ElevatEd Launches at @CAJE Miami: A National Jewish Early Childhood Education Initiative
Posted on 08/02/2024 @ 06:00 AM
Miami becomes latest pilot community in this groundbreaking and collaborative initiative addressing the critical teacher shortage in early childhood Jewish education
CAJE is thrilled to announce our participation in ElevatEd, the groundbreaking initiative to transform the field of early childhood Jewish education by addressing the critical shortage of early childcare teachers.
Funded by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and in partnership with Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), Miami is the latest community to join the initiative to recruit, train, and mentor early childhood educators.
ElevatEd formally launched in July 2023 as a collaborative project between Jewish Community Centers Association of North America, Jewish Federations of North America, and the Union for Reform Judaism.
Together with its national funding partners – Jim Joseph Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, and the Samuels Family Foundation – and alongside practitioners, educators, and community leaders, ElevatEd, a $12 million project, is pioneering bold solutions to an urgent crisis around the recruitment and retention of educators in the foundational school system that serves the Jewish community.
The initiative increases the opportunity for families to take part in high-quality education, professionalizes the field, and exponentially expands the engagement of Jewish families in Jewish communal life through this expansive effort focused on teacher recruitment, training, credentialing, mentoring, and teacher-family engagement in the early childhood setting.
Capitalizing on the success of ElevatEd’s first cohort in five cities (Boston, Massachusetts; Denver-Boulder, Colorado; East Bay, California; Houston, Texas; and Long Island, New York), which has impacted 48 schools and recruited nearly 100 emerging educators, the second cohort is now underway in Miami with an initial focus of recruiting up to 30 brand new educators.
Yehudis Smith, CAJE's Director of the Robert Russell Early Childhood Education Department and the new ElevatEd community coordinator in Miami, shares:
"I am thrilled that the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education is now partnering with ElevatEd on its expansion into Miami. Our community’s investment will support the influx of young families, including the influx of Israelis with young families into our area, by tackling the critical shortage of early childcare teachers in the greater Miami area.”
ElevatEd Executive Director Orna Siegel notes:
“Investing in the educators who have the skill and passion to create learning communities that build strong Jewish identities and engage families from their earliest years leads to healthy, vibrant communities. Ensuring high-quality early childhood Jewish education supports the very foundation of Jewish life.
Sasha Kopp, senior director of ElevatEd education and engagement, observes:
“ElevatEd is intentionally designed to embrace every single Jewish early childhood center in Miami. This type of partnership is inspirational in terms of both scale and inclusivity, serving schools from every denomination and educators with diverse beliefs, educational experience, and religious backgrounds.”
About JCC Association of North America
JCC Association of North America leads the JCC Movement, the most expansive and inclusive platform for Jewish life in the U.S. and Canada, which comprises more than 170 Jewish Community Centers and Jewish Community Camps (JCCs).
About Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)
Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) are the backbone of the organized Jewish community in the U.S. and Canada, representing over 400 Jewish communities. They raise and distribute more than $2 billion annually and through planned giving and endowment programs to support Jewish communities domestically and in Israel.
About the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ)
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) represents a vibrant network of nearly 850 Reform synagogues across North America, which foster serious Jewish learning, sacred community, and prophetic justice.
For more information about ElevatED, please contact Yehudis Smith, CAJE's Director of the Robert Russell Depratment of Early Childhood Education and the new ElevatEd community coordinator in Miami, at yehudissmith@caje-miami.org
