BJE Invited to Join National Flourishing Initiative on Mental Wellbeing

Over the past few years, 11 of the schools in BJE’s Religious School Educators Network have participated in BJE’s Positive Education (PosED) professional development training program. These Network members were trained and received a certificate in PosED and have implemented PosEd holiday curricula at their schools. The Jewish Education Project (JEP) is engaged in similar work in New York and nationally.  With grant support, it has mounted a Flourishing Initiative, developing cohorts of religious school directors, organized by local networks such as BJE, committed to the work of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of their school communities.

A group of BJE-affiliated schools will join educators from Boston and two communities to be named, shortly, in a second cohort of this initiative.  An earlier cohort includes educators from New York City, Baltimore, and Northern and Southern New Jersey.

“Our educators have been committed to the practice of Positive Education for a long time, and this is an exciting opportunity to elevate the skills and knowledge within our community, participate on a national level, and share learning with other communities,” said David Lewis, BJE Director of the Center for Excellence in Part-Time Jewish Education.

The two-year program includes a total of 14 hours of in-person workshops per year, a webinar series, and local touch points. Rabbi David Levy, a nationally recognized expert on cultivating Flourishing/PosEd in RS classrooms, is the program facilitator. Almost all expenses are covered by a project grant supporting the work of JEP and by BJE, so individual schools incur a very modest fee for their educators’ participation. 

Participation in this cohort is a powerful opportunity for BJE to bring a group of part-time religious school directors together for in-person learning and network-building to the benefit of their school communities.

Registration has just opened and will run through November or until all available spots are taken. The cohort officially begins its work in December. For more information, contact David Lewis, BJE Director of the Center for Excellence in Part-Time Jewish Education.

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