Voices in the Field: How The Jewish Education Project Is Supporting Educators During COVID-19

Over the past few months The Jewish Education Project has worked with thousands of Jewish educators who are building strong foundations today so our community can thrive in a post COVID-19 world. Melissa Hume of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue and Andrew Paull of Temple Shaaray Tefila share how The Jewish Education Project has supported them. 

Melissa hume

The offerings of the Jewish Education Project during this time of such uncertainty have been a true source of comfort and support.

Through professional networks and webinar opportunities, we as an educational community have been granted a space to tackle difficult topics, to co-think possible responses to the endless litany of questions we encounter daily, and to maintain a sense of perspective in a historical moment when it is all too easy to have tunnel vision.

Beyond the tidbits and takeaways I have gathered from individual meetings, I credit the work of The Jewish Education Project with helping me to keep an open mind and a sense of possibility in the face of this unique challenge. 

I am reminded, You are not required to finish your work, yet neither are you permitted to desist from it. Not every choice we make will be successful, but we keep trying nonetheless, and we benefit from the experiences of other educators taking on the same great project.

Each call and conversation with the Jewish Education Project provides a picture of the state of the broader Jewish educational community, bolstering my work with teachers and families in my own setting as we build our new "normal" together. While the idea of another Zoom commitment in my day can feel daunting, I walk away from each encounter with a renewed energy, fresh ideas, and increased confidence that the love and integrity that are always at the heart of my teaching can continue despite physical distance. As Jewish educators, we always strive to ground our practice in core values and beliefs, and The Jewish Education Project has consistently worked to support educators in these efforts. Now, at a time when "community" must transcend physical proximity like never before, the strength of this shared value shines through as it punctuates each conversation we have together, as we are perpetually reminded that relationships are the heart of all we have done, and all we will do in the days to come. 

Melissa Hume is Assistant Director at the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue Early Childhood Center

Andrew Paull

When Temple Shaaray Tefila, where I serve as the Director of Teen Engagement, closed our physical operations and ceased in-person programming on March 13 because of COVID-19, I was concerned about our teens. So much of our teen programming is built on community and being together. Our learning electives, our youth group, our madrichim program, and our teen internship, collectively forming our high school program called Pathways, have transitioned almost fully online by this point to keep our community connected. It quickly became clear that teens are a population comfortable in virtual settings and that our programming would translate digitally. 

We’ve had tremendous local success. Over 80% of our Pathways teen participants have transitioned and are actively engaged in weekly Virtual Pathways programs. They are supporting the learning of our younger students in our virtual Religious School, participating in online cooking and yoga classes, studying text with our Rabbi, singing in our teen choir with our cantor, and developing their own teen-led youth group programming. There actually isn’t social distancing in our community right now; there’s only physical distancing.

Retaining the youth leadership aspect of our program was critical, especially now. Our youth group, TaSTY was and is led by teens for teens, and that aspect has been a great comfort for them. Right now, teens are being told all the time what to do by the adults in their lives, whether it’s their parents, their teachers, their camp directors, or the leaders of the city they live in. TaSTY really has continued as one of the purest examples of teen empowerment and leadership.

As a long-time New York area Jewish educator, I’ve been engaging and utilizing the trainings, materials, and expertise of The Jewish Education Project for nearly a decade.

I’ve been impressed with how this agency has pivoted quickly to support educators and youth professionals not just in New York, but throughout the world, as we collectively navigate and experiment with distance Jewish learning and engagement.

Regular resource digests in my inbox, topical and timely webinars on Jewish holidays, youth professional Zoom roundtables, and continued coaching through the Congregational Leadership Journey Project has helped me do my work better. And this, in turn, has brought connectivity and strength to the teens at my synagogue. Because of COVID-19, we may not know what the next few months of Jewish education and engagement will look like, but I know The Jewish Education Project will be there to support educators and youth professionals in our sacred work.

Andrew Paull is the Director of Teen Engagement at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City. He previously served as the Senior Regional Director for BBYO in Manhattan and was awarded the Robert M. Sherman Young Pioneer Award in 2017. He is the first Jewish professional to earn a Master of Arts in Youth Studies from the City University of New York.