Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide

Staff Learning
Jewish education is a process of lifelong learning. All the participants, especially the
early childhood director and teachers, are lifelong learners. In a Conservative Jewish
early childhood program, all adult participants share a willingness to learn on an ongoing
basis.
Professional Development
Early childhood educators are required to keep learning. Every state requires a certain
number of hours in continuing education. But in a Jewish early childhood program, staff
members participate in professional development that increases not only their knowledge
of developmentally appropriate practice but expands their Jewish learning as well. Main
areas of Jewish learning for staff include Jewish time, particularly Shabbat and Jewish
holidays; God; Torah, as in the Five Books of Moses; Jewish values; Jewish folklore; and
Israel and the Hebrew language. Directors must provide their staff with opportunities for
their own development and personal Jewish growth.
Low-impact strategies:
• Offer timely written materials and provide opportunities for discussion.
• Take time during staff meetings to discuss the staff meeting shiurim
http://uscj.org/Archive7067.html.
High-impact strategies:
• Provide chevruta style learning (text study in pairs).
• Offer incentives, such as bonuses or salary increases, for taking local or on-line
Jewish adult education courses.
• Arrange mentoring opportunities that pair new and seasoned staff members for
collegial discussions and growth.
• Offer workshops with hands-on activities to familiarize the staff with the rituals
and symbols of the various holidays and other Jewish aspects of the curriculum.
God
At its very core, a Conservative Jewish early childhood program revolves around the
concept of God. Educators must be willing to explore their own relationships with God in
order to be comfortable talking about God with children. Staff must be open and willing
to entertain a discussion about God, which may include the use of basic Jewish texts,
including Torah, liturgy, midrash or Jewish folktales. By having these discussions at an
adult level, staff members will have a better idea of how to invite and incorporate God
into the classroom environment.
Vision for Conservative Early Childhood Programs: A Journey Guide
USCJ Department of Education
Maxine Handelman
Handelman@uscj.org
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