Jewish Community Relations Council Of San Francisco Marin & Peninsula

JEWISH COMMUNITY PUBLIC AFFAIRS

INSTITUTE FOR CURRICULUM SERVICES (ICS)IN FY22, ICS DELIVERED 154 IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL TEACHER TRAININGS TO 1,843 UNIQUE SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATORS. GIVEN THAT TEACHERS TYPICALLY TEACH ABOUT 100 STUDENTS A YEAR, THIS MEANS AROUND 184,300 STUDENTS WILL BENEFIT FROM ICS'S TEACHER TRAININGS. THROUGH OPTIONAL POST-WORKSHOP EVALUATIONS, EDUCATORS INDICATED: - 96.6% OF PARTICIPANTS SAID THEY STRONGLY AGREE OR AGREE THAT THEY KNOW MORE ABOUT THE WORKSHOP TOPIC AS A RESULT OF THE ICS TRAINING- 98% SAID THEY WOULD RECOMMEND THE ICS WORKSHOP TO OTHERS- 82.7% OF PARTICIPANTS SAID THEY WERE VERY LIKELY OR LIKELY TO USE ICS'S RESOURCES IN THE CLASSROOM. ICS EFFECTED 196 CHANGES TO STRENGTHEN K-12 POLICY ON JUDAISM AND JEWISH HISTORY.

VARIOUS OTHER PROGRAMS

JEWISH COALITION FOR LITERACY (JCL)JCL MOBILIZES VOLUNTEER TUTORS TO ASSIST STUDENTS IN GRADES K-5 ATTENDING PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. WE ENVISION A SOCIETY IN WHICH ALL CHILDREN, REGARDLESS OF THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES, CAN READ WELL AND GAIN THE LITERACY TOOLS THEY NEED TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. THE ORGANIZATION WAS FOUNDED IN 1999 AS PART OF A NATIONAL JEWISH COALITION FOR LITERACY MOVEMENT, WHICH ANSWERED THE CALL FROM PRESIDENT CLINTON TO MOBILIZE VOLUNTEERS TO HELP CHILDREN REACH GRADE LEVEL IN READING BY THE THIRD GRADE. THIS IS A CRITICAL MILESTONE FOR ENSURING THAT STUDENTS ACHIEVE SCHOOL AND LIFE SUCCESS AS ACADEMIC LEARNING INCREASINGLY OCCURS THROUGH READING. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, JCL HAS: - TRAINED AND PLACED 6,000 COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS VOLUNTEER READING TUTORS IN SIX BAY AREA COUNTIES- REACHED MORE THAN 15,000 CHILDREN BASED ON PARTNERSHIPS WITH: - MORE THAN 50 SCHOOLS ACROSS SIX COUNTIES AND NUMEROUS NONPROFIT PARTNER SITES - DOZENS OF SYNAGOGUES AND JCCS - MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED JEWISH DAY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN 5TH THROUGH 8TH GRADE TRAINED TO MENTOR AND READ WITH YOUNGER CHILDREN ATTENDING PUBLIC SCHOOL- HELPED THOUSANDS OF PARENTS IMPROVE THEIR CHILDREN'S LITERACY SKILLS AND SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL GROWTH- DISTRIBUTED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BOOKS TO CHILDREN WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE BOOKS AT HOME.PRE-PANDEMIC, JCL WORKED WITH 250 TUTORS SERVING 700 CHILDREN ANNUALLY. DURING THE PAST THREE, COVID-IMPACTED SCHOOL YEARS, WE TRANSFORMED OUR PROGRAM TO PROVIDE ONLINE TUTOR TRAINING AND TUTORING, ENABLING 100 TUTORS TO WORK WITH 130 STUDENTS. IN THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR, 121 TUTORS ARE SERVING 378 CHILDREN AT DOZENS OF SCHOOLS AND NON-PROFIT SITES. THE HALLMARK OF JCL'S APPROACH REMAINS BUILDING STUDENTS' RELATIONSHIP WITH CARING ADULTS BY READING ALOUD TOGETHER, EMBARKING ON A SHARED LEARNING JOURNEY WITH MANY AVENUES FOR EXPLORING THE WORLD. TUTORS INTEGRATE CAREFULLY SELECTED BOOKS, ART PROJECTS, GAMES AND THEIR OWN LIFE EXPERIENCES INTO TUTORING SESSIONS TO PIQUE CHILDREN'S CURIOSITY AND SUSTAIN THEIR ATTENTION. THESE EFFORTS CREATE A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP THAT ALSO FOSTERS STUDENTS' LITERACY AND SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL GROWTH BY PROVIDING A SAFE SPACE TO MAKE MISTAKES, THINK CRITICALLY AND DEVELOP CONFIDENCE AND SELF-ESTEEM. TUTORS AND STUDENTS FIND IMMENSE FULFILLMENT IN THEIR WEEKLY ENCOUNTERS, DELIGHTING IN PROGRESS AND NEW DISCOVERIES.

DOUG KAHN ISRAEL TRAVEL OUTREACH FUND JCRC'S STUDY TOURS OF ISRAEL BRING INFLUENTIAL ELECTED OFFICIALS AND CIVIC LEADERS FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA TO ISRAEL, WITH THE GOAL OF HELPING THEM BETTER UNDERSTAND JEWS, JUDAISM AND ISRAEL THROUGH THIS HANDS-ON JOURNEY. OVER 10 DAYS OF TRAVERSING THE COUNTRY, PARTICIPANTS MEET WITH PROFESSIONAL COUNTERPARTS, LEADING THINKERS, DIPLOMATS, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND STRATEGISTS, AND GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF OUR COMMUNITY AND OF ISRAEL BEYOND WHAT COULD BE LEARNED BACK AT HOME OR THROUGH ACCESSING MAINSTREAM WESTERN MEDIA. THERE WERE 24 PARTICIPANTS IN FY21-22. IN SELECTING POTENTIAL STUDY TOUR PARTICIPANTS, JCRC IDENTIFIES PEOPLE IN THE DIVERSE BAY AREA COMMUNITY WHO CAN BE AMPLIFIERS, WHO WILL SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE AND WHAT THEY LEARNED ABOUT JEWS, JUDAISM, ZIONISM AND ISRAEL, AND WHO WILL EXPOSE THEIR CONSTITUENCIES TO JEWISH VALUES AND ASPIRATIONS. FOLLOWING OUR TRAVELS TOGETHER, JCRC'S BROAD DOMESTIC AGENDA ALLOWS US TO STAY IN CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH TRIP PARTICIPANTS AND ALUMNI, DEEPENING THE RELATIONSHIP AND CREATING MUTUAL SUPPORT ON ISSUES OF COMMON CONCERN.