By Rabbi Margot Stein, WCI Consultant I’m watching my 14 year old son with autism get on the van that takes him to a special school, a place where they have known him for 8 years. A place where they have watched him grow from a behaviorally-challenged 1st grader to a budding high schooler eager to participate in the life of the community. I’m thinking about the value of being known, of being seen for your strengths and weaknesses. Especially when it comes to education, how important it is that they know how to help my son learn. If you [...]

By Lori Rubin, Chief Program Officer What a fabulous day!  From start to finish, our first Mifgash (gathering) this past Sunday ran incredibly smoothly.  The buses arrived on time, the 5th graders were happily engaged, the teachers were prepared, and the structure and timing of the program as designed was a success.  Staff members and lay leaders from Jewish Learning Venture, Gratz College, and Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia have been working diligently for almost two years to plan this new initiative called Havayah. Havayah is the Hebrew word for "experience," and experiences are what the students were offered on [...]

Our Venture of the month features a congregation that has gone through a systemic change process while working with Jewish Learning Venture. This month, we are featuring the curriculum development work that one congregation, The Narberth Havurah, has done. Rabbi Simcha Zevit described the work she has done with Gloria Becker, Ed.D., Director of Educational Leadership at Jewish Learning Venture.  JLV: Please describe the change, innovation, or transformation your organization has achieved: SZ: Our community is about 30 households, many are young families, and we are growing. We've gone through a transformation, which we are continuing to shape with the [...]