EDUCATION

Education Mission
 
 
 

The goal of synagogue education is to provide knowledge and understanding of Judaism, as a means of encouraging religious devotion and dedication to living a Jewish Life.
 

Synagogue education is a lifelong process, and programming must be provided for all ages: pre-school through adulthood.
 

Synagogue education should be pervasive, striving to integrate all members of the Temple family.
 

Current Programs - Religious School
 

The Temple Beth El Religious School is currently staffed by an Education Director, sixteen teachers, tutors, teenage classroom aides and a secretary. A volunteer board of education sets school policies, oversees the educational process and participates in the management and operation of the school. Parents actively participate in school programming.
 

The faculty is drawn from the surrounding community. Many are certified public school teachers, while others have a strong desire to work with children. Teachers participate in staff development activities and are encouraged to share ideas and work in teams on each grade level. Monthly faculty meetings are held to discuss school-wide issues and programming.
 

The purpose of the Temple Beth El Religious School, nursery school through grade seven is to impart the Jewish way of life to the children and their families. The children should understand, appreciate and affirm the following:

Grades K-2 are in session every Sunday from 9:30 am - 12:00 p.m.;

Grades 3 - 7 meet on Sundays from 9:30 am - 12:00 p.m. and Tuesdays from 3:30 - 6:00 p.m.
 

Temple Beth El Religious school follows a curriculum designed to meet its mission. The Religious School has developed curriculum guides for teachers. This ensures developmental skill building and consistency throughout the grades. In addition, all children have music class once per week. The table below highlights the emphasis in each grade level.
 

GRADE HEBREW JUDAIC
N songs, dances  songs, dances, crafts
K Hebrew names, objects in Hebrew holidays, Shabbat and customs
1 letter recognition holidays, Shabbat and customs
2 directed practice, letter sounds holidays, Shabbat and customs
3 read sentences, prayers intro to Torah, customs, ceremonies
4 prayer curriculum, script Israel, intro to Prophets
5 prayer curriculum, script life cycle, post biblical history
6 prayer curriculum, trope Jews in America
7 Siddur (promote prayer book Hebrew literacy: the ability to read and understand prayers), trope, Torah study current affairs, Holocaust, ethics

From grade three and above, students are grouped heterogeneously. This allows for:

There is a serious effort to inform and involve Hebrew Day School students in Temple Beth El religious school activities as well as in Shabbat morning services.
 

There are family education programs where parents are also taught during school hours.
 

A structured tutorial program is offered for those requiring remedial Hebrew assistance.
 

Bar/bat mitzvah classes are offered to non-affiliated Russian children in the community.
 

It is traditional to give Tzedakah on a regular basis. Since we want children to understand the importance of giving, sharing and helping, they are asked that Tzedakah be given at each class session. Every class decides how the Tzedakah money is donated. These contributions may have more meaning if a portion comes from the student's allowance.
 

School Participation in Beth El Cares
 

Beth El Cares, the congregation's social action program, has school participation programs which are designed to give children a hands-on experience, working with others to benefit mankind. These include:
 

GRADE ISSUE  FOCUS ACTION
K kindness to animals animal needs, ecology visit humane society, raise money, posters
1 food feed the needy food drive for shelters
2 clothing clothe the needy holidays and customs
3 environment/ecology recycle, LI Sound paper recycling, Tu B'shevat, trees
4 shelter homelessness  provide meals, home renovations
5 the elderly needs of seniors visit senior residences, programs, pen pals
6 Israel/world Jewry Jews around the world pen pals, donate musical instruments
7 prejudice education interfaith/inter-racial relations  interfaith service/seder

School Participation in Shabbat Services For Children
 

Temple Beth El offers Shabbat services for children every week from 10:30 am to 12:00 p.m., September through June. Kindergarten through second grade students meet for the "K'tanim" Service in the triple classroom (rooms 10, 11, 12); young People's Service (grades 3 - 6) meets in the chapel. Students in those grades are expected to attend a minimum of twelve times per year during the school year. Children join the main service for the concluding hymn and Kiddush.
 

