Jewish Education Partner Schools Project

Begun in 2009, this Jewish day school partnership infuses Facing History’s content and pedagogy throughout the curriculum in day schools across the United States. At our Partner schools, Facing History’s program expands students’ exploration of their Jewish identity, deepens their historical understanding of modern Jewish history, and helps students make connections between Jewish texts and values and their own lives.

These Partner schools are also members of Facing History’s Innovative Schools Network, made up of institutions around the world that embrace Facing History’s core themes as foundational to their schools’ mission. Evaluations show impact on whole-school culture in areas such as civic responsibility among students and cross-disciplinary work among teachers.

To build on the success of this initiative, we will provide ongoing support in the following fundamental ways:

 By providing professional development for a core team of four educators at our summer seminar, Holocaust and Human Behavior for Educators in Jewish Settings. (All travel expenses, accommodations, and tuition fees will be provided at no charge to the school.)  As partners on curriculum design, teaching strategies, and the identification of classroom resources  As consultants for the creation of whole-school learning opportunities, such as special whole-school programs, parent events, and faculty in-services  By fostering dialogue across disciplines  By facilitating a community of practice among our network of educators to engage in dialogue and learning around related professional issues.

Facing History’s Program Associate will provide up to 15 days of support to the school, including working with the school faculty liaison, supporting teachers individually and as a team, facilitating all-school events, and supporting integration across disciplines. Participants will have full access to all Facing History materials, both online and at our resource centers.

IMPACT

Several evaluations of the Jewish Education Program’s work in its Partner Schools Project have demonstrated the value of Facing History’s resources, professional development services, and individualized coaching for teachers and students. Highlights of the findings include the following:  Teachers reported that Facing History has supported Jewish identity and values development in their students  Facing History helped students explore and understand their Jewish identity more deeply, connect Jewish values to their daily lives, and gain awareness of, and practice in, what it means to be part of a community  Facing History helped to increase and support interdisciplinary collaboration within the school  Facing History has helped schools raise sensitivity to bullying, decrease the amount of conflict within the schools, and increase respect.

PUBLICATIONS

Facing History offers a rich collection of publications, online, multimedia, and library resources, including:

Sacred Texts, Modern Questions: Connecting Ethics and History Through a Jewish Lens This five-unit collection of lessons explores sacred texts of the past and the questions that shape our present. Sacred Texts provides opportunities for teachers of both Judaic and general studies to integrate learning and encourages interdisciplinary conversations.

Sholem Aleichem and the Challenges of Modernity This online resource is based on the documentary film “Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness” by Joseph Dorman. The lessons look at Sholem Aleichem’s life, the culture of the shtetl, and the impact of modernity as Jews transitioned from rural to more urban environments at the end of the 19th century.

Facing History and Ourselves: The Jews of Poland This resource book is designed to complement Facing History’s many resources, giving a focus to Jewish identity, life before World War II, Jewish resistance during the Holocaust, and the legacy of contemporary history on the Jewish community today.

Facing History and Ourselves: Holocaust and Human Behavior Our core resource combines an interdisciplinary approach to citizenship education with readings and activities that explore the consequences of discrimination, racism, and anti- Semitism by holding up "the tarnished mirror of history" to one of the most violent times in world history—the 1930s and 1940s.

For more information about the Jewish Education Program, visit https://www.facinghistory.org/for-educators/educator-network/jewish-education