Over the last four years, JEIC has developed a three-pronged approach to its work. We pursue lasting school change through 1) originating bold initiatives and experimentation, 2) working with effective professional development providers aligned with JEIC values, and 3) influencing culture and conversation. Much of my work as the Mayberg Foundation liaison with JEIC focuses on our work with partnered programs in the Jewish day school field.
Quite a few of our partners are newer organizations or projects that are reimagining their models of working with day schools. From our work with them, we are learning some valuable lessons for program directors, school partners, and funders:
Be ready to iterate: If you see that the model you have developed for a program needs tweaking, don’t be afraid to adapt as you go. As long as you maintain your core mission and your essential values and keep all the important stakeholders informed, modifications should be viewed positively. It means you are a reflective practitioner. Very often, varied settings in different schools call for adaptations. If we believe in personalized learning for students, we need to believe in personalized learning for teachers/schools/communities as well.
Time on Task: School change initiatives require time to roll out and take hold. It’s likely that schools need at least two years of work with a professional development provider before the organization can pull back and offer only “alumni support.” This means that new programs in particular need time to demonstrate their impact. Providers, schools, and funders all need to allow for long arcs of engagement.
National-Local Partnerships: Often, local Federation desks and bureaus of Jewish education can be helpful partners in rolling out school change projects and professional development. Staff members at these organizations are familiar with the readiness of the various local schools to engage and can help assess which initiatives are best suited for their community. Schools in one geographical area coming together to learn as a group prioritizes the improvement of instruction and high quality professional development. This partnership can also be important from a funding and sustainability perspective. When there is investment on the local level, there is more accountability and ownership in the community’s schools.
Focus on teachers: JEIC chooses to partner with projects that are focused on teacher/teacher leader professional development. Teachers are the lever for making change in the students’ classroom experience. Curricula and materials are important but they are not enough. The real need is ongoing coaching and support of teachers in implementing new pedagogies. Teaching is hard work and a craft that needs to be developed and improved over time.
Supporting Entrepreneurs: Most often, program directors are visionary educators who wish to scale an idea/methodology that has proven effective on a small scale. In order for their idea to grow across the field, they usually need additional capacities - for example, organizational development, fundraising and budgeting, and marketing. Funding partners need to help these project leads access these resources and advise them appropriately.
JEIC’s work with these organizations allows us to have a broader reach than we could have on our own. Partnering with projects that are working towards student-centered Jewish studies classrooms, focused on personalizing students' connection to Judaism and how students make meaning from text study, is proving to be an effective strategy.