All students who attend have an opportunity to participate in the service. Parts for the young People's Service may be assigned in the Religious School classroom. Classes are honored on a rotating basis. Parents are welcome to attend these services with their children.
 

Grade seven students are expected to fulfill the Temple requirement of regular congregational attendance (three times per month) for six months prior to their Bar/bat mitzvah. (An experimental program started in January, 1997 has seventh grade students attending Shabbat services in lieu of Sunday classes in order to become familiar with Shabbat rituals.)
 

Programs For Pre-Schoolers
 

Bereshith

The Bereshith program is designed for children ages three and four. It meets from

1:30 to 3:00 p.m. on Fridays. There are two sessions this year. Children are   introduced to Jewish culture and heritage through songs, dances and crafts. The  Bereshith calendar for the year appears in the Religious School Handbook.
 

Tot Shabbat

Shabbat services for tots occur on the first Friday of every month, October through   June at 7:15 p.m.. Young children learn to welcome shabbat through song and dance   with their families in a program devised just for them.
 

Shabbat morning "Gan Bet El"

Current Programs - Post Bar/Bat Mitzvah
 

Merkaz Torah is Stamford's Community High School for Jewish Studies, sponsored by the United Jewish Federation and Congregations Agudath Sholom, Temple Beth El and Temple Sinai. Merkaz Torah has a diverse population. All courses are taught without denominational bias and one need not be affiliated with a synagogue to be eligible for enrollment.
 

Students in 8th through 12th grade meet Wednesday evenings in the fall and spring semesters. Locations alternate among the three synagogues.
 

Merkaz Torah offers an enriched academic program in order to provide an environment in which teens are exposed to a variety of ideas, values and practices to help clarify their Jewish identity. The goal of both the curriculum and staff is to provide the opportunities to develop strong, positive Jewish values and sense of unity with the Jewish people.
 

The Confirmation Class is a 10th grade program leading to a confirmation ceremony. In addition to attending Merkaz Torah, students meet weekly for six months with the hazzan and rabbi in preparation for their confirmation on Shavuoth.
 

Current Programs - Adult Education
 

Short courses are offered in various subjects such as Jewish culture, holidays, life cycle events, and history.
 

Beginning Hebrew classes are offered regularly and a Yiddish class was offered on a few occasions.
 

Adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah classes have been held over the years.
 

Guest speakers are invited to services several times a year, and there are more formal programs such as the Annual Harold Hoffman Lecture and the Annual Scholar in Residence weekend.
 

Learner's services are offered, with tutorials in various aspects of the service.
 

Discussion groups meet at various congregants' homes.
 

An intermarriage support group has been formed.
 

Field trips to museums and places of interest (e.g., the lower East Side of NYC) are occasionally taken by interested groups.
 

Current Programs - Supplemental Education
 

A Torah and Talmud study class which meets downtown at lunchtime has recently been formed.
 

The Temple participates with UJF in sponsoring film screenings.
 

Special children's Shabbat programs are held.
 

Services for various age groups are held on the High Holy Days.
 

Three youth groups are receiving more attention this year (1996-1997): fourth/fifth grades, sixth/seventh/eighth grades, and ninth/tenth/eleventh/twelfth grades. A Youth Director has been hired, reporting to the Education Director, and the parental Youth Committee is becoming increasingly active. Youths are being encouraged to participate in various Temple Beth El sponsored social and service programs on a regular basis.
 

Chanukah packages and other mailings are sent to college students.
 

Temple members participate in Israel trips for families and students; as well as the March of the Living trips to Poland and Israel.
 

Need for Change in Education Programs
 

The Bereshith program, as currently constituted, has only recently become financially self-supporting. It is perceived by some as being in competition with the JCC Nursery School. Since there are no solid demographics regarding this program, it is not possible to assess its impact on attracting Beth El members or being a moneymaking enterprise for the Temple. The 1994 Temple survey indicated that 58 percent of parents with children under 10 years old and 48 percent of the membership as a whole thought that the Temple should involve itself in nursery school, either alone or collaboratively.
 

