 |
 |
        
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
NESS was originally developed by the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education (ACAJE) as the Philadelphia Jewish community's response to the crisis of escalating student drop-out rates from synagogue schools.
In the Bay Area, 72% of children who receive a Jewish education do so in synagogue schools. These experiences, starting early in a child's life, will make a difference in whether a child grows into an adult who wants to be active in his or her Jewish community, who sees Jewish learning as a life-long endeavor, and who sees his or her Jewish identity as something to be cherished and passed on to the next generation.
Successes
In just a few years, the NESS Initiative in Philadelphia has achieved these successes:
- Greater student excitement and enthusiasm for Jewish learning
- Heightened interest and attention to Jewish education in the participating congregations;
- Improved structures and functioning of Education Committees;
- Enhanced skills, roles, and status of education directors;
- Effective professional development for teachers;
- Greater accountability on the part of teachers for what they are teaching; and
- Overall professionalization of congregational Jewish education.
NESS is a project of the Bureau of Jewish Education, modeled on a program created by the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education in Philadelphia, and made possible through the generous support of The Jewish Community Endowment Fund, the Annual Campaign of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties, the Koret Foundation, and PELIE.
|
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|