Jewish Education Innovation Challenge

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The Challenge

A Jewish day school education has the potential to build up a life long love of Jewish life and learning in their students and to instill Jewish values and traditions. Jewish education has unfortunately fallen short in their mission to graduate all students with high Jewish self esteem and aspirations. Day schools are tasked with ensuring the sustainability of future generations of vibrant Jewish life and leadership. And yet, we see that too many students are leaving the system uninspired and turned off to their Judaism. Jewish educational practices must challenge the status quo and reinvigorate Jewish learning by relying on Jewish wisdom rather than only mimicking the divergent approaches of Western education.  

The Impact

JEIC was formed to find, create, incubate, proliferate, and advocate for solutions that work. JEIC funds innovative ideas, promotes initiatives that positively disrupt the field, and develops collaborative enterprises with other Jewish philanthropic and educational partners. Additionally, JEIC has gathered the greatest minds in Jewish education at its annual Innovators Retreat with the goal of partnering with stakeholders to radically transform Jewish day schools. JEIC has already observed valuable growth in the field of Jewish day school education as an outcome of our interventions and thoughtful experimentation.

What's Next?

Building on previous successes, JEIC is broadening its funding portfolio to include both micro-grants called Ignition Grants and collaborative, previously-piloted projects that can be implemented into other Jewish day schools throughout North America. JEIC is playing an increasingly influential role by building thought leadership and connecting stakeholders to elevate and enhance the field. JEIC professionals also are offering expert coaching and advising to Jewish day schools and educational institutions seeking counsel on school improvement, innovation, and change.

Learn more about Jewish Education Innovation Challenge.

JEIC NEWS

Featured
Lifnai V’Lifnim's Winter Seminar Featured in Jewish Link
Lifnai V’Lifnim's Winter Seminar Featured in Jewish Link

On February 8, over 80 Jewish education leaders from around the country came together for a winter seminar hosted by Lifnai V’Lifnim, a Mayberg Foundation grantee. Read about this collaborative conference in The Jewish Link.

JEIC champions children’s spiritual development through provocative new films
JEIC champions children’s spiritual development through provocative new films

We are excited to celebrate JEIC’s newly-released films illustrating how current Jewish educational practices may stunt children’s spiritual development.

The film ‘A Daughter's Story’ by Dreamworks producer Saul Blinkoff takes a hard look at how kids are turned on - or off - to enjoying Jewish learning and developing a personal relationship with God.

Accompanying the feature, Shmuel Hoffman's making-of film provides a behind-the-scenes look at the production, ideas, and reactions to ‘A Daughter's Story.’

Prizmah's HaYidion Highlights JEIC's Call For Collaboration to Better Serve Day Schools
Prizmah's HaYidion Highlights JEIC's Call For Collaboration to Better Serve Day Schools

Prizmah’s HaYidion Fall 2020 edition highlighted an article written by managing director of the Jewish Education Innovation Challenge, Sharon Freundel, about how collaborating through professional learning communities can better serve Jewish day schools.