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​There are many components when it comes to early childhood Jewish education best practices, such as emotionally responsive practice, celebrations through a constructivist approach, the image of the child, the family, and the educator, intentional environments, open-ended materials, child-led curriculum, process vs. product, and more. As we study together, our hope is that you will recognize that these are all connected to each other as part of an ecosystem. When one feeds the other they become vehicles for quality early childhood education and we set the path for the type of people we would like the children to be, and the type of world we want them to live in.

Each of the sessions will focus on one of the components of best practices, and the impact it has on the child and on the process of teaching and learning. We will learn how an intentional classroom can be a conduit of the values we embrace. The cohort will meet once a month, from October to May (see dates below) for one and a half hours. Educators who participate should be able to commit to attending the eight learning sessions. In addition, each participant will meet on an individual basis with one of the facilitators once before the beginning of the CoP, and one halfway.

Schools are strongly encouraged to nominate two educators to create an opportunity for Chevruta--partnership learning and--as a consequence, amplify the impact of the professional development.

​100% refunds are available until 24 hours before the first session, after which we are unfortunately not able to offer a refund.
Who is an ideal candidate?
​Early childhood educators who:
  • Have begun shifting their practice and are seeking to deepen their understanding, knowledge, and implementation of best practices.
  • ​Have the disposition to inspire the other members of the cohort and other educators in their schools.
  • Are committed to ongoing learning. This requires, but is not limited to:
    • Reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos as assigned
    • Completing assignments by a deadline
    • Reflecting on their practice by
      • Being an active participant in reflective dialogue
      • Journaling
      • Bringing questions, thoughts, wonderings, and raw documentation from their classrooms
  • Are committed to practicing in their classrooms what is learned in the cohort.
About the Facilitators
Veronica Maravankin is an early childhood consultant who is proficient in catalyzing systemic change through strategic planning, redesigning teaching and learning to reflect 21st century skills development, fiscal responsibility, professional development and supervision, values-based education, and lay leader and donor relations. She served as the Early Childhood Director of the Barbara & Jack Kay Early Childhood Learning Center at the Mandel Jewish Community Center of the Palm Beaches for 12 years. During her tenure, Veronica led a process of transforming the school from a traditional daycare to a state-of-the-art, forward thinking Early Childhood Learning Center; from a school that relied solely on a rote learning-based curriculum to a school where constructivist, inquiry-based learning takes center stage. Veronica holds a Master’s degree in Education, with focus in human development and psychology, from Harvard Graduate School of Education. For thirteen years Veronica has been an active member of the JCC Association’s Early Childhood Department, a Sheva faculty member, and was one of the original creators of the Sheva Early Learning Framework.

Dave Stanton is the Assistant Director at the Goldberg Early Childhood Center (GECC) at the JCC of Dallas. Dave is an out-of-the-box thinker and has a keen sense of the inner workings of all parts of a high-quality early childhood program. He is a master in mentoring educators and his deep understanding of curriculum and the Jewish lenses adds incredible levels of depth to his work. Dave has been an integral part of the success, growth and innovation of the GECC. He is currently a Sheva Center Learning Institute Fellow and helped organize and plan the Dallas Paradigm Popup Conference and the SCLI Bay Area Retreat. Dave also serves as a Co-Chair of the Sparking the Change Task Force, a URJ-JCC Association of North America partnership. He received his Master's in Education from the University of California at Berkeley and served as a Child Development Specialist at Bowling Green State University before relocating to Dallas. Dave is grateful for the support of his wonderful wife Stephanie and is the proud parent of two preschool boys--Myer, age 5, and Remy, age 2.

Jenna Turner is a passionate, energetic, empathic leader in Jewish early childhood education. Her extensive experience in the classroom and in school leadership makes her a go-to coach and consultant for educators around the country. Jenna devotes the bulk of her time to to her work as Director of Early Childhood Learning at Chicago's Jewish United Fund and as master of all things at the Paradigm Project. Jenna holds a BA in Elementary Education with a specialization in early childhood education from the University of Iowa, and an MA in Jewish Professional Studies from Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. Before transitioning to her current roles in Chicago and with the Paradigm Project, Jenna was a teacher for more than 15 years, and she held leadership roles for more than ten years at Moriah Early Childhood Center in Deerfield, IL, and the Harry and Rose Samson JCC in Milwaukee, WI.
Dates & Times
Time: 7-8:30 PM ET / 6-7:30 CT / 5-6:30 MT / 4-5:30 PT

Select Wednesdays: October 13, November 10, December 15, January 12, February 9, March 9, April 6, May 11
Cost
$375