FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jewish Women's Archive Selects Participants for 2010 Institute for Educators

(Brookline, MA) – May 10, 2010 – The Jewish Women's Archive has selected 26 participants out of an outstanding pool of 95 applicants to attend its prestigious Institute for Educators in Newton, MA, July 25-29. The 2010 Institute for Educators is the third funded by a grant to JWA from the Dorot Foundation.

Focused on the role of Jews in the Civil Rights Movement in America, the intensive professional development program will prepare educators to use JWA’s new Living the Legacy social justice curriculum and to integrate women’s stories and primary sources into their teaching.

Applicants represented the rich diversity of Jewish education today, including educators from Jewish communities large and small in 23 different states, those who work in day schools, supplementary schools, service learning programs, community organizing initiatives, and summer camps; new teachers as well as those with decades of experience.

Participants will study with renowned scholars and master teachers as together they investigate themes in Jewish women's history and the history of social movements in the US; examine primary source documents and oral histories; explore multimedia resources, including JWA's new Living the Legacy social justice curriculum; and develop strategies for using the material with students.

Presenters include Dr. Joyce Antler, Professor of American Jewish History and Culture at Brandeis University; Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Rabbi-in-Residence at Jewish Funds for Justice; Barbara Rosenblit, Humanities and Judaics teacher at the Weber Jewish High School in Atlanta; Dr. Debra Schultz, author of Going South: Jewish Women in the Civil Rights Movement; Drs. Deborah Cunningham and Susan Zeiger of Primary Source; independent oral historian Dr. Jayne Guberman; and Dr. Judith Rosenbaum, Director of Public History at the Jewish Women’s Archive. In addition to a range of seminars and guided work time, the 2010 Institute will feature a special screening of the film Freedom Riders, produced by WGBH Boson, a conversation between oral historian Jayne Guberman and Freedom Rider Judith Frieze Wright, and a performance and workshop by educator and artist Yavilah McCoy.

In their applications, educators expressed their eagerness for high-quality professional development opportunities and their interest specifically in the Living the Legacy curriculum. As one participant wrote, the program “just seems like a natural for me, given my personal passions and interests and my desire to convey history to students in a way that comes alive for them.”

In describing the impact the 2008 Institute had on one of her staff members, a supplementary school director said, “It’s made her a better educator in so many ways. When you put a teacher on a plane and send them somewhere to get educated about their subject, it has a big impact. It’s given her much more confidence in her work as a Jewish educator. … That confidence trickles down to our students and to other teachers.”

For more information about the Jewish Women’s Archive, go to jwa.org.