NEXT from Gratz College addresses the widespread and well-documented challenge of engaging and retaining supplementary school (Hebrew schools, religious schools, synagogue schools, alternative synagogue learning environments) students by strengthening the quality of their teachers. The 230,000 students in both traditional and innovative supplementary schools depend on the knowledge and pedagogical skills of their teachers for compelling Jewish educational experiences. NEXT: New EXcellent Teacher Training

What’s NEXT in online  professional development?  Here are Gratz College’s NEXT program’s offerings for this summer! All classes are designed to so that teachers can log in and participate in the class for ANY two hours a week that they choose, night or day.

Beginning the week of June 18, 2018:
Active Learning: Wake Up Your Students (all grades)

Israel Education Through Food (all grades)

The Jewish Life Cycle: Innovative Ideas for Teaching Our Traditions (4th – 7th grades)

Havruta in the Classroom: Using an Ancient Technique to Enrich Contemporary Learning (3rd – 12th grades)

Teaching Holocaust through Film (7th – 12th grades)

Jewish Education Through Musical Play (pre-K – 2nd grades)

Beginning the week of July 23, 2018:
The (Jewish) Pursuit of Happiness – Positive Psychology and Teens (7th – 12th grades)

Boot Camp for New(ish) Teachers (all grades)

Jewish Holidays through Jewish Values (all grades)

Engaging Parents: Transforming Drop-Off to Drop-In (all grades)

Using Rabbinic Texts to Generate Lively Discussions (3rd+)

Exploring God and Spirituality in Developmentally Appropriate Ways (all grades)

Designing a Musical Year  (PreK – 6th grades)

Hebrew Reading is FUNdamental! (3rd – 12th grades)

Rolling Admissions

Hebrew Through Movement

Supplementary school programs must hire teachers with a complex patchwork of backgrounds and skills while living with budgets that lack healthy line items for professional development for those teachers. The challenge is how to provide the range – and depth –of learning needed to efficiently enhance our teachers’ knowledge and skills. NEXT addresses the disparate levels of experience in Jewish knowledge and educational pedagogy.  We have enjoyed creating partnerships with different programs, central agencies and federations.  Click here to learn more about creating a partnership with us.