|
|
March 12, 2004/Adar 19 5764, Vol. 56, No. 25
Nurturing havens
Jewish preschools make impact on Valley's youngsters
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
Gabriele Kahn, left, and Alyson Varcoe celebrate Purim at the Temple Beth Israel Chanen Preschool.
Photo courtesy of Chanen Preschool
|
Early childhood education is serious business in the Valley.
Currently, there are more than 1,000 children enrolled in a dozen local Jewish early childhood centers - nearly double the number of children in the Valley's five Jewish day schools, serving children in grades kindergarten through 12.
Directors of the Valley's early childhood centers are quick to point out that they are vastly different than commercial childcare centers. Some balk at the term "preschool" ("We're not 'pre' anything," they say).
The mission of each of the local Jewish early childhood centers is similar - to provide a nurturing haven, in a rich Jewish environment, with developmentally appropriate materials and lessons, to meet the needs of the community's youngest members.
The largest early childhood center is that run by the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, with 245 children enrolled. Two other schools, Temple Beth Israel's Chanen Preschool and the Tri-City Jewish Community Center have more than 100 students each. Two of the newest schools, both in their second year of operation, are the Temple Emanuel Preschool and the Alef Bet Preschool at Chabad of Arizona, with 35 and 14 children respectively. The remainder of the schools - Beth El Center for Early Childhood Education, Chai Childhood Center, Gan Yeladeem Learning Center, Har Zion Early Childhood Center, The Solel Preschool and the Temple Kol Ami Early Childhood Center - all boast numbers between 75 and 100 enrollees. Young Israel of Phoenix Preschool could not be reached for comment.
Gan Yeladeem is the only independently run school, while the other 11 are JCC- or synagogue-based.
Most of the schools take children from six weeks of age, and several offer tuition-based kindergarten programs. All offer extended care and/or enrichment classes to meet a variety of family needs.
A third of the schools have opened their doors in the last three years, another third have been open for more than 20 years.
According to a 2002 study "Untapped Potential: The Status of Jewish Early Childhood Education in America" conducted by the Jewish Early Childhood Education Partnership, Jewish education for young children is essential in building Jewish identity.
"Jewish early childhood education centers are the perfect opportunity to shape the Jewish identity of young children and their families and to lay the foundation for subsequent Jewish involvement and experiences," the study, - which looked at 152 Jewish early childhood centers in the United States - reports.
"Children need to identify early as Jews so they become really comfortable with the customs," says Vicki Bates, director of the Solel Preschool. "We want them to have really positive Jewish memories. When we integrate them at a really young age, it stays with them. It's internalized."
Chana Lew, director of the Alef Bet Preschool, agrees.
"The early years for children are the foundation for the rest of their life. If you want them to live as Jews - not just something they learn about or hear about, but to absorb it, make it part of them as a person - you want to start in the early years," she says.
To Sharon Rendelman, director of the Chanen Preschool, it's important for Jewish education to start early, rather than waiting for elementary-age children to start a Jewish education in a religious school setting.
"We want to provide a basis for Jewish education for lifelong learning, and when they start in Jewish preschool versus waiting until they're religious-school age, they already love it by the time they're ready to be in first grade," she says.
Cynthia Benedict, director at the Tri-City JCC, believes children can get a quality education in a variety of settings, but that Jewish education can provide a special source of pride for Jewish children.
"In a world where we are still very much a minority, it helps children at an early age to develop pride, self-esteem, a feeling of self-confidence and to value their heritage because it's a wonderful heritage," she says. "In secular preschool they can get the advantages of learning and socializing and so forth, but they don't have the opportunity to grow Jewishly."
Benedict and Carol Bell, director at Beth El Center for Early Childhood Education, who have both taught in public school settings, say there is a sense of belonging that comes from being the majority, rather than a minority.
"In a Jewish preschool they won't have the Christmas carols echoing through the hallways and the Easter Bunny and Halloween," says Bell.
Ava Keenen, director of education at Temple Chai, says an additional benefit of synagogue-based early childhood programs is that they allow children to feel at ease with synagogue life.