The religious school, grades K-7 is not accredited by United Synagogue of Conservative Judiasm. Gaining accreditation would necessitate:

Many of the benefits of accreditation are achievable by concentrating on improving the curriculum and the skill levels of the teaching staff. The remaining benefits are due to closer ties to USCJ, and may be achieved by seeking accreditation at a later time.
 

The 1994 Temple survey showed that the membership was interested in an expanded curriculum. Specifically, 67 percent for more Jewish ethics/morals, 57 percent for more Jewish culture, and 47 percent for more modern Hebrew language skills.
 

In general, religious school is negatively perceived by many students and parents. Many parents tend to take the position that religious school is a necessary evil, inflicted on their children as one of their parental obligations. Parent's interest and participation in religious school matters is minimal. Students tend to view the whole "Jewish education" scenario as an experience to be endured only until the day of their Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Fortunately, the situation at Temple Beth El is not that gloomy. In the 1994 Temple survey, 64 percent of members asked for classes for parents to stay involved in what their children are learning and the 48 percent of members wanted more opportunities for religious school related family activities such as seminars and field trips.
 

Almost all students and many of their parents lose interest in any Temple activities immediately following the child's Bar/Bat Mitzvah. The loss of involvement is a membership attrition problem in the short run and a membership attraction issue in the longer run. The Temple's loss of a family when their children are teen-agers is compounded by their children not growing up in the congregation and becoming members themselves as a natural course of events. At Temple Beth El, the recognition of this tendency is reflected by the 55 percent of members with children under 10 years old and 43 percent of the members as a whole, who answered "yes" to the 1994 Temple survey question about extending religious school to confirmation at age 15.
 

While there have been several successful individual adult education programs, it has been impossible to develop the critical mass that would make adult education an integral part of the congregational experience for a significant number of members on an ongoing basis. The 1994 Temple survey question on adult education showed interest levels of 40 percent for Jewish history, 39 percent for Jewish culture and practice, 39 percent for Jewish ethics/morals, and 32 percent for modern Hebrew language studies. This aspect of the congregation's vitality and vibrancy may prove to be truly a "chicken and egg question" regarding cause and effect relationships.
 

The use of modern technologies for education has not been stressed at Beth El. Technologies aimed at education "any time, any place, at any pace" offer opportunities for extending learning hours, targeting curriculum to individuals, involving more family members, and even involving people who are precluded from on-premises participation for various reasons. The pace of change in use of technology to make education more enjoyable through games, interactive opportunities with off-site experts, easy to use but very powerful research tools, and communications with others having similar interests in extended discussion groups is escalating rapidly and the Temple must start positioning itself to be an active participant in that emerging world, one which is increasingly becoming an expectation of the general public.
 

Coordination of educational programs across the Jewish community in Stamford is minimal. There is, therefore, competition among the various programs offered to the same target audience. There is lost opportunity to gain critical mass for larger programs within the community as a whole, rather than the prevalent model of competitive fragmentation which invites small program failures. As an example, 44 percent of the 1994 Temple survey respondents said they would welcome a new Jewish Day School which was Conservative rather than Orthodox.
 

Lack of educational program coordination across the Stamford Jewish community also has a negative impact on the cost of educational programs. Joint efforts and cooperative programs cover a larger base and reduce the unit costs of delivering educational services.
 

Recommendations - Education
 

The education mission and need for improvement in religious education brings with them the vision of an active educational environment encompassing Temple Beth El as part of the Jewish community of Stamford. This vision of coordinated and cooperative programming is a theme that runs through several of the recommendations which follow. It is a complementary theme to the vision of Temple Beth El being a source of "cradle to grave" religious education as a key component of its own vibrant and vital congregation.
 

There must also be a new commitment by the Temple to provide excellence in education using whatever means can be afforded. That must include investments in technology to introduce new tools which will become routine modes of operation for the Temple's educational programs. In the near term, such technologies will include audio and video tapes, computer-based learning tools, and use of facilities available through the Internet and World Wide Web for Jewish research, discourse, and education. Here too, the vision is a complementary theme to the vision of Temple Beth El being a source of lifelong religious education.
 

