to that goal. Through engaging our learners in intentional ways, empowering them to take ownership of their learning, and approaching Jewish education and identity in a holistic manner, we can foster that sense of connection which leads to intrinsic motivation. 

Our hope is that listeners will be inspired by a bold idea (or two or many) introduced through this podcast and make it their own. We challenge you to consider both the incredible responsibility and opportunity you have in the “keystone” of the Jewish Day School system and use these episodes as inspiration to innovate, experiment, and collaborate.

Listen to the podcasts as they are released here: https://www.jewishchallenge.org/podcasts

For more information about JEIC or any of the ideas presented in these podcasts, please reach out to Sharon directly at Sharon@jewishchallenge.org.