Interested local parents looking to learn more about Jewish education in the Philadelphia area came out to South Philadelphia Shtiebel on Jan. 12 to check out a dozen Jewish day schools, afterschool programs and event-driven organizations.
The event showcased many of the available Jewish educational options for Jewish parents from across the community to give people more information as they plan their family’s future.
Jamie Goldberg, a local parent of two young children and the lead volunteer behind the program, said she came up with the idea alongside Rabbanit Dasi Fruchter.
“We thought that it would be really helpful for the people who are kind of like in the stage of parenting that I’m in, so who have preschoolers, or maybe who have babies, or maybe who are thinking about having kids one day to see what is available if we stay in the city, what kind of programs are available to us, and kind of help parents imagine what their future might look like and what their options are,” Goldberg said.
The evening started with an optional 45-minute meet-and-greet with the attending organizations before Fruchter gave the event introduction and detailed the event schedule.
A Perelman Jewish Day School teacher then delivered the keynote address, which focused on key factors in planning a child’s Jewish education, a framework for thinking about educational choices and questions to ask as a parent and community member.
“It will help parents visualize what their next phase for their family may look like if they choose to keep their groups here in the city, and I think it’ll also help highlight the different value propositions of the different programs and how the culture of each school and program is a little bit different,” Goldberg said.
Parents got the opportunity to do a lightning round of two minutes to look at all the programs. Organizations could explain their missions, age ranges and describe their key distinguishing factors.
Goldberg emphasized that the event was not limited to members of the Shtiebel but was intended to give a wide range of parents good information for their futures.
She also explained why parents might be interested in choosing a Jewish education for their child and why having a range of options is important in making that decision.
“It’s about having your kid’s education reflect all your values and making sure that what you’re teaching at home is reinforced with what they’re receiving in, like, the day schools. I think it also provides a really strong foundation for navigating Jewish life in adulthood,” Goldberg said.
After the lightening round, parents visited booths during a 45-minute open-fair period, where the organizations set up tables for interested parties. During this session, each table had a whiteboard or poster for parents to write questions on for the organizations.
Volunteers and staff circulated throughout the area to identify common questions.
At the program’s close, the organizations each had a representative take one question from the list of questions and share how their program thinks about that question or works to address it.
Goldberg said she thinks the event can serve as a model for other communities to use in their areas, and she hopes the program was able to help some parents.
“I hope that the impact of this is that parents can find the right Jewish educational choice for their kids, so that people who are already thinking about this question find some support. But I hope that we also reach parents who weren’t sure if there was, like, an educational fit for their child, and that they’re able to attend this program and find a Jewish educational path for their kids that they maybe weren’t, like, aware was an option,” Goldberg said.