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 The Chronicle #60/2002 New Directions for Jewish Education - The New York School of Education A two-part series, the Spring 2003 Chronicle will feature the Rhea Hirsch School of Education (PDF format) By Ruth Friedman "We want to be seen as a full partner in the greater New York area community working toward alleviating the severe shortage in experienced educators for the Reform Movement," states Jo Kay, the Director of the New York School of Education (NYSOE). Awarded the prestigious 2001 Covenant Award for outstanding Jewish Educators in North America, Kay has been praised for "[having] modeled Jewish education's finest practices." That's what she is doing for the NYSOE - strengthening the master's and continuing education programs in Jewish Education. Complem-enting HUC-JIR's Rhea Hirsch School of Education in Los Angeles, the NYSOE offers unique options to its students: an education core and a specialization core in Family Education, Adult, Informal Education, and Day School Education, which are areas of expertise among the program's faculty. Kay is also creating a "Gateways to Learning" Continuing Education program for professionals to advance within the field of Jewish Education, and is planning to develop a M.A. in Teaching (MAT) in partnership with a local school of education. The NYSOE's distinguished faculty, expanded course work, study in Israel, and flexible options for full- and part-time study, as well as the extensive internships available in the New York area are offering new and exciting opportunities for recruiting and training Jewish Education professionals. In the words of Dr. Jonathan Woocher, President of the Jewish Education Service of North America: "HUC-JIR's newly redesigned and expanded M.A. program could not be more timely or more welcome....The program will help address the acute shortage of quality teachers and educational administrators, as well as the rapidly expanding need for family, adult, and informal educators. The positive impact of this program will be felt throughout North America." UJA-Federation has awarded the NYSOE a $168,000 grant for four years to initiate its Educators Outreach Initiative, which will recruit students for master's, continuing education, and professional development programs. One approach will be to teach in communities to educate lay learners with the hope of recruiting some of them to the School. The School aims to attract those already working in the field of Jewish education and others who are contemplating a career change or starting a new career. Offering full- and part-time options, students may choose to continue working while also attending school. Evening courses will begin this fall, to help facilitate the schedules of working students. For those already teaching at synagogues, many are being encouraged to pursue continuing education so that they can become professional educators or Directors of Education. With the generous support of a $180,000 three-year grant from the Covenant Foundation and a $30,000 three-year grant from the Gimprich Family Foundation, the NYSOE has the resources to develop its Continuing Education Program for Jewish Educators. Students can choose to enroll in courses needed to complete Certificates in Adult, Family, and Informal Education. Continuing Education and Professional Development opportunities will significantly expand during the summer of 2003, with the opening of the school's Summer Institute Program. Two three-week summer sessions will provide study options for educators already in the field and for those contemplating Jewish teaching careers. The School has begun to implement the new, more intensive, master's program. Students spend the first year of study in Israel or participate in an eight-week summer study program there (for those unable to leave their job or their families). Students then return to New York. The full-time program takes two or three academic years of study to complete, and includes courses in Bible, History, Jewish Education, Teaching and Learning, Hebrew, Philosophy, Rabbinic Texts, Theology, Midrash, Liturgy, Hebrew Literature, Administration and Staff Development, among others. Kay is working with Dr. Lisa Grant, Assistant Professor of Jewish Education, to develop new courses, which integrate the most current educational research. This fall, for example, the NYSOE will offer courses in Educational Leadership and Supervision, Curriculum and Evaluation, the Changing Needs of the American Jewish Family, and Foundations in Jewish Education, to name a few. Degree requirements have gradually increased over the past several years from 32 to 70 credits, and more rigorous prerequisites to enter the program have been instituted. Placed in clinically supervised internships in their specialization areas, education students work closely with mentors and experts in Family and Adult Education or work with experts in Informal Education (to work in youth programming, camping, Israel trips, JCCs, museum education, or any other educational setting outside the traditional classroom). Education students are an integral part of HUC-JIR/New York's community. They study together with rabbinical and cantorial students, participate in monthly symposia and daily tefillot with them, and work side-by-side in the student governing councils. The NYSOE has already begun to forge collaborative relationships with other organizations. These partnerships include working with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) on an annual Early Childhood Educators Conference as well as working with the UAHC's Youth Division to develop and evaluate curriculum. The NYSOE is also partnering with the Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst, where students from the former Soviet Union have placements to teach families, adults, and teens in their camp program, and with Avoda: Objects of the Spirit and the Hillel at New York University's Bronfman Center, to develop courses and seminars connecting the arts to Jewish study and learning. For further information on the New York School of Education, please contact Jo Kay, Director, at (212) 824-2213 or jkay@huc.edu. Senior Practica of Recent Graduates of the NYSOE As part of the new program at the NYSOE, the Senior Education Practicum (equivalent to the Senior Sermon for rabbinical students and the Master's Recital for cantorial students) demonstrates education students' expertise in a particular area and gives students the opportunity to present their Master of Arts in Religious Education Thesis/Project research and its application to Jewish education: "Teaching Sephardic Lifecycle Rituals" |
