Professional Networking
The Jewish Education Center has articulated a strategic goal to elevate and celebrate teachers and professionals in Jewish Cleveland. One foundational practice in this arena is the regular convening of professional networks.
A vital component of the work of the Jewish Education Center is to serve as the convener of a variety of professional networks. The regular network gatherings foster collaboration across educational programs, enhance communication and provide professional and leadership development.
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
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- Principals Affinity Group
- Middle School Science
- Middle School Humanities
PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS
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Early Childhood Directors Network
The Early Childhood Directors Network (ECDN) truly reflects the diversity of Cleveland’s Jewish community. This wonderfully collaborative group has directors that hail from our congregational, community-based and day school-based early childhood programs.
The ECDN meets monthly during the school year, with a focus on:
- Collegial sharing of key early childhood issues including child development, curriculum, administrative issues, and the Jewish growth of children and families.
- Understanding and meeting the State of Ohio’s licensing requirements, and for most of our Jewish programs the Step Up to Quality voluntary rating system.
- Professional development of teachers, both within individual programs and community-wide.
Education Directors Network
The Education Directors Network (EDN) brings together educational leaders from Cleveland’s congregational and community-based part-time educational settings. Meeting monthly during the school year, this group:
- Focuses on issues that are more powerfully addressed community-wide (e.g., continued involvement of teens in Jewish education)
- Plans community-wide programs for students and/or their families
- Works collaboratively to plan community-wide professional development for teachers and themselves
- Stays abreast of general or Jewish educational trends
Day School Directors Network
The five Cleveland Jewish day school directors meet together several times a year:
- Fuchs Mizrachi School
- Gross Schechter Day School
- Hebrew Academy of Cleveland
- Joseph and Florence Mandel Jewish Day School
- Yeshiva Derech Hatorah
Youth Professional Network
The Youth Professionals Network (YPN) brings together youth directors engaging over 1,500 Jewish teens across the Cleveland Jewish community. The directors are from both synagogues and national movements such as, NIFTY, USCJ, NCSY, Friendship Circle, BBYO and more. The professionals collaborate on a monthly basis, sharing successes and challenges to effective teen engagement.
Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC)
The Jewish Education Center provides guidance to ensure that general studies teachers in day schools have and maintain Ohio teaching licenses and works with the Local Professional Development Committee (LPDC) to ensure compliance with State of Ohio Department of Education (ODE) rules and regulations. The LPDC, comprised of representatives from each day school, reviews and approves license renewal applications, Individual Professional Development Plans.
Jewish Family Engagement Network (JFEN)
The Jewish Family Engagement Network brings together professionals who design and lead engagement opportunities for families with children ages 0–13 across the Jewish community. Meeting three to four times annually, the network serves as a collaborative space to share current work, exchange resources, and explore innovative approaches to engaging families. Participants use this time to troubleshoot challenges, identify opportunities for partnership, discover new program models and locations, and connect with presenters who can enhance their work.
