Jewish Education Congregational Schools Network

Introducing the Facing History Congregational School network! Curricular resources, tailored to the needs of supplementary school teachers. 

This is a pivotal moment in Jewish Education. In today’s complex world, congregational schools understand that Jewish students in general school settings must cultivate strong, joyful jewish identities that go beyond the difficult moments the Jewish people continue to face. More than ever, congregational educators are tasked with developing engaging, relevant, and thought-provoking programs that will shape their students’ diverse Jewish identities. Congregational educators find creative and innovative ways to pass on the timeless Jewish values that inspire Jewish students to create a more ethical world.

Facing History provides congregational school educators with specific offerings tailored to their environments: 

• flexible professional development that speaks to the diversity of Jewish educators and builds upon their varying levels of training
• experiential curriculum resources that nurture Jewish Identity (with an eye to the logistical differences of a congregational school)
• ongoing individualized support for teachers, Education Directors, and Rabbis as they work toward the unique goals of their congregations. 

Click HERE to submit an inquiry about joining the congregational school network

Proven Educational Strategies

Facing History’s evaluation shows that implementation of our program leads to increased teacher effectiveness, improvements in students’ connection to their culture and community, and fosters a strong Jewish identity and communal commitment to Jewish education.

“They shared their reflections with the wider community about how it’s been transformative for them this year. Things like, “it’s shaping who I am, my Jewish identity.” This was really powerful. One student wrote that they never realized how important their Jewish identity was.” (PFLI teacher lead)

Join a Network of Educators!

Each year, Facing History selects a cohort of Jewish congregational schools to join the Facing History Partner School Network, a network of over 150 schools from across the United States that integrate Facing History content and pedagogy schoolwide to transform school culture and improve student outcomes. Teachers in this network receive: 

• individualized educator support
• access to Facing History professional development free of charge
• Attendance at specialized convenings for congregational school educators
• Participation in the Kitah L'kehillah Grant, a one-year funded experiential project for each incoming school

Grant

The Kitah L'Kehillah Grant fosters teacher leadership and enhances student creativity. This cross disciplinary learning experience, involves several teachers from across a school to support students in developing a project that deepens their study. This project goes beyond the classroom to impact the greater school community.  Facing History provides congregational schools with expertise, mentorship and generous financial support to conceive, develop, and implement school projects. Additionally, the educators involved in these projects will convene in-person once a year to share their learnings and grow in their own practice for future years of implementation.