USCJ "Framework for Excellence" Program Enters Third Year
Three years ago, The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism created an opportunity for affiliated congregations to present a “gift” to its children, its families and the future of Conservative Judaism. That gift -- says USCJ Education Director Rabbi Robert Abramson -- is a commitment to working with the Framework for Excellence for the Conservative Synagogue School.
The program sets forth new criteria for examining the quality of a school’s educational program and provides each congregation with a means to reflect on its own program in order to refine and redefine its current efforts.. To date, 54 congregational schools have been recognized as being “in Framework,” with another 340 working toward that goal. Framework schools will receive honorary plaques at the USCJ’s upcoming Biennial Convention in Dallas, to be held October 26-30.
The new standard provides benchmarks that all Framework schools must reach, a Statement of Aims, common elements that all Framework schools will share, and six models of educational formats. Two of the nine benchmarks speak of family education and the need for providing professional development opportunities to faculty and principals. Shared elements include requiring children to attend Shabbat services at least 10 times a year, developing an organic relationship between formal and informal education programs, and working on the participation of students in Jewish studies through high school.
The Framework sets forth six different configurations for three- or two-day programs providing different emphases appropriate to different congregations. According to the director of one school in Long Island, who worked actively with the Framework staff at this year’s USCJ New Directors Institute, “I am a better educator because of their mentoring and my program better serves the needs of our students and families because of the ideas and suggestions they have shared with me.”
Wendy Light, USCJ Education Consultant, says the USCJ anticipates that “all affiliated congregations will work to enter the Framework for Excellence, and we are committed to giving them the assistance they will need.
For further information on the Framework program, contact Wendy Light, Education Consultant, Framework for Excellence Initiative, light@uscj.org or 215-869-1830. For a copy of the two booklets describing the Framework, contact abramson@uscj.org.
Editors: Please inquire about Framework schools in your area.
