Polish Delegation Visits Baltimore Hebrew Institute

On March 27, Baltimore Hebrew Institute will host a delegation of Polish museum educators, curators and directors who are visiting the United States by invitation of the U.S. State Department. The objective of the program is to connect international visitors with American professionals, to share best practices in particular fields and increase mutual understanding.

This trip is especially timeline with the opening of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in fall of 2013 on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. This museum, which has been in the planning stages for more than ten years, is a historic public/private partnership between the Polish federal government, the city of Warsaw and private donors.

The Department of State would like to introduce the delegation to the Baltimore Hebrew Institute’s collaborative effort with Towson University to engage Jewish and non-Jewish students and adult learners on campus through coursework and extracurricular activities. In order to meet the needs of the delegation, BHI has facilitated a program that will exemplify the most  collaborative program components.  The delegation will meet with the university archivist and the Judaic subject librarian who will share information about the extensive collection of books from the European Jewish Cultural Reconstruction as well as the significant compendium of Survivor testimonies. They will be joined by Jeanette Parmigiani, Director of Holocaust Education at the Baltimore Jewish Council, and Deborah Cardin, Associate Director of the Jewish Museum of Maryland who will discuss the Summer Teachers’ Institute for public school educators. The focus of this summer’s institute will be the Role of Rescue and Resistance during the Holocaust.

The delegation will continue its visit at the College of Liberal Arts, where they will sit in on Dr. Barry Gittlen’s Biblical Archaeology class and learn about the experiences of Mickey Rubin. Mickey is not only one of BHI’s graduate students, but is also a Towson Hillel professional and a founding resident of Moishe House.  Finally, Dr. Terry Cooney, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, will address the delegation.

We are looking forward to the honor of showcasing BHI’s role as a community partnership builder and a leader in Jewish education.

What’s the Single Best Way to Give Your Child a Strong Jewish Identity?

A Jewish day school!**

However,  there are so many more unique benefits a Jewish day school will give your child, including pride in our Jewish heritage, a warm and nurturing Jewish environment, a values-based education that develops character, outstanding teachers and role models and small classes with individual attention.

While there are many lifelong benefits, many parents don’t realize the additional advantages provided by a Jewish day school education, including:

• Strong college preparation with an outstanding record of college acceptances
• A well-rounded education that prepares children for the challenges of contemporary society
• A positive Jewish identity that fosters engagement in Jewish life

That’s not opinion – that’s fact, as demonstrated by Dr. Leonard Saxe and Fern Chertok in their study, The Impact of a Jewish Education on Adults’ Jewish Identity.

In Using Systematic Data from College Age Alumni to Address Parental Concerns, published in HaYidion: The RAVSAK Journal, Dr. Saxe and Ms. Chertok examine “the concerns that keep non-Orthodox parents from choosing a day school education for their children and suggest how systematic data from our national study of the academic, social, and Jewish trajectories of college-age day school alumni relate to these concerns.” See what answers the data provides to these questions and others.

Just last week, the AVI CHAI and Steinhardt Foundations asked their blog followers for suggestions on making Jewish day school education a more attractive option. Some responses included:

• Supplementary classes for parents to become comfortable with Judaic material;
• Connecting with local Jewish early childhood programs to create natural transitions to day schools;
• Making the scholarship application process friendlier; and,
• Creating programs where prospective parents could get to know day school alumni

No surprise, the Baltimore Jewish community is way ahead of them, with several schools already providing these kinds of programs and services. Are you ready to learn more? Start now at baltimorejewishdayschools.org.

**According to The Impact of a Jewish Education on Adults’ Jewish Identity – 2000-01 National Jewish Population Study Report