Aug 24, 2020

Federation and CAJE Help Miami Jewish Day Schools Face Coronavirus Crisis

It’s back-to-school for the 10 Federation-funded Jewish day schools. While some began welcoming students back to campus this week — also offering an online option for students — others remain 100 percent virtual. Through this ongoing challenging period, all the schools have benefited from the support and commitment of both Federation and its subsidiary, the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE). For example, since March, the organizations frequently convened heads of school and board chairs to better understand their needs during this difficult time. Federation remains steadfast in its commitment to Jewish education and continues to allocate more than $2 million to 10 Jewish day schools in Miami-Dade County annually. Additionally, this year, Federation increased need-based scholarships for day school students by 53 percent. 

While some schools may have experienced challenges in a virtual world this past spring, some of Miami’s Jewish day schools were well-prepared for online learning, thanks to #JBlend Miami. The initiative, a forward-thinking approach to education, was developed by CAJE and is funded by Federation grants, the Avi Chai Foundation and several generous local donors. The program emphasizes personalized learning, technology and collaboration.

Over the past few months, #JBlend has continued to make strides, expanding to include all of Federation-funded day schools. Additionally, during the summer, the Day School Department at CAJE led an online workshop series for school leadership teams that focused on leveraging lessons learned from this past spring to intentionally develop a vision and flexible approach to learning for the 2020-2021 school year. They also offered a four-part EdTech Boot Camp series to prepare teachers for the upcoming school year.

Federation and CAJE, in partnership with school leaders, will continue to address key areas for support as the school year unfolds. To learn more about Miami’s funded day schools, click here.