"Our rabbis and our cantors are very involved in the early childhood center," she says. "(The children) get to know their synagogue and their rabbis, and they feel very comfortable here."
Syndi Scheck, director of Temple Emanuel Preschool, agrees that the connection to the synagogue is an important element in forming a strong Jewish identity.
"When we go into the sanctuary on Friday and (the children) know the Torah is in the ark, they have that connection with a place of prayer, so when they come back on Shabbat with their family, there's a connection, a level of comfort," says.
For Tracy Leonard-Warner, whose children, Adin, 4, and Sarah, 2, attend Beth El, part of the importance of a Jewish environment is the other Jewish children.
"We wanted our kids to be in a preschool setting with our friends' kids - who are our friends because of their involvement in the Jewish community," she says.
Rendelman says parents are often impressed with how much Jewish knowledge the children acquire.
"Last year I heard from so many parents of 4-year-olds who were impressed that their children could say the four questions at the (Passover) seder," she recalls.
Jodi Pollak, mother of Dylan, who recently turned 3, and attends Kol Ami, is impressed by how the school injects Judaica and Hebrew into everyday lessons.
"He's speaking Hebrew. At home he says all of the prayers," she says. Just the other day "he was telling my husband and I all about Purim."
The JECEP study suggests that there is an increase in need for Jewish early childhood programs and that there are currently 100,000 Jewish children enrolled in such programs nationally.
"Jewish early childhood centers are becoming increasingly important," the study reports, "as they provide an introduction to Judaism and Jewish communal life and have a significant impact on the development of the child's Jewish identity."
A significant trend reported by local Jewish preschool directors is the increasing involvement of families in the Jewish community after enrolling children in preschool.
The JECEP study reports a similar trend: "Jewish early childhood education impacts the entire family, not just the child, and serves as a primary gateway into the Jewish community, the synagogue and Jewish living."
Bell sees many young families come into the preschool and then become active in the synagogue community.
"Oftentimes their affiliation with the preschool leads to synagogue membership and a lot of activity there. We try to bridge the gap. We encourage it, but in a natural process," she says.
Rendelman sees many families re-enter the Jewish community through her preschool.
"Many, many times this is the entry for a family who maybe had a Jewish wedding and maybe hasn't really done anything since that," she says. "It's an entry for them to come back into the Jewish community through their children's eyes. What I see is that they get excited about what their children are doing here and then ... they start getting involved in a lot of ways."
Nanci Siegel Manson, director at Har Zion Early Childhood Center, believes that some of the connection comes from the large percentage of families that are new to the Phoenix community and are not surrounded by a rich family heritage.
"I think it's really important that they build a strong family sense as well - since so many don't have their own families here - within their own Jewish community," she says.
Another trend observed by long-time teacher Gail Ober, who teaches at Kol Ami, is the number of children from interfaith families increasing in her classroom. She calls the trend frustrating and says that it's more difficult to get families to follow through on Jewish education at home.
"We need to have a communitywide effort that needs to come from the synagogues, the community, the rabbis, the families - it can't just come from the children," she says.
Benedict also sees families with children in her preschool that aren't connected to Judaism in their homes.
"There are many families who, when we have our model seder every year, have never even been to a seder," she says.
Francine Kades has two children, Sydnee, 6, a first-grader at The King David School, and Joshua, 2, who attends Har Zion Early Childhood Center. Kades says she was "absolutely not" involved in the Jewish community before Sydnee attended Har Zion as a preschooler. Now her family is thinking of joining a congregation, and Kades is serving as co-chairwoman of The King David School Ball.
"You start planting a seed," says Keenen. "When you have your first young children, you're very eager to be involved in everything that they're doing and (the parents) automatically get involved in what their children are learning. It's kind of a reverse transition of culture."
Several of the schools report a sense of connection between the schools and say that if their classes are full, they recommend other Jewish preschools to interested parents.
"We don't know each other socially, but there's camaraderie," says Bates. "I think there's enough children to go around."
Contact the writer at beth_olson@jewishaz.com.
|
