Learning Grants

For the past several years, ECE-RJ has served as a partner organization for The Orchard, a conglomerate of 25 organizations from across North America, to bring the highest quality professional learning for educators in Jewish early childhood centers.  This partnership gives you access to hundreds of resources including webinars on a huge variety of topics and Learning Communities (are small group networks who do a deeper dive into some of the issues that are top of mind in our field).  These hot topic webinars are a mix of live and recorded sessions in order to make participation easy for everyone.

As in previous years, ECE-RJ is offering a limited number of grants to our members who want to participate in one of 7 Learning Communities being offered this year:

• Nature Educators
• Pedagogical Leadership
• Reflective Supervision
• A Taste of Creating Intergenerational Experiences
• Group Coaching
• Children’s Lively Minds, Active Bodies and Tender Hearts
• Visual Languages

You can read more details about each Learning Community HERE.

The cost of these networks ranges from $400-$850 for 6-8 sessions over the course of several months and, for a LIMITED TIME, you can apply for you or a member of your staff (if they are a current ECE-RJ member) for up to 50% off the price of the network (max $300).   The application can be found HERE.    

In addition to these Learning Communities, the Orchard offers regular sessions on Monday afternoons (for Directors and Assistant Directors) on Leadership Topics and on Thursday evenings (for all educators) on 3 themes – Rhythms of the Jewish Year, Diversity Equity and Inclusion and Childhood Development and Pedagogy.  Not only are these incredible resources for individuals, but each is an amazing opportunity for your staff meetings throughout the year.  All these sessions will be listed on the ECE-RJ calendar and highlighted in UNITE each month and for our School Memberships only – we will provide occasional discussion guides for the “Thursdays are for Educators” sessions.

The possibilities are endless!!!

Lisa Samick

Director of Early Childhood and Family Engagement, Temple Israel of the City of NY and

Immediate Past President, ECE-RJ