These questions are addressed in the report, Schools That Work: What We Can Learn From Good Jewish Supplementary Schools, authored by Dr. Jack Wertheimer on behalf of the AVI CHAI Foundation, March 2009. In conjunction with the release of the report, JESNA recently hosted an ADCA webinar with Jack Wertheimer to discuss the report and the role of central agencies for Jewish education.  The webinar is available at JESNA’s Sosland Resource Center.  ADCA is the Association of Directors of Central Agencies for Jewish Education.

We wrote about other resources on complementary and congregational education published by JESNA – be sure to take a look at them as well.

What are some of the most powerful characteristics of success in your school? What would you add to the report’s list of policy recommendations? What else do you want to know about successful complementary education?

Take a look at JESNA’s Compendium of Complementary School Alternative Models/ Programs.

See what’s happening with in-home learning programs, family education, camps, tutoring, choose your own courses, art-focused initiatives, complementary education programs with online components, and more. Each entry includes background about the program and contact information for follow up.

The Compendium is published by JESNA’s Center for Excellence in Education. Also be sure to check out the companion volume, Compendium of Complementary School Change Initiatives (Summer 2008).

And to further whet your appetite for the new year, download your copy of Transforming Congregational Education: Lessons Learned and Questions for the Future published by JESNA’s Lippman Kanfer Institute (December 2008). The paper is organized around three questions:

1. What are the goals of congregational educational change? What can and should we hope to achieve through these efforts and for whom? What visions are guiding these endeavors?
2. What is the content of congregational education change? What is it that needs to be changed? What are the primary drivers of success in this endeavor?
3. What is the process for congregational educational change? What needs to be done, by whom, to make congregational educational change efforts succeed?

The paper reflects a synthesis of experiences and observations by key players in Jewish congregational learning. It concludes with ten questions that outline a learning and planning agenda for next steps in congregational educational change.

Dig in – B’tayavon!