The Jewish After School Accelerator program announced last month that Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Center City is joining its third cohort of synagogues chosen to operate an expansive after-school program that includes homework assistance and transportation from school to the synagogue.
“It’s a premier program. We’re offering a lot,” said Jennifer James, Rodeph Shalom’s director of youth learning and engagement.
JASA is conducted by the organization Jewish Kids Groups.
James said that the program includes $100,000 of grants from Jewish Kids Groups and JASA, as well as matching funds from their own community. In addition to that, they get the framework of the program, which has already been successful at 10 synagogues around the United States.
“[They bring] a lot of expertise and coaching on creating a program. So we’re not doing it from scratch and we’re not doing it alone. We’re doing it as part of a cohort led by people who have a lot of experience in doing this,” James said.
The basic idea is to give an all-encompassing after-school program that teaches kids Jewish values, feeds them and helps them get homework done. It’s supposed to be a step up from, say, a rec center after-school program.
The JASA program at Rodeph Shalom will have healthy snacks, knowledgeable homework helpers and plenty of time for free play, organized play and Jewish enrichment programming. The curriculum focuses on Jewish values as well as culture, holidays, Torah, history, prayer, music, ritual, Judaica, Israel and Hebrew. It is designed for a range of learning types and can be changed according to a given audience’s style of religious observance.
While Judaism is core to the program, the after-school offerings will be open to anyone, regardless of affiliation with the shul or Judaism. Fees have not been decided yet, as they can differ from program to program. James said that they do know that they are looking to launch the program for the start of the 2025–2026 school year.
James said that the synagogue decided to apply to the JASA program relatively recently.
“It came to my attention in the spring and I was very interested in it, and others at the congregation were really interested in the possibility, so we applied. We went through a very rigorous application procedure to ultimately be selected,” she said.
The other seven synagogues that were selected to be in this third cohort are Adat Ari El and Beth Shir Solomon in Los Angeles; Congregation B’nai Emunah in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Congregation Beth El in South Orange, New Jersey; Temple Shalom in Newton, Massachusetts; Congregation Beth Shalom in Northbrook, Illinois; and Congregation Har HaShem in Boulder, Colorado.
Rodeph Shalom will seek out a new staff member to serve as director of the JASA after-school program.
Ultimately, James said that this addition is another step by Rodeph Shalom to ensure it stays relevant.
“Congregations 20 years from now are not going to look the same as congregations today,” she said. “Membership models are changing. Affiliation rates are changing, and if we want to continue to serve the Jewish community as broadly as possible, we need to think about new ways to do it.”
Jewish Kids Groups says on its website that the primary benefit of the JASA program is the combination of Jewish learning and values with child care that many working families need. By offering an option that also enriches the childrens’ Jewish lives, JASA is filling multiple needs.
“A very important aspect of this program is that it is not limited to members of Rodeph Shalom. We are trying to reach people in the community and Jewish families who are not affiliated with synagogues,” James said. “Not necessarily as a path to membership, but it’s a way to reach people who maybe aren’t comfortable with synagogues or haven’t ever thought about walking into a synagogue.”
JASA participants must have exceptional commitment from staff and leadership, ample community support and interest, a high number of potential families for participation, close proximity to other Jewish enrichment opportunities and schools, Jewish neighborhoods and the physical capabilities to accommodate this program. Rodeph Shalom passed that test.
“There is a lot of excitement for this program,” James said.
