For Our Children

CJL serves Milwaukee's three preschools, five Jewish day schools, ten supplementary schools, and various informal Jewish education programs. We assist schools in helping children develop a sense of their Jewish identities. We also provide a range of curricular and instructional ideas.

For Our Teens

CJL is proud to be a recipient of a highly prestigious three year grant from the Covenant Foundation, which “supports creative programming, in order to strengthen educational endeavors that perpetuate Jewish heritage and identity.” Through grants from the Covenant, Jewish Community and Helen Bader Foundations, CJL’s Young Jewish Milwaukee Live programs give teens a chance to build Jewish identity and knowledge while producing tangible results in the Jewish community and beyond. CJL’s Young Jewish Milwaukee Live programs have given area teens the opportunity to make films, work in various modes of artistic expression, produce a teen supplement to The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, volunteer in Israel while learning Hebrew, and do social action in the larger community while learning the Jewish perspective in social justice. Each year, a new slate of innovative programs is offered.

Additionally, CJL regularly convenes teen education think tanks composed of concerned educators and lay participants in order to build coalitions that create and maintain a varied array of educational programming for Milwaukee's teenagers. The Coalition has collaborated with all the organizations that work with teens to join in coordinating a “Day of the Arts” and several annual "Days of Discovery" for teenagers that featured a variety of presentations on topics suggested by the planning committee. Along with Tikkun Ha-Ir, CJL has also co-sponsored a “Teen Day of Social Action.”

For Our Adults

As Jewish learning is a lifelong pursuit, CJL along with the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, the Wisconsin Council of Rabbis and other community organizations offers the Day of Discovery, an experiential taste of the broad array of Jewish learning settings available in the community. Last year, about 300 Milwaukeeans participated in this day of study and cultural activities. Through the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, we provide speakers who can speak on Holocaust related issues to adult audiences.

For Our Families

Recognizing the pivotal role the family plays in transmitting Jewish heritage, CJL has facilitated the introduction of Jewish family education in several synagogues and agencies and offers families information about Jewish education options in Milwaukee and elsewhere. CJL has developed a "Sefer Safari" reading project to enable families to explore Jewish children's books together. Fifteen different age appropriate books are combined with special activities and discussion guide to enrich the family's shared experience. These books with accompanying materials are available for loan at CJL and participating synagogue libraries. CJL is also a co-sponsor of the PJ Library, which sends Jewish-content books and music on a monthly basis to children from age six months to five, six, seven or eight years depending on the community. Created by The Harold Grinspoon Foundation, the PJ Library is a national program implemented by local communities.

For Our Teachers

CJL provides programs that enhance the knowledge and effectiveness of more than 325 local Jewish educators. Included among our initiatives are the CJL Creativity Center, pedagogic and Judaic training, assistance with staff recruitment, and teacher recognition. CJL provides mentoring for novice teachers. Hebrew and Judaic teachers may enroll in TRIP (Teacher Recognition and Incentive Program). Through this program, teachers create individualized professional growth plans. Then TRIP funding assists them in implementing their plans. The Coalition is also assisting educators pursuing advanced degrees at either Siegel or Spertus College. CJL also regularly publishes the Professional Jewish Educator, a journal disseminated to all teachers in local Jewish schools. Through the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center (HERC), we periodically offer courses on history and pedagogy for teaching the Holocaust. HERC's Holocaust Materials Trunk is a valuable tool for teachers teaching the Holocaust.  We also provide speakers and a program for elementary and secondary school students - 2000 students per year participate in programs featuring a presentation by a Holocaust survivor and educational activities. 

Congregational Schools Iniative (CSI): CJL is collaborating with seven synagogue schools: Beth El Ner Tamid. Beth Israel, Emanu-El B'ne Jeshurun, Emanuel of Waukesha, Shir Hadash, Shalom and Sinai. Each congregation has established a leadership team and action team. Together, educators, synagogue professionals and lay representatives forge a vision for each school. CL collaborates with the schools to make their vision a reality. Seminars for educational directors, classes for teachers and an assessment program are also part of CSI-Milwaukee.

CJL offers several awards for teachers to acknowledge excellence in teaching or curriculum. They include the Educator of the Year Award, Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education, Gill Incentive for Teachers (GIFT) Award, and the Rabbi Emanuel & Deborah Lifshutz Mitzvah Award. These awards are presented at the annual Day of Discovery. A list of previous award winners is available online.

Connection With Israel 

Partnership 2000 (P2K) is a program designed to cultivate people-to-people relationships  by linking Milwaukee with the Sovev Kinneret Region in Israel. P2K is a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel and is supported by funds from the annual community campaign of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation and other federations across the United States. Through one of the creative P2K projects, CJL provides active links between Milwaukee and Israeli children. The local schools participating in the Education Bridge are the Milwaukee Jewish Day School and Nicolet High School.

Education Bridge teachers continue to plan activities for classroom implementation, which are utilized with Israeli and American students throughout the school year.

Six Milwaukee area students spent three weeks in the Sovev Kinneret region during the summer of 2009. They only spoke Hebrew while they were in Israel. They volunteered extensively at kibbutzim, youth centers and army bases. This exciting program is part of the Teen Enrichment Program.

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For more information about any of the programs or activities above, call the Coalition for Jewish Learning office at (414) 963-2710