Temple Beth El should actively seek external funding for its youth and adult educational programs. This could take the form of partnering arrangements with others to share costs, as well as actively seeking outside grant moneys to fund specific educational activities or programs.
 

Pre-school Recommendations
 

Temple Beth El should be more involved in nursery school and day care facilities for its members and for prospective members from the larger Jewish community. The preferable way to approach this goal is through partnerships within the community. The JCC is the most likely source of a core program, with input from Temple Beth El and the other congregations to develop a generic "Jewish nursery program" that is satisfactory to the whole spectrum of Jewish community beliefs and practices. Temple Beth El should pursue partnering with the JCC in nursery school activities, including use of Temple facilities to house satellite programs.
 

The Bereshith program should be both re-oriented and expanded. The two objectives in revamping this program will be to keep it financially profitable for Beth El and to have it complement the broader/generic community programs with the particular beliefs and practices of the Conservative Movement.
 

Should it prove impossible to develop a community-wide program on a partnership basis, Temple Beth El should review the feasibility of undertaking nursery school and day care services for the Conservative Jewish community as a standalone (and competitive) program in the area. The Bereshith program would form the foundation of such a program.
 

Responsibility for baby sitting programs such as Gan Bet El needs to be clearly stated. Given the educational orientation, it is recommended that the Board of Education be the responsible Temple arm for such programs.
 

Religious School (Grades K-12) Recommendations
 

The Temple Beth El religious school program should be re-oriented to a complete K-12 curriculum. The perception that any religious schooling after 7th grade is a purely voluntary afterthought needs to be changed, and the best place to start changing it is at the very beginning of formal schooling.
 

The revamping of the religious school program should consider expanding it to six hours per week, if curriculum expansion or need for more emphasis makes such expansion necessary. Curriculum expansion should include more content, particularly in the upper grades, in the areas of Torah studies, Jewish ethics/morals (especially in the context of modern day life), Jewish culture, and modern Hebrew language.
 

Curriculum modifications should be made to accommodate both slower and gifted or more experienced (e.g., Hebrew day school students) children in the religious school. This could take the form of a few tracks within grade level which offer both remedial lessons and study assignments more challenging than the mainstream curriculum. Faster track students, including those from Hebrew day schools, may be challenged with special projects and by assignments to serve as tutors for other students.
 

If not done as part of an expanded six-hour per week program, additional programming should be put into the curriculum for Shabbat sessions which will serve to relate observing rituals with religious education.
 

Curriculum modifications should include strengthening ties to Israel, both from a historical perspective and in dealing with contemporary issues.
 

The upper grades (8-12) religious school curriculum, with Merkaz Torah and Temple Beth El confirmation classes as its core, should be much more tightly linked to the various social and service organizations and activities for Jewish youth. Merkaz itself should extend its partnership reach across the congregations to involve the various youth groups of all Jewish movements in joint social activities which will enrich the Merkaz experience for all students. Merkaz Torah and youth activities should make every effort to involve Hebrew day school graduates.
 

The Merkaz Torah program needs to be strengthened. Making it a natural part of Temple Beth El congregational life (i.e., a requirement) is one approach. Linking it more to social and service programs for Jewish youth as a way to get more young people involved is another. Additional approaches need to be found to increase participation by all of the congregations, and particularly the participation by students and graduates of Hebrew day schools.
 

Parental involvement in Temple Beth El religious school programs must be greatly increased. A PTA organization should be formed and communications to parents about grade level activities initiated through newsletters. PTA activities should promote parental involvement in what is happening in their children's classes - by encouraging visits, by having parents assist in the classroom, by fostering home discussions of subjects covered in the school, and by various special programs and activities aimed at increasing parental involvement.
 

Parental involvement in religious school activities should involve classes for parents, both with and without their children. In the upper grades, discussion groups in key areas should be held with combined parent-teacher-student groups as part of the curriculum. This should be linked to ritual and observance practices curricula, as well as to Jewish values as applied to modern day living.
 

At several points in each child's religious education, there should be concentrated programming such as a Shabbaton weekend. Some of these should be with their peers and instructors/leaders, while others should be family events. Such weekends would be designed for experiencing ritual and religious observance, getting to know themselves and those around them better, and as social interchanges - all in the context of being Jews in modern day life.
 

