The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston's Bureau of Jewish Education (BJE) offers a variety of programs and services for religious school and day school educators:
The BJE's Annual Night of Learning was held on Thursday, August 30, 2007 at Congregation Brith Shalom, 4610 Bellaire Blvd. The evening began with dinner and registration at 5:30 pm. Night of Learning classes were held in two sessions: Session I - 6:30 - 7:40 p.m. and Session II - 7:50 - 9:00 p.m. For a complete schedule of classes, click here.
For more information about Night of Learning, contact Lisa Klein, BJE Assistant Director, at (713) 729-7000, ext. 330, or by clicking here.
The BJE's Education Resource Center, located within the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, offers children, adults, families, and teachers scores of educational materials, projects, an extensive Judaic library of books, videos, and a variety of other helpful equipment to utilize in planning and implementing meaningful Jewish educational experiences throughout the year. Teachers are invited to take advantage of all the resources available in the Center as their needs dictate by contacting Lisa Klein, BJE Assistant Director, at (713) 729-7000, ext. 330, or by clicking here.
The Bureau of Jewish Education features an extensive collection of Israel materials.These materials may be borrowed for use at an Israel program or classroom lesson.Please call ahead to make an appointment to preview and/or to reserve the materials for your program. To view or download a copy of the available resources, please click here.
The next best thing to standing in Israel, the Bureau of Jewish Education's Attractive Land Map allows students to stand on Israel in order to learn about Israeli geography, history, and culture through a variety of games and other engaging activities. This vividly-colored 50' map of Israel has inflatable sides, travels in a durable vinyl duffel, and is available at no charge by reservation only.
To schedule a Teacher Training Session or reserve the map for your classroom, contact Lori Actor, BJE Israel Experiences Coordinator, at (713) 729-7000, ext. 329, or click here.
Teacher Incentive Program The BJE''s Teacher Incentive Program offers $50 rewards to religious school teachers who complete at least 10 hours of BJE sponsored in-service training a year, and $100 rewards to those completing at least 20 hours of in-service training a year. Teachers must register for this program by December 31. To register for the Teacher Incentive Program, click here.
Teacher Grants The BJE offers grants to teachers to enable them to attend Jewish educational conferences. To download a Teacher Grant Request form, click here. For more information about Teacher Grants, contact Elaine Kellerman, BJE Executive Director, at (713) 729-7000, ext. 310, or click here.
Teacher Placement The BJE helps schools and teachers with staffing needs and job placement. Resumes may be sent to the BJE to be forwarded to the Jewish schools any time throughout the year. For more information, click here.
Teacher Bulletin Board Express Packets Sign up to receive the BJE''s ready to use Bulletin Board Express packets. These mini-versions of the Resource Center Bulletin Board focus on a monthly theme such as holidays or other educational topics and are mailed to you for use in your classroom. To sign up for the Bulletin Board Express packets, click here.
Irving L. Samuels Outstanding Teacher Awardsfor Judaic Studiesare awarded annually to outstanding Jewish educators in the Greater Houston area whose current primary role is classroom teaching in Judaic subject matter. Monies for these awards are made possible by proceeds from the Irving L. Samuels Outstanding Teacher Award Fund of the Houston Jewish Community Foundation. Nominations for the 2008 awards are currently being accepted through March 14, 2008. To download a nomination form, please click here.
The Harold Reingold Yavneh Award for Jewish Educators is presented by the Bureau of Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston to a professional for outstanding contributions to the field of Jewish education in Greater Houston. Nominations for the Yavneh Awards are solicited from the community-at-large. Nomination forms for the 2008 Yavneh Awards will be available soon.
For more information contact Lisa Klein, BJE Assistant Director, at (713) 729-7000, ext. 330, or by clicking here.
Monthly Guide to Jewish Arts & Culture in Greater Houston
Each month, the Federation's Bureau of Jewish Education publishes a comprehensive listing of Jewish arts and cultural programs scheduled throughout the community. To submit a program for the BJE's Monthly Guide to Jewish Arts & Culture in Greater Houston, click here. To download a copy of this month's Guide, click here.
Siegal College of Judaic Studies Distance Learning Program
For adults interested in furthering their Jewish education on a more formal basis, the BJE sponsors the Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies Distance Learning Program. This unique program allows students in Houston to participate in real-time classroom situations live, via videoconferencing, with professors from the fully-accredited Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies in Cleveland, Ohio. Participants may audit classes or take classes for credit. For more information about this program, contact Barbara Loeser, BJE Community Outreach Coordinator, at (713) 729-7000, ext. 321, or click here.
