1. The WOW! Project
Exciting & Impactful
Community-Based Jewish Education
for Toronto
Presented
February 15, 2012
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2. The time is now! Toronto is the place!
This is an exciting moment for
community-based Jewish
education, and an opportunity
for the Toronto community to
serve as a beacon for
innovation in our world.
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3. JESNA’s Starting Point
A vibrant Jewish future depends on
impactful, engaging and inspiring Jewish education
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4. The World is Changing
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5. The Environment of Jewish Education
• Participation in Jewish education
today is a matter of choice
• There is greater diversity among
families and learners
• Some families are “settling” for
programs they find less than
optimal
• Increasing numbers of families
are opting for alternative
programs or arrangements
• Substantial numbers of children
receive no Jewish education
• There is a relative paucity of real
alternatives
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6. A Tale of Two Metaphors
“Vaccination” vs. “Wellness”
• Prophylactic • Life-enhancing
• Professionally administered • Individual works with guides
• Passive • Active
• Disconnected • Encompassing & embedded
• Limited effect • Affects the whole person
• Batch approach • Individualized, but social
• Not intrinsically rewarding • Intrinsically rewarding
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7. What is ?
is a transformative project
that seeks to create a wonderful
new world of community-based
Jewish education in Toronto –
rather than incremental
improvement in individual
institutions
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8. is based on a vision you create and
that we at JESNA help turn into reality with our expertise and
experience in the field.
TORONTO will be built on the solid base you have already
created through your programs and innovations.
is an important component of Toronto’s plan to address
the six priorities proposed by the Community Capacity Building team
for optimizing the functioning of “the affiliation highway”:
– Building “On-ramps”
– Creating “Connectors”
– Leveraging the power of agencies
– Supporting Innovation
– Ensuring programmatic excellence
– Developing leadership
We will work together to create a future in which learners and
their families are more positive & knowledgeable about Judaism
and engaged with Jewish life & the Jewish community.
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9. Design Principles for a Jewish Education System
to ensure a vibrant Jewish future
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10. What will it take to create powerful
life-centered Jewish education?
• Expanding the venues and settings for Jewish education
• Broadening the modes of Jewish learning
• Expanding the scope of Jewish education along with strengthening the
connections among & pathways through its multiple settings and modes
• Recruiting and retaining the “right” people
• Respecting & supporting educators’ professionalism
• Fostering opportunities for collaboration among educators
• Creating a culture of innovation
• Incorporating best practices from the broader fields of education and
Jewish education in particular
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11. What will it take to create the Jewish education
eco-system for a vibrant Jewish future?
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12. The Ecology of Education: Lawrence Cremin
School-Centered Approach to Education Community Approach to Education
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13. What sort of Jewish education eco-system will
produce powerful life-centered Jewish education?
• Meets learners & families’ real needs -- educational, spiritual & practical
• Contains experiential & enjoyable experiences -- blending formal &
informal
• Builds connections and community, often across generations, organizations
& institutions
• Is guided by professionals and shaped by the interests of the learners
• Takes place in a variety of venues – schools & congregations, public
libraries, retreat centers, museums, farms/gardens, community institutions,
homes
• Takes full advantage of the power & potential of technology
• Comprises a continuous educational system in which professionals
anticipate what the educational needs of learners & families will be in the
next stage of their lives, and provide the knowledge & connections they
need to fulfill them seamlessly.
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15. What might Toronto’s eco-system look like?
• Education programs specially designed to effectively engage hard to reach
populations such as children of inter-married families and geographically dispersed
families
• A cluster of “magnet schools” created by a group of congregations to allow
members to select from options that emphasize Hebrew literacy, music and drama,
social action, Israel, or family learning
• Retreats and other special programs held during school vacation periods to provide
concentrated experiential learning for students from a wide range of settings,
including those outside traditional venues
• Four-day-a-week after-school program developed by the congregations, JCC and
day schools that combines recreational, Jewish, and general learning activities
• An array of Jewish family education programs that integrate environmental
education, social justice, the arts, technology and other modes of learning
• A constellation of formal and informal educational experiences for post B’nai
Mitzvah for Jewish learning and living and community-building
• A “concierge” system to help families and learners identify appropriate learning
opportunities and paths
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16. Road Map to get to
Goal:
Enabling the Toronto Jewish community to double the
enrollment of children ages 4 -17 in exciting, satisfying and
impactful community-based Jewish educational experiences by
enhancing what exists and expanding the range of program
options to meet the needs of 21st century Jewish learners
1. Discover
2. Dream
3. Design
4. Destiny
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17. Toronto : Project Stages
1. Agreement to proceed 
2. Community Organization (February 2012)
 Conversations with local educational leadership to:
• Introduce WOW
• Develop common language about innovation and change
• Assemble the “Coalition of the Willing”
3. Discovery: Information Gathering (February – March 2012)
 Community assets
 Key stakeholders interviews/surveys
 Best practices and innovations in the field
4. Dream: Visioning and Planning Summit (April-May 2012)
 Summit: May 14-15,2012
 Share data and affirm learnings
 Begin to dream as a community
5. Design and Destiny: Implementation, Engagement & Continuity Planning (Beginning June –
December, 2012)
 Action step implementation
 Communications/engagement
 Continuity planning
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18. Community Organization
Creating infrastructure for the process:
Relationship building
» Trust
» Investment
» Getting to know JESNA
Developing & launching
communications plan
» Steering Committee
» Organizational leaders
» Community at-large
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19. Discovery
Appreciating what is – gathering empirical information to create a clear
shared vision of community assets and opportunities:
Gathering and reviewing written materials
Focus group interviews
• Students - current, alumni, “drop outs,” never enrolled, and “in the
pipeline”
• Parents of those same cohorts of students
• Professionals – educators, education directors, rabbis
• Lay Leaders
Possible implementation of web survey
Additional research about existing and promising programs and
models
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20. Dream
• Community Summit – May 14-15, 2012
– Review of learnings from Discovery
– Discuss recommendations that flow from the learnings related to
future Jewish engagement and education opportunities in Toronto
– Begin developing consensus around the structure and content of
Jewish engagement and education opportunities
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21. The Coalition of the Willing:
Criteria & Expectations
• Target population: Jewish children ages 4-17 in GTA
• Preparedness to participate in an innovation & change process at this time
• Designated Team Leader
• Meeting attendance & virtual interaction
• Provision of data
• Recruitment of participants for Discovery & Dream phases
• Participation in change/innovation projects to double engagement and increase
participant satisfaction (target)
• Dissemination of learnings & experience
• Shared values of UJA Federation mission
• Acceptance of UJA Federation as primary community fundraising initiative
• Acknowledgement of participation in written materials
• Identification with the State of Israel and tolerance for diversity
• Compliance with relevant public regulations
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22. FAQs About
• How long does the process take?
• What is required from the community?
• What are some of the challenges we can anticipate?
• What are the outcomes to date in communities that are farther
along?
• What’s in it for me?
• What are the next steps?
• Your questions…
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