The support system for religious school teachers at Temple Beth El should be strengthened. Mentoring programs for new teachers should be formalized to ensure consistency and continuity of education. Mentoring should be extended to experienced teachers through outside volunteers (e.g., retired religious school teachers, Board of Education members or other qualified Temple members).
 

Teaching staff support should include expanded workshop programs, including summer programs.
 

Support for the teaching staff should include establishment and maintenance of a Teacher's Resource Room for the school. The Teacher's Resource Room should contain materials and suggestions for teaching modules on curriculum subjects, arranged by grade and subject for ease of access.
 

Classroom teaching should be enhanced by team teaching techniques and by using volunteers to assist. Team teaching is a proven technique to enrich the lessons through having two experienced teachers work with the same group of children. Teaching assignments of the existing staff should be juggled to allow for teams in those areas where it appears most beneficial. Increased utilization of teens and seniors as tutors and as classroom aids also needs to be expanded. Volunteers should receive some formal training and mentoring assistance to make the experiencing rewarding for both them and the students.
 

A formal program of annual curriculum review by the teaching staff, Board of Education and interested parents should be established. This would be a full review against accreditation standards and current recommended practices, separate from the shorter term reviews and adjustments made during the school year as part of normal ongoing operations.
 

A formal program of teacher performance appraisals should be established, with reviews held at least annually and preferably twice annually. This implies the establishment of standards and procedures for recruiting and training faculty, as well as the documentation of acceptable performance standards and appraisal/interview procedures.
 

The current Temple Beth El Library should be replaced by a media center. This new center needs to encompass technology in offering computer-based lessons, on-line access to research sources, audio/video lessons for individuals and groups, recorders for language skills practice, and even access to remotely taught lessons with a local moderator (i.e., educational TV network access).
 

In addition, the Temple should take a leadership position in promoting home-based learning through technology. This could take such forms as school homework assignments involving Internet research, CD-ROM and TV based learning games sold by the gift shop, and even sales of computer based learning tools for children and adults. A library loan program for CD-ROM and TV based educational materials could be instituted on the same basis as for books, complemented by a gift shop sales program of the same materials.
 

The introduction of technology-based research and lessons does not obviate the need for a good library of books and periodicals. In fact, the Temple Beth El media center must be far stronger than our current library. This strength would be found through partnering with the other congregations, Jewish Historical Society, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, University of Connecticut, Ferguson Library and others in making available a large catalogue of Jewish and Hebrew literature; either on a reference or home-loan basis.
 

The introduction of an expanded media center should be coupled with a "Jewish Reading is Fundamental" program. Both religious school students and adult congregation members should be strongly encouraged to read Jewish/Hebrew literature across a wide range of subjects, including religious, historical, contemporary issues and fiction. Discussion groups within the school curriculum and Adult Education programs should be used to foster this goal. The PTA and parental involvement in the religious school should also be used to encourage such reading.
 

The religious school physical plant requires upgrading, and perhaps expansion. There is room for a few additional classrooms and they should be constructed as soon as is practical. The furnishings in all of the classrooms needs to be replaced by more modern equipment, and a program should be established to fund and purchase new furniture over a period of a few years.
 

Adult Education Recommendations
 

A study of both successful and unsuccessful adult education programs over the past few years is needed to better understand the demographics and psychographics of such programming within the Temple membership.
 

In the absence of such studies, there are a few objectives which have emerged from observation of the more successful programs. These include:

More emphasis on Hebrew literacy is needed at Beth El, a congregation where more than half the members do not read Hebrew comfortably. A larger number of shorter courses, repeating at regular intervals, will give members the best chance of picking up the needed skills - being able to repeat sessions or make up ones missed over the repeating series. The curriculum should start from basic alphabet and reading, through intermediate reading and basic prayer skills, and into advanced topics such as Torah reading. The use of television and computer based learning of skills through games and exercises should be supported and encouraged.
 

