By Anna Marx, Director, Jewish Education and Leadership Development In our busy lives, running from task to task, managing the overwhelming to-do lists of our jobs and personal lives, it can be very difficult to stop, breathe, appreciate, and dream. But last Thursday, 15 of us took the opportunity to do just that.   Led by friend and colleague, Cyd B. Weissman, of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, we took time to explore the changing world around us - a world of Gen X and Millennials - and acknowledged the deep need for reimagining our Jewish institutions. With this in mind, we practiced Appreciative [...]

By Virginia Glatzer, Educational Consultant, Jewish Learning Venture As children, we learned important life lessons in the sandbox; this year’s participants in the Leadership Development Series applied them to our education communities. It was a blended learning opportunity with a retreat, two interactive webinars, and a wrap-up where participants worked with a partner from their community. The series started with a retreat in a wonderful location in the woods of New Hope. We emphasized the importance of cultivating trusting relationships with parents, faculty, clergy, and lay leadership. To that end, we began by writing on the topic of a conversation that went astray and considered [...]

By Lori Rubin, Director of Family Engagement On Sunday, April 3rd, 22 PJ Our Way participants from all over Greater Philadelphia gathered together for a Video-Making workshop. Before we began the program, these 9-11 year olds were asked to describe their PJ Our Way experience. How gratifying it was to see them express that: reading Jewish books was “cool,” that the programs jkidphilly offers are welcoming, and that they are having fun together. During the workshop, tweens learned what goes into making a video with Eli Eisenstein, a local high school student who shared his passion for videography with the PJ [...]