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Professional Development
Draft: January 2008 Early Childhood Task Force
Professional Development
Research tells us that professional Development for teachers is directly correlated to the quality of the education for the students. For our purposes, we are going to look at professional development in broad terms to encompass the following issues:
1. Recruitment of teachers and directors into the field of Early Childhood Jewish Education.
2. Professional development to support teachers and directors in Early Childhood studies and Early Childhood Jewish studies.
3. Creating a career ladder to retain excellent teachers.
In their recent study “Community Report; Are our Schools Places Where Teachers Thrive as Professionals? A Survey of Teachers in Bay Area Jewish Schools”), Stodolsky and Dorph recommend ” Given the large number of teachers who will be retiring soon- and the lack of pay as an incentive- it’s crucial that we attend to creating salaries and working conditions that will retain and attract qualified preschool teachers.” (Stodolsky and Dorph, 2007). Current Professional Development Programs in Early Childhood Jewish Education in our FSA are:
- Jewish Everyday Moments in School (JEMS); a program of the Bureau of Jewish Education, JEMS works with teachers to improve their Jewish knowledge and incorporate it into classroom life. JEMS uses a coaching model, as well as seminars for the sites involved. This is the final year of seven for JEMS.
- Atid, in its second year also a program of the Bureau of Jewish Education, works with a select group of teachers in Early Childhood Jewish Family Education. The teachers attend the Consortium for the Education of the Jewish Family, at CAJE, and meet approximately monthly to study and reflect on their practice. They implement a Jewish Family Education program at their sites.
- Ethical Start: Ethical Start, a program of the Jewish Community Centers Association currently works with three of our four JCC sites. They provide study and training opportunities to those teachers utilizing their curriculum. They meet several times a year, usually multi-day for beginners, and a one-day retreat for experienced Ethical Start teachers.
- Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative (JECEI) JECEI is a national program sponsored by Jewish Life Network. JECEI is currently working with two of our schools. It is in its final year with the Osher Marin JCC, and its first year with the Albert Schultz JCC. JECEI is working to create state-of-the art curriculum and programs in Jewish preschools, including lifelong Jewish learning, and employs intensive retreats, and one-on-one coaching in organizational development and pedagogical practice for leaders and teachers. JECEI is also conducting a two-year leadership program in order to recruit future leaders for the field.
With all of the professional development opportunities available, only half of our teachers are participating in these programs. We need to institutionalize professional development so that it becomes part of the culture of teaching in our schools. Beginning Ideas for recruitment:
- MA in ECE Leadership at Mills College.
- “Teach for America” model program for Early Childhood Jewish Education.
- Certificate programs, such as those at Gratz College, Baltimore Hebrew University, Boston Hebrew University.
- “Delet” like model for Early Childhood Education.
- Early Childhood Jewish Educator; one for each program over 100 children.
There are many young Jewish college graduates who have good Jewish backgrounds from Jewish camps, day schools, Israel experience and Jewish study programs in college. Who can we partner with to bring this cohort into the field of Early Childhood Jewish Education?
Information compiled by Janet Harris.
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