Hebrew as a language, with script writing and basic vocabulary and grammar skills as its goal is also of interest to many congregants (32 percent of the 1994 Temple survey respondents). Here, too, a series of short and repeated classes should be used to allow the students to jump in and out as their schedules permit and still be able to learn the basics over time.
 

Yiddish as a language has also been popular in the past and 25 percent of the 1994 Temple survey respondents expressed interest in it as an adult education subject. It should be tried again, but probably not with the same participants that are enrolled in Hebrew classes. Timing, therefore, may be an issue here.
 

Both Hebrew and Yiddish are of wide community interest and suitable for partnership efforts. Such a partnership would, it is hoped, lead to more multi-sponsored adult education ventures in areas where congregational beliefs and practices are not important to the subject matter. Over time, an adult education program operated similar to Merkaz Torah could emerge; one which would allow targeting the entire Jewish community for some topics while preserving individual congregational identities for others.
 

Subjects specific to the Conservative Movement should be targeted to the Beth El membership through learner's services, adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah classes, short courses, individual lectures, and materials from United Synagogue, The Rabbinical Assembly, and others. These would include subjects dealing with ritual, observance, some life cycle events, and others. The vehicles for such programs will continue to be Shabbat services, discussion groups and special programs such as the annual Scholar in Residence and Harold Hoffman Lectures. Where topics are less directed toward Conservative views, community participation and partnering remains the preferred approach. Such partnering could take the form of the Judaic Studies Program at the University of Connecticut, programs sponsored by JCC, UJF and others, and joint sponsorship of programs with other congregations.
 

The issue of strengthening ties to Israel should be addressed in the programming of adult education discussions and lectures.
 

One program which has been successful at many temples is a second seder night dinner. There seems to be enough interest in it to try it at Beth El, and if it is successful to institutionalize it as an annual event. The seder would be led by the Beth El clergy and/or lay leaders.
 

Another program which has the potential of becoming a long-running one is a book discussion group. It would meet at member's homes in an informal atmosphere to discuss a book all have read and to select a book for the next meeting. Given the wide range of Jewish literature, both fiction and non-fiction, this program could grow to multiple groups with narrower ranges of literary interests.
 

As opportunities arise, field trips should be used as part of the adult education program. There are many museums and exhibits within a few hours travel time of Stamford which could become focal points for a trip. Coordination with the social activities programming at Beth El and partnering with other organizations in the Jewish community are both means of making such trips more successful.
 

Supplemental Education Programs Recommendations
 

The establishment of a Board of Jewish Education in the community will serve to focus the many cooperative efforts that are needed; in pre-school programs; Merkaz Torah, adult education, and special programs. One of the critical missions of this board will be to coordinate programming in the context of each congregation's individual needs while taking every advantage of the many opportunities to develop multi-sponsored programs for larger segments of the Jewish community. Temple Beth El should exercise a leadership role in establishing and maintaining such a body.
 

The various Jewish youth programs in the area need to be revitalized and made an integral part of growing up in this community. Through close cooperation between the social and educational programming across the various age groups and congregations, the experience of "growing up Jewish" can be made far more meaningful to all of our children. Here too, Temple Beth El should exercise a leadership role in promoting the needed cooperation among congregations and other organizations of all Jewish movements.
 

Young adults (18-25), many of whom are away at college much of the year, should be targeted with several programs to keep them in touch with Temple Beth El and Stamford Jewish community life. In addition to mailings, such as the current Chanukah menorah mailing to college students, some class newsletters about "who's where doing what", invitations to communicate via Internet E-mail, and holiday/vacation get togethers are all suitable vehicles for letting the Temple's young adults stay closer to one another and to the Temple itself. If the student demographics indicate it, supporting a Hillel chapter at the Stamford branch of U. Conn. would also be worthwhile. Most of these programs invite cooperative efforts across the community, supplemented by individual congregational efforts.
 

Travel opportunities have long been a key component of religious education programs. Participation by Beth El families in the UJF "Gift of Israel" program, the "March of the Living" trip, Temple-sponsored or individual family trips to Israel, and several other programs geared to having young people see Israel for themselves, should be encouraged.