Kvell – Local Spotlight BJE – Education Resources
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LA’s Past, Present and Future in Jewish Education
The story and history of BJE is truly the story and history of Jewish education in Greater Los Angeles. Initially established as a department of LA’s United Jewish Community to distribute financial allocations to Jewish schools, BJE has evolved over its 88 years to become the foundation of the Jewish educational landscape across the Greater LA region. Today, BJE helps ensure the quality of our Jewish institutions and educators and helps increase accessibility and affordability for students and families. For the professionals and lay leaders of BJE, the greatest success is seeing more than 20,000 Jewish students across the region benefit from the network of BJE-affiliated schools and programs.
From early childhood through high school, LA’s Jewish community has an array of Jewish programs and schools available and BJE plays a role in supporting, strengthening and advocating for many of them.
Early childhood education is, for many families, the beginning of their child’s Jewish education. BJE works with 48 Jewish Early Childhood Centers and dozens of Parent & Me programs across greater Los Angeles. In addition to working with families to help them find the right early childhood experience for their children, BJE works with Early Childhood Centers and Parent & Me programs directly to ensure that these experiences are the best that they can be for thousands of our youngest learners.
There are 33 BJE-accredited private full-time Day Schools offering K-12 education. BJE offers a wide range of support to schools, educators and families with the goal of helping ensure the highest levels of quality and accessibility across the religious spectrum and through the greater Los Angeles area. BJE professionals offer schools professional development for teachers and administrators, lead collaborative government advocacy efforts, oversee accreditations, assist with fundraising and affordability efforts and provide efforts to support diverse learners, among other things.
BJE works with a network of 48 part-time Religious Schools across Los Angeles and beyond, mostly synagogue based. In this arena, BJE professionals collaborate with religious school administrators, teachers and their lay leadership in order to enhance their practice and provide dynamic, high quality educational experiences for the children who participate in their programs. For Religious School students, the more limited time available means educators need to hone in on the most critical and meaningful elements that should be introduced and consider innovative ways of imparting them. BJE plays an important role in bringing these educators together and supporting their access to the most cutting-edge thinking available.
For teens, BJE has been a part of the important experiential education that happens outside of school for decades. As teen interests and needs have evolved, so have BJE’s offerings. Today, BJE organizes the LA-based delegation to the International March of the Living. Typically the single largest delegation in attendance, BJE has brought nearly 200 high school seniors annually from the LA area on this 10-day trip to Poland and Israel to learn about their Jewish past and strengthen their relationship with Judaism. BJE Teen Service Corps also offers engagement for local teens. Through this program, teens participate in a variety of service activities across the city, along with learning about the Jewish values behind their service.
Launched nearly 20 years ago, BJE’s JKidLA.org is a vital resource to the community, offering information and connection to every Jewish educational opportunity imaginable; from preschool to high school, camp, Israel programs, family events, Jewish holiday celebrations and more, JKidLA is a one-stop shop for first-time or longtime participants in LA Jewish life.
How to start? Visit us online or call us at (323) 761-8624 to discover all we have to offer.
When you connect with BJE’s JKidLA, you can search online or speak directly to Rachel, BJE’s Concierge for Jewish Education. Whichever path you choose to use for your search, you’ll share the parameters of what you’re seeking: the ages of your children, the type of school, camp, or other program, and your preferred location within the region. If you talk with Rachel, you can also share which stream of Judaism you practice (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, or anything in between) any special needs your family or children may have, and other details that will help her identify some options for you to pursue. JKidLA is like having that great friend who seems to know everything about Jewish LA – and it’s completely free to the community!
Find a school or program, learn about opportunities for your teens, even look for job openings in Jewish education. Whatever you seek in LA’s Jewish educational landscape, BJE has the knowledge and know-how to help you find your path.
