The following is a guest post by Ben Roth
While there are many disagreements about the future of the Jewish community, the direction which it is taking and the ways that it may change, one issue seems to be agreed upon by all sides — the importance of Jewish education as a way of imparting a strong Jewish identity to the next generation.
There are numerous Jewish organizations and institutions which devote themselves exclusively to Jewish education. Many of these groups identify with a particular stream of Judaism while others promote specific educational projects, educational frameworks or modes of Jewish learning.
The importance of a quality Jewish education in the lives of future Jewish leaders and dedicated and involved community members is not in dispute. The centrality of the educator as a major force for a high-quality Jewish educational experience is, however, often overlooked.
Several leaders have created awards for Jewish educators which aim to recognize excellence in the field of Jewish education. These leaders are committed to promoting a strong future Jewish community by acknowledging exceptional teachers who have committed their lives to educating the next generation of North American Jews.
Grinspoon-Steinhardt Awards
The Grinspoon-Steinhardt Awards for Excellence in Jewish Education partners with the JESNA organization in its effort to recognize classroom-based teachers who work in formal Jewish educational settings. Nominations are made by a principal or school administrator and submitted to the Grinspoon-Steinhardt Foundation through local Federations or through the local Board of Jewish Education.
Grinspoon-Steinhardt awardees are honored for demonstrating exceptional educational achievement and serving as a role model for their students. Nominees must teach in day schools or congregational schools ranging in ages from pre-school through 12th grade. Local communities may include their own eligibility criteria for nomination. The committee presents 55 awards annually, with a maximum of one nominee per city (outside of New York).
Each Grinspoon-Steinhardt recipient receives $2,000, $1000 of which he/she must use for his or her professional development and the other $1,000 at his/her discretion.
Covenant Awards
The Covenant Award was first presented in 1991 and since then it has been awarded annually to three exceptional Jewish educators who have made an impact on Jewish life through innovative educational models and practices. Covenant awardees are honored for having distinguished themselves in classroom teaching, the arts, adult education, Tikkun Olam, family education, storytelling, curriculum design, professional development, leadership and other areas of Jewish education.
Covenant honorees receive $36,000 and their home institution receives an additional $5,000. The goal of the award is to recognize the great Jewish educators and their work.
Milken Jewish Educator Awards
The Milken Jewish Educator Award is a project of the Milken Family Foundation which established the Award to acknowledge the work of outstanding Jewish educators from across the country. The Award was launched in 1994 and is presented annually to a select group of Jewish educators as a way of honoring them for their professional leadership, their efforts in support of their schools’ students, their community involvement and their relationship to the families and communities that rely on their skills and dedication.
Lowell Milken a known philanthropist, helped create the Jewish Educator Award as an expression of his philosophy that a Jewish Day School education will encourage a child to develop strong Jewish values, remain faithful to his Jewish heritage and nourish the child’s Jewish identity. MFF created the Award to reward excellence in teaching and strengthen the Jewish Day School movement. Educators are honored for their efforts to create an exciting and engaging educational experience for their students and making Judaism vibrant and meaningful.
The Jewish Educators Award is based on a teacher’s classroom performance as well as with his/her relationship with the community and connections with the school’s community and families. The MFF Award committee reviews each nominee’s leadership skills to determine how the teacher influences the school community and its families. The committee also examines the originality of the nominee’s educational methods.
Recipients of the MFF Jewish Educator’s Award include teachers, specialists and administrators who are engaged in all facets of Jewish education. Since 1994 the Milken Family Foundation has presented the Award to Jewish educators who represent almost 40 Jewish Day Schools throughout the United States. The Award recognizes educators as “role models deserving of emulation for their intelligence, scholarship, creativity and compassion.”
Four educators are named as recipients each year. Nominees must teach in a school that is affiliated with the local Board of Jewish Education at the K-12 level. Each recipient receives $